OBAMA: OF COURSE THE SURGE SUCCEEDED:

Sen. Barack Obama, edging away from a long-held position, tacitly acknowledged the success of the Iraq troop-surge strategy during an appearance Tuesday before the country’s largest organization of combat veterans.

“Let’s be clear, our troops have completed every mission they’ve been given,” Mr. Obama said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Fla., where the likely Democratic presidential nominee courted military voters who are expected to play a pivotal role in several swing states. “They have created the space for political reconciliation.”

Well, he’s only a few months late in recognizing that.

UPDATE: Reader James Paternoster emails: “So the mission was accomplished? Time for a photoshop of Obama on the Lincoln with President Bush? That, too, marked the success of their first mission, which was to overthrow Saddam Hussein. I never expected Obama to recognize that. :)”

Heh.