The Republican National Committee is spotlighting this article by Jake Tapper, “Obama and Iraqi Foreign Minister Have Different Memories of their Conversation.”

Indeed, Obama’s description of their conversation and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari don’t quite mesh, but there’s no glaring contradiction of one saying “X” and the other saying “Not X.” It’s more, one said “X”, the other said “Y.” Obama’s account suggests the Iraqis are “concerned about their sovereignty and are not seeking a long term occupation by the U.S.”; while Zebari told the Post that his message to Obama “was very clear. . . . Really, we are making progress. I hope any actions you will take will not endanger this progress.”

But there’s a more glaring issue in Zebari’s description of the talk to the Washington Post: “He said he was reassured by the candidate’s response, which caused him to think that Mr. Obama might not differ all that much from Mr. McCain. Mr. Zebari said that in addition to promising a visit, Mr. Obama said that “if there would be a Democratic administration, it will not take any irresponsible, reckless, sudden decisions or action to endanger your gains, your achievements, your stability or security. Whatever decision he will reach will be made through close consultation with the Iraqi government and U.S. military commanders in the field.”

First, it’s hard to square Zebari’s description of Obama’s remarks with the candidate’s earlier exchange in the Philadelphia debate:

ABC’s Charles Gibson: “And, Senator Obama, your campaign manager, David Plouffe, said, ‘When he is’ — this is talking about you – ‘When he is elected president, we will be out of Iraq in 16 months at the most. There should be no confusion about that.’ So you’d give the same rock-hard pledge, that no matter what the military commanders said, you would give the order to bring them home?”
Obama: “Because the commander-in-chief sets the mission, Charlie. That’s not the role of the generals. And one of the things that’s been interesting a out the president’s approach lately has been to say, ‘Well, I’m just taking cues from General Petraeus.’ Well, the president sets the mission. The general and our troops carry out that mission.”

Beyond that, aren’t Obama’s comments to Zebari — presuming they’re being characterized accurately — a glaring contradiction of the Obama campaign’s constant declaration of “profound differences” with McCain on the Iraq War? Isn’t a large chunk of his support from the Democratic grassroots built on this notion that a President Obama would bring the troops home quickly?

Is a trip by Austan Goolsbee to the Iraqi embassy the next step? Will there be private assurances that Obama’s Iraq stand on the campaign trail is “more reflective of political maneuvering than policy”?