A searing attack on Gen. David Petraeus by left-leaning group MoveOn.org yesterday was roundly denounced by Republicans and left Democratic presidential contenders squirming when the top military commander in Iraq was supposed to be the one on the hot seat.
The activist group unloaded on the decorated general with a full-page ad in The New York Times that said, “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?”
Below a huge black-and-white photo of the general, who has a Ph.D. from Princeton and has been wounded in three wars, was the heading “Cooking the books for the White House.”
The ad put Democratic critics of the President Bush’s war strategy in a tight spot, because Petraeus gets high marks for his service to the nation even from staunch war opponents.
Republican presidential candidates called on leading Democrats to denounce the ad – which Sen. John McCain termed “despicable” – but none of the top Democrats contacted by The Post would do so.
“It is unfortunate that Republican presidential candidates are focused on generating a political sideshow instead of discussing the president’s failed war policy,” said a spokesman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“Sen. Clinton is going to keep her focus where it should be: on ending the war.”
Former Sen. John Edwards said he “honors Gen. Petraeus’ service and patriotism, but the general is wrong to believe that the American people or Congress should give President Bush’s failed Iraq strategy more time,” spokesman Eric Schultz said.
“Sen. Obama’s question is not about Gen. Petraeus’ patriotism. It’s about his logic,” said Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for Barack Obama.
But McCain, a Vietnam POW, called the ad a “McCarthyite” attack on an American patriot and our commander in Iraq.
“No matter where you stand on the war, we should all agree on the character and decency of this exceptional American,” he said.
GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani said, “The Democrats and MoveOn.org are doing a disservice to Iraq’s long-term future by jumping to political conclusions.”
Republican former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called the ad “outrageous.”