Where the candidates stand

You almost have to search for it right now, but Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama have made statements about the Iran threat.

This, from The New York Times.

Iran’s saber-rattling missile tests quickly became a flash point in the presidential election on Wednesday as Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama each seized on the tests to try to validate their differing policies on Iran.

This is the first we’ve heard of McCain lately. It took Ahmadinejad to get him some attention.

Each man spoke of the growing threat posed by Iran, and each called for tougher penalties against the country. But Mr. Obama called once again for pursuing what he called “direct and aggressive diplomacy with the Iranian regime,” while Mr. McCain warned against that approach and said that the tests highlighted the need for a missile defense system in Europe.

The rest is tendentious reporting. And it ends with a joke on McCain.

The Times is only one of the organizations publicly backing Obama.