I do recall the t-word being a bit of a line in the sand between those who were for winning and those who were not. But he seemed to me not to be talking about withdrawing during that interview. He was talking about not being there indefinitely without some benchmarks — and he said that he would veto a congressionally imposed timetable, which speaks to the debate at the time. He would have been wiser not to repeat the t-word, but that he was for surrender isn’t my takeaway from that interview last April or now.

At the end of the day, McCain and Romney are on the same side on the war. McCain was an all-out surge leader. Romney wasn’t. I don’t think he’s pretended he was.