A retired general at a Barack Obama campaign event on Thursday said Republican presidential candidate and former prisoner of war John McCain's support of the Iraq war could be due to a "lack of adequate psychological care" after McCain returned from Vietnam.

Retired Major Gen. Melvyn Montaño, a former head of the New Mexico National Guard, made his remarks during a "roundtable" in Santa Fe headlined by Michelle Obama, wife of the Democratic presidential candidate.

The crowd at the College of Santa Fe's Greer Garson Theater roared. Michelle Obama didn't comment on Montaño's statement.

However, Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton later issued a statement saying, "Barack and Michelle Obama have repeatedly honored John McCain's service and strongly disagree with these views."

During the campaign event, at which Montaño appeared on stage with Michelle Obama, several wives of soldiers in Iraq spoke — sometimes emotionally — of their difficulties, including combat-related psychological problems.

After referring to McCain's statement that Americans could have a military presence in Iraq for as long as 100 years, Montaño said, "I don't know what's in his mind. I don't understand his position. I can attribute it probably to some of the things we've talked about here — lack of adequate psychological care."

When asked about the general's remarks, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party said in a statement Thursday, "Sen. McCain has a long history of service to our country and has the most experience to deal with issues to help guarantee our nation's safety. Instead of taking cheap shots at the Senator, it is time the Obama campaign focused on the issues."

McCain has said that Democrats have distorted his "100 years" remark, saying he was talking about a peacekeeping force such as the one stationed in South Korea — not combat for 100 years.

The McCain campaign issued a statement by Col. Barry Howard, state chairman of Vets for McCain, who said Montaño's "remarks were unbecoming of an officer, out of line and disrespectful to a fellow officer who has sacrificed so much for his country."

Montaño served in the Air Force in Vietnam in 1968. His statement about McCain came after one of the Iraq veteran's wives said that all members of the military should undergo mandatory psychological tests along with their physical examinations upon leaving the military.

The general told the crowd that he was diagnosed with "a touch" of post-traumatic stress disorder — marked by getting up at night, pacing and anxiety — years after his service in Vietnam. "It can surface several years later," he said. "It's under control. I use an amino acid that works fantastic."

Montaño has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. Last year, when introducing U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., when the congressman announced his bid for U.S. Senate, the general praised Udall for voting "against allowing the president to get us into the tragic and misguided war in Iraq."

Montaño's statements about McCain were some of the only overt Republican bashing at the event, which Michelle Obama said was an opportunity to directly hear from military families about their problems.

"My job today is easy," she said. "I'm here to listen. And then I'm going to take your stories home with me. Too often, we don't hear the human stories behind government policies, so we don't see the extent to which policies can affect people's lives."

However, Jodi Porter of Santa Fe, an Obama supporter whose husband was in the military for 28 years, said after the event that if the roundtable was really for military families, it should have been held on a military base like Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

Shannon Kendall of Albuquerque said her husband, Ryan Kendall, is serving his second tour in Iraq. She broke down in tears after mentioning their year-old son. "What if he has to go back?" she said of her husband.

Natasha Padilla of Las Vegas, N.M., said her husband, a police officer and member of the National Guard, served in Iraq in 2003. She became emotional when she said, "You're lying in bed across from the person you love but it's not him."

Padilla said her husband moved to his mother's house three months after his return. He didn't want to admit he had problems because of "machismo," which she described as "this pride that says 'there's nothing wrong with me.' "

Padilla said, "Luckily I was able to find my husband. He came back, ... finally it's getting back to normal."

Michelle Obama responded: "War is costly. That's the first thing the commander in chief should be saying to us: that if we're going to war, it's going to cost a whole lot of money. And if we're not going to pay for the whole thing — not just bullets and tanks — but for medical care and mental-health support and support for veteran's families ... that's part of the cost of war and we have to, as a nation, have to say 'yes we are either going to do that, or we're not going to war.' "

She also attended a voter registration rally at The University of New Mexico, where she called on New Mexico women — and men — to get out the vote for her husband.

The crowd stood for two hours before hearing Michelle Obama speak. The Obama campaign is kicking off a statewide effort to register 30,000 new voters in 30 days in a state that she said is critical to her husband's race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.