Obama at the VFW today:

“If we think that we can secure our country by just talking tough without acting tough and smart, then we will misunderstand this moment and miss its opportunities,” Obama asserted. “If we think that we can use the same partisan playbook where we just challenge our opponent’s patriotism to win an election, then the American people will lose. The times are too serious for this kind of politics. The calamity left behind by the last eight years is too great.”

Really, when has McCain challenged Obama’s patriotism?

If saying “behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president” is what Obama is referring to, then he’s effectively saying that Obama can’t be criticized for opposing the surge.

Speaking of opposing military action, I note that Obama said at Saddleback that opposing the war was the most gut-wrenching decision he’s ever had to make, partially “because there were political consequences.”

Obama was a liberal Democratic state senator running in a Democratic primary against other liberal Democrats, when the base of the Democratic party staunchly and passionately opposed invading Iraq. MoveOn.org and every major liberal grassroots group was organizing and mobilizing opponents of the war. No Democrat suffered any serious political consequence for opposing the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and that well-executed war ended up being of no serious benefit to President George H. W. Bush.

But other than that, I’m sure the political consequences were huge.

Finally, you’ll recall that “tough and smart” was the mantra endlessly repeated by John Kerry four years ago.