ORLANDO, August 19, 2008 (AFP) - Democrat Barack Obama Tuesday waged a counter-offensive on John McCain's attacks on his patriotism, accusing the Republican of 'talking tough' on national security but offering no solutions.

Obama addressed the same convention here of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), a day after his White House rival spoke to the group and berated the Democrat for embracing 'retreat and failure' in Iraq.

He insisted that political action was needed by Iraq's government to match the security progress under a US military 'surge,' and reaffirmed his threats of international isolation for Russia over its incursion into Georgia.

Obama said he was 'proud to join my friend, Senator Joe Biden, in calling for an additional one billion dollars in reconstruction assistance for the people of Georgia.'

Biden, a foreign policy veteran who is a leading contender to be named Obama's vice presidential running mate, is just back from a trip to Georgia where he warned of 'consequences' for Moscow over its actions in the Caucasus.

In broader terms, Obama said there was no time for hyper-partisan attacks in a tense time for foreign policy.

Vietnam War veteran McCain, Obama said, had served the United States 'honorably' and had correctly told the VFW that one of the chief criteria for US voters in choosing a commander-in-chief was good judgment.

'But instead of just offering policy answers, he turned to a typical laundry list of political attacks. He said that I have changed my position on Iraq when I have not,' the Illinois senator said.

'And he declared, 'Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president' -- suggesting, as he has so many times, that I put personal ambition before my country,' Obama said.

'That is John McCain?s prerogative. He can run that kind of campaign, and frankly, that's how political campaigns have been run in recent years. But I believe the American people are better than that. I believe that this defining moment demands something more of us.

'If we think that we can secure our country by just talking tough without acting tough and smart, then we will misunderstand this moment and miss its opportunities,' Obama added.

'If we think that we can use the same partisan playbook where we just challenge our opponent's patriotism to win an election, then the American people will lose. The times are too serious for this kind of politics.'

Obama drew polite applause during his speech, especially for remarking that the US military was overstretched by the Iraq war and with his call for more attentive care to the mental-health and financial needs of veterans.

But it was a tough crowd for the Democrat, who unlike McCain has no military background.

A new Gallup poll Tuesday said McCain leads Obama by a hefty 56 percent to 34 percent among registered voters who have served in the US military.

'But veterans' support for McCain probably has more to do with their Republican orientation than to their military service,' the polling organization said.