Why did Obama say McCain worked decades on a problem?

Answer 1

If it was a quote from the 2008 campaign, it probably had two possible meanings. (Politicians from both parties love to do this: they say something that sounds like a compliment, but is meant to be taken a different way by partisans... this is called "dog-whistle" politics, saying something in a coded way that only your supporters will understand.) In this example, by mentioning McCain's years working on an issue, then-candidate Obama on one level was showing respect for his senate colleague, a veteran who had been in the senate for a long time. But the other implication was that Mr. McCain was old-- and an example of someone with old ideas.