McCain's precarious Iraq stance

In a rather interesting post covering yesterday's WaPo story where Gen. Petraeus complains loudly about a lack of political progress in Iraq, Juan Cole points out,

It is worthwhile mentioning that what Gen. Petraeus said about the lack of political progress is the opposite of what John McCain has been saying.

Interesting. Particularly because McCain has been saying this,

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Friday he fears that anti-American extremists might attempt spectacular attacks in Iraq to try to tilt the U.S. election against him.

So, good news in Iraq, good for McCain, and bad news in Iraq should be disregarded because "extremists" are trying to undermine him. Wow. He is George Bush.

UPDATE: Richard in the comments had this (no link, but it sounds credible):

Here is a direct quote from the Multi National Force-Iraq:

"Today's Washington Post inaccurately characterized the discussions General Petraeus and their reporters had yesterday. During the one-hour interview General Petraeus never intimated or stated that Iraqi leaders have "failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences."

The Washington Post has been asked to make a correction on this statement and we are awaiting their decision."