Obama helps out misfiring McCain

Earlier this month, Obama retreated after using the same word to describe the deaths of troops in Iraq.

McCain made his gaffe during an appearance with David Letterman on the CBS "Late Show" on Wednesday. He got in trouble when he told Letterman, "We wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives over there."

The Democratic National Committee pounced. "Sen. McCain should apologize immediately for his comments," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney.

McCain, a Vietnam War hero aiming to give the episode a short shelf life, issued a statement where he said he should have used the word "sacrifice."

Enter Obama, who was asked about McCain's comment. "As somebody who has had the same phrase in a speech -- you know, I think that nobody would question Sen. McCain's dedication to our veterans," he said.

"What both he and I have simply tried to express is that when you give a mission to our extraordinarily brave soldiers that's not thought through, it's a failure of civilian leadership," the Illinois senator said.

"You know, John McCain and I may have disagreements," Obama said. But he recognizes McCain's war experience: "He's been there, he's done that."