Obama stands by his plan to end war

At a town hall meeting in Albuquerque, McCain said: "I note that he is speaking today about his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan before he has even left, before he has talked to Gen. Petraeus, before he has seen the progress in Iraq, and before he has set foot in Afghanistan for the first time. In my experience, fact-finding missions usually work best the other way around: First you assess the facts on the ground, then you present a new strategy."

Obama delivered his speech at a moment when there is some confusion about his position on the war. Of late, he has given more emphasis to caveats that might impede a withdrawal of U.S. forces than on his pledge to remove troops.

Obama insists his views are unchanged. But his subtle shift in tone has sparked concerns among supporters that he is revising his position as part of a broader post-primary move to the political center.

A recent Newsweek poll showed that 53% of voters believed that Obama had changed position on important issues "in order to gain political advantage."

In his 37-minute address, Obama said he was still determined to end the war according to his declared timetable. And he noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's recent "call for a timetable for the removal of U.S. forces presents a real opportunity."

Bringing troops home, Obama said, is essential to achieving other goals he has deemed important: defeating Al Qaeda, rebuilding alliances and weaning the U.S. off foreign oil.

"This war distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize," he said. "This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century. By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe."

Obama's speech had another purpose. As a relative newcomer to national politics, he wants to signal that he would be no pushover on the world stage. He has work to do on this front. An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 72% of Americans believe McCain would make a good commander in chief, but only 48% believe Obama would measure up.

Obama invoked a series of tough-minded foreign policy realists -- including the late George F. Kennan, architect of the Cold War containment strategy -- to reassure doubters that he would protect U.S. interests abroad.