WASHINGTON — President Bush's speech outlining his troop increase in Iraq provoked several potential presidential candidates to stake out a position, including some Republicans who had avoided addressing the controversial proposal that could be a touchstone issue in the 2008 campaign.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, ended weeks of dodging questions on the issue by announcing Wednesday that he would support a troop increase. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) said he opposed it, a sign that Republicans may not be as reluctant to distance themselves from Bush as they once were.
Divisions also opened among Democrats. Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina announced their support for Congress to cut off money needed for a troop increase. That goes further than most Democrats want because they worry that such a move would be seen as undermining U.S. troops already in Iraq.
Presidential politics will probably cast a shadow over the opening debate on Bush's proposal when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Five members of the panel are thinking about running for president.
For months, the only probable presidential candidate to support a troop increase was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who made it a signature issue long before Bush threw his support to the idea. Other Republican aspirants kept their distance from the proposal, which is supported by 12% of the public, a recent Gallup Poll said.
Romney had previously declined to comment on the troop buildup. "I'm still a governor," he would tell interviewers. His term as Massachusetts governor ended last week.
On Wednesday, Romney put himself in league with McCain, his leading rival for the GOP nomination, and Bush by issuing a statement calling for more troops. He said he reached his decision after consultations with generals, military experts and ground forces.
McCain, after Bush's speech, acknowledged the political perils of backing such an unpopular plan. "I'd much rather lose a campaign than lose a war," he said on CNN.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who had been silent on the issue, issued a statement supporting Bush's troop increase.
"Even more importantly," Giuliani said, "I support the change in strategy, the focus on security and the emphasis on a political and economic solution as being even more important than a military solution."
