Fightin’ Surrogates on Romney’s Use of the Word “Apparently” in Describing Surge Success

A Romney surrogate tells me:

“Romney wants to hear from the general and ambassador on how the surge is doing. Why that’s a bad thing, I’m not sure I understand. That’s exactly what the president is saying – wait for the Petraeus report. And frankly, where has the ‘happy face’ talk gotten us on Iraq?* We’ve reached the point where half the country says they think Petraeus will tell the truth and half the country says they think he won’t. We don’t know if this man is a Democrat or a Republican, all we know is that he’s worn his country’s uniform all his life. It’s so unhealthy for the country when half the people have decided he can’t be trusted. It’s a sign they’re so tired of spin.”

*This surrogate didn’t specify, but let’s say Vice President Cheney’s May 2005 “the insurgency is in its last throes” comment qualifies as ‘happy talk.’

A McCain surrogate tells me:

“We are the party of victory in Iraq. We are already invested in the idea of victory. If we say pull out, we are instantly undermined on our number one issue. If we’re going to be party of retreat, but a little bit slower, why not vote for the Democrats? This is our issue. And if we lose on this issue, we’ll lose for the next twenty years, and it’ll take another ground-shifting event to get us back to being competitive again.”