Presidential Candidates Speeches in New Mexico a Preview of Things to Come

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama made speeches in New Mexico Monday, with both candidates addressing what is likely to be the most heated debate topic of the presidential race; the nation's security in correlation with the war in Iraq.

The emphasis, or lack thereof in Obama's case, of the Iraq war in their respective speeches illustrated how each candidate is prepared to address the situation in the coming months. According to the New York Times, McCain showed tremendous attention to Iraq, mentioning it 14 different times in a 20 minute speech. The Republican candidate had the flags of each branch of the armed forces behind him throughout his speech.

Choosing to go in a different direction, Obama did not mention Iraq in his 10 minute speech according to the New York Times. In an interview with the Associated Press, McCain showed that he will attempt to make Obama appear misinformed about the situation in Iraq, particularly with his statement of, "He really has no experience or knowledge or judgment about the issue of Iraq. And he has wanted to surrender for a long time."