The presence of two presidential candidates created a frenzy Tuesday morning in the usually staid Armed Services Committee hearing room. Clinton and McCain arrived at the standing-room-only event to a cacophony of clicking camera shutters.
Antiwar demonstrators were scattered through the visitors section, many robed in black with red paint on their palms to simulate blood. Police kept a watchful eye on the crowd and quelled outbursts. One protester was carried out when he refused to stop shouting "Bring them home."
McCain's opening statement was also interrupted by protests, but he noted that he was a veteran at dealing with hecklers. "I have had this experience previously," he said.
The Arizona senator enjoyed a tactical advantage: As the panel's senior Republican, he was the second senator to ask questions. He used his time to underscore the view that is the risky pillar of his presidential campaign: Progress is being made in Iraq thanks to the troop surge, and U.S. withdrawal will cause irreparable damage to Iraq and to American interests.
"To promise a withdrawal of our forces, regardless of the consequences, would constitute a failure of political and moral leadership," he said.
But while Clinton has dubbed the war the Bush-McCain policy, McCain tried to show he was not simply an uncritical cheerleader for the administration's strategy. He challenged Petraeus about rocket fire in the Green Zone, the heavily protected U.S.-controlled area in Baghdad, and about problems with the Iraqi military, including widespread desertions in recent fighting in Basra.
"What is the lesson we should draw from the fact that 1,000 Iraqi forces deserted or underperformed in Basra?" McCain asked.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close McCain ally, took another dig at Democrats when he asked Petraeus about the effect of withdrawing one or two brigades a month -- a timeline both Obama and Clinton have suggested. Petraeus did not quite take the bait.
"It depends on the conditions at the time," he demurred. "If the conditions were good -- quite good -- then that might be doable."
As one of the most junior members of the panel, Clinton had to sit through three hours of testimony and questioning before she got a turn to speak. In the meantime, she listened attentively, chewing gum pensively, occasionally talking to one of her campaign's strongest supporters, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who sat next to her.
