McPeak tells Oregon delegation he was driven out of Republican Party

DENVER -- Retired General Merrill “Tony” McPeak, a former Republican and current "Honorary Co-Chair" of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign told the Oregon Democratic delegation Thursday that Republican policies leading to the Iraq war had forced him to flee the party.

“After a couple of years on the dark side, I am now a Democrat,” McPeak said to thunderous applause. “But I didn’t leave the Republican Party, I was driven out.”

McPeak, the Air Force Chief of Staff under the first President Bush, told the delegation that the current president's policies on the war were the reasons he had to leave. Obama’s policies toward the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, were in line with his thinking, while Republican presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.) was not.

“The issue in Iraq is about the timing of withdraw, and by the way, Barack Obama has been right about that all along,” McPeak said. “And incidentally, there is still a war going on in Afghanistan. It is crucial that we win that. And Barack Obama has been right about that all along.”

McPeak, a former classmate and former friend of McCain, also warned the Oregon delegation that when McCain disagreed on issues, he tended to hold a grudge, which was a quality McPeak was wary about for a president.

“There’s a tendancy for things to smolder, he doesn’t get over them very quick,” McPeak said. “That’s not a good quality to have in a commander in chief.”