McCain, running for president, calls for creation of a 'League of Democracies'

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said he would establish a "League of Democracies" as part of a more cooperative foreign policy if he wins the White House in 2008. He told a gathering at the Hoover Institution that such a league would complement, not supplant, the United Nations and other international bodies. At a news conference immediately following his speech, McCain criticized the Bush administration's Iraq policy but urged Americans to be patient and to give the U.S. troop surge an opportunity to succeed.