I think it's time for Obama to take advantage of the various attacks that are raised against him. Consider the free publicity that he's getting about 'becoming a symbol'. The part that it came from is short. Turn the whole quote - in context - into a commercial. That would effectively own the issue.

The NYT and even the WP are currently walking back stories they pushed that didn't stand up to scrutiny. Again, use the free publicity. Talk about visiting the troops, and then shift the subject to how McCain voted against educational benefits for GIs, and how he wants to restrict the VA to only specific injuries for those troops he claims to support. Again, the goal is to use the free publicity from these to redirect the narrative, and take advantage of the echo chamber.