April 5, 2008

Warmonger McCain doesn't appreciate "Warmonger" tag

John McCain, whose drumbeat for war with Iran has including singing about it, says talk show host Ed Schultz's comment that he is a warmonger is out of line.

McCain criticized Barack Obama Saturday for not denouncing comments from Schultz at a North Dakota Democratic Party.

The comments in question came Friday evening at an event in North Dakota where Barack Obama also spoke. Schultz addressed the crowd, during which he criticized McCain's support of the Iraq war and called him a "warmonger." Obama was not present for Schultz's comments and spoke later at the event.

"I hope that in keeping with the spirit of Sen. Obama, that they condemn, that Sen. Obama will condemn such language since it was a part of his campaign," McCain said. "But that kind of language is unnecessary for this campaign. I think its very clear how I feel about war and my experiences with it."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday McCain should not have been described that way.

"John McCain is not a warmonger and should not be described as such. He's a supporter of a war that Senator Obama believes should have never been authorized and never been waged," she said.

Obama's campaign also notes Schultz is not an official supporter of the campaign and was asked to speak by the North Dakota Democratic Party, not the Obama campaign.