Possible '08 Nominees Praise Iraq Report

Stacks of the Iraq Study Group's Report are on display during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 where the Group presented the report on the situation in Iraq to members of Congress. (AP Photo/Haraz Ghanbari) (Haraz Ghanbari - AP)

WASHINGTON -- Besides President Bush, few U.S. politicians have as much at stake in the next steps in Iraq as the ever growing list of potential 2008 presidential candidates.

On Wednesday they applauded the report's call for a change in course. But many, particularly Democrats now in the Senate, stopped short of adopting the report as their own blueprint for success in Iraq. Instead, they placed the burden of altering Iraq strategy squarely on Bush's shoulders.

"If the administration will accept its recommendations, this report can provide core elements of the way forward," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the 2004 Democratic nominee who is weighing a second White House bid.

"The final answer rests with President Bush and whether or not he will take the advice he's been offered," added Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., who is mounting his own presidential campaign.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, not a candidate for president but the leader of the Senate Democrats, summed up the Democratic perspective this way:

"It's not a question of the Democratic senators embracing this report," he said. "We acknowledge that this is a tremendous step forward, and it will change course in Iraq. It's up to the president to fulfill his obligation, in my opinion, to the country, and follow the recommendations of this study group."

The presidential candidate whose views differ most from the Iraq Study Group is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has called for expanded U.S. troop strength in Iraq as the only way to achieve victory. Democratic strategists believe McCain's stance, while currently unpopular, distinguishes him from Bush and let's him stand out as an alternative voice if Iraq remains a quagmire for the United States in 2008.

McCain dismissed that analysis this week.

"I'll continue to try to get done what I think is right. If I fail, I fail," he said. "Everybody says it hurts me. Only 18 percent of the American people are in agreement with me."