Veterans give McCain a D to Obama's B grade rating, I consider that somewhat an endorsement.

I've seen no really compelling evidence SURGE is or has done what was promised; The country is seething with violence and political fissures that are very deep. I think the surge was applied very strategically and that it worked in a very small geographic area and that some people, especially Bush/McCain, saw its marginal success as reason enough to say, "See, I told you so." And I question the idea of paying Sunni soldiers (though I guess better than ours) -- does anyone really believe that the Sunnis would behave themselves and serve in a Shiite dominated government after we start arming Sunni militias in a stupid attempt to put down the insurgency? (Which seques to a study of the surge -- [or simply explained here] that suggests that ethnic violence — not the Bush administration’s surge — was the primary factor in reducing violence in Iraq. I could go on, but dammit I'm sick of Iraq, why do we continue pumping unbelievable amounts of money into that money sucking black hole when we are experiencing unheard of numbers of people losing their homes, jobs, hope, and self-esteem right here at home?)

And no, I'm not happy that Obama at the debate just went with the status quo of the surge. Meh, he isn't perfect.