McCain Defends Czechoslovakia, A Non-Existent Country -- Again

UPDATE JUNE 15: McCain made the same mistake again today during a town hall meeting in New Mexico.

Watch the video below.

At a press availability today, John McCain expressed concern about relations between Russia and a country that hasn't existed for quite some time. According to a rough pool report transcript, he said:

"I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech's agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern."

Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.

It isn't the first time McCain has made this mistake, as TPM's Greg Sargent points out:

Around three months ago, McCain told Don Imus that he would "work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries" to install the European Missile Defense System in Poland, according to the Democratic National Committee. (The slip-up was referenced elsewhere, too.)

And during a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said: "The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don't care what his objections are to it."

There are more: in 1994, McCain suggested NATO be expanded to include Czechoslovakia. At a dinner in 1999, he "twice thanked the ambassador from 'Czechoslovakia' for his efforts," according to the Washington Post.

In fact, George Bush himself dinged McCain for this blunder back in the 2000 primary. Steve Clemons writes:

Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let's not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: "A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] ... but John McCain says something about the 'ambassador to Czechoslovakia.' Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there's a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn't make the nightly national news."

This longstanding confusion persists despite McCain's numerous visits to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia (he described his 2001 meeting with Czech President Vaclav Havel as "an experience . . . I can tell my Grandchildren about.") In fact, the former U.S. ambassador to Slovakia endorsed McCain's candidacy for president. Maybe he should offer the candidate some geography lessons too.

Comments

[escapee]

11:07 AM on 07/21/2008

Here's a question for McMummy:
Why is YOUR STATE number 50 in the 06-07 Smartest State Rankings? http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank06.htm

[jmparks]

02:43 PM on 07/18/2008

Today on Morning Joe, that great hero of journalism, Dan Rather, noted that Jesse Jackson led the way to Osama bin Laden's opportunity to run for President of the USA. Chris Matthews makes the same mistake (Osama=Obama) at least once a week. It's a confusing world out there.

[lexnekst]

09:44 PM on 07/17/2008

Honestly, I dont expect my president to know every piece of random trivia, I dont expect him to be able to fill in a blank globe.

But considering these 2 nations only became states in the last 15 years, during my young life, I expect him to know this.

Are you planning on being president of all 13 colonies too? Are you going to be enlisting the help of the spanish Armada?

[mckinley]

12:46 PM on 07/21/2008

I am 46, and sorry, I still think of them as Czechoslovakia -- and have to catch myself when I refer to the Czech Republic or Slovenia, or even think about them.

[Ramirez]

07:56 PM on 07/17/2008

Sam Nunn is 0bama's foreign policy ace and a slam dunk for Sec of Defense.

Watch him show mcCa in how it's done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PnDDMrJEY

[HopeGirl]

10:06 AM on 07/17/2008

Give him a break....

Its not like he has the skill to pull up Google Maps or anything,

But he's working on it.

[JohnnieP]

10:00 AM on 07/17/2008

They call that keeping up with what's going on.

[Bettysdad]

06:17 AM on 07/17/2008

If elected McCain promised his first act will be to grant statehood to Arizona.

[CrittersRTasty]

12:29 AM on 07/17/2008

Czechoslovakia? Isnt that the 57th state?

[mhutch47]

03:38 AM on 07/17/2008

The 57 comparison is ridiculous. Everyone knows Barack meant 47. That was an obvious gaffe by a tired politician. It's no difference than the hundreds of Bush-isms out there... they're funny little screw-ups by politicians who spend their days speaking in front of cameras. Bush is a terrible extemporaneous speaker, but I've never held it against him because I'd probably be just as bad. When Barack said "57 states," I got a good laugh out of it, just as I did when Bush miffed the "Fool me once," saying.
The difference with Senator McCain is that his screw-ups raise serious doubts about his foreign policy expertise. The man still doesn't seem to know the difference between Sunni & Shia, and this second Czechoslovakia mistake just reinforces the concern that he's just plain out of it.
Not to mention the poor Air Force One pilot trying to find a map of the Ottoman Empire.

[politigal]

08:43 PM on 07/16/2008

Let us not forget that McCain graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point. Combine that with the age issue and we have a man that should not be President.

[Ramirez]

07:57 PM on 07/17/2008

sigh

[mhutch47]

08:34 PM on 07/16/2008

People are actually surprised he thought Czechoslovakia was still around? Christ, I'm just shocked the old goat hasn't been talking about the problems in Pangaea.

[wmbear]

08:43 PM on 07/16/2008

Actually...

He thinks the breakup of Pangaea was the fault of the communists....

[fishsandwichesr2good]

07:40 PM on 07/16/2008

Would that be the same Czechsolovakia that was liberated in large part based on the brilliant policies of one Ronald W. Reagan? I'm sure that BO would have had the same vision NOT!

[fishsandwichesr2good]

07:31 PM on 07/16/2008

As opposed to BO's grasp of his own country's "57 states"...

[dawlishgal]

06:14 PM on 07/16/2008

Time for McCain to get one of those jacket-back lumps like the one Bush had. He really needs to be fed things to say, or he'll just keep on looking as though he is senile.

[wmbear]

08:34 PM on 07/16/2008

LUCKY FOR US...

McCain is a worse idiot than Bush (if that were possible) and so probably refuses to wear a wire.....

[wmbear]

08:38 PM on 07/16/2008

AND BTW....

If Kerry had been the one wearing the wire in the 2004 Presidential debates, the press would have been all over him. As it was, they gave Bush a complete pass, as usual, as they would have if it had been Bush windsurfing instead of Kerry (as they also did on his year of being AWOL from Texas Air National Guard while Kerry, a Vietnam vet, was being "swiftboated")....

[Hufferton]

05:21 PM on 07/16/2008

My friends, please give the old man a break. It has only been 15 years since 1993 and these complicated issues take time to sink into an old man’s brain. He will come around in his second term as president, that is, if enough fools vote for him; unfortunately the U.S. has a plentiful supply of fools…young and old alike…

[Mij13]

06:05 PM on 07/16/2008

He and his statuesque wife need to take a well deserved vacation. "I hear Constantinople is nice this time of year."

[bigdaddyvike]

06:56 PM on 07/16/2008

Darfur.

[wmbear]

08:47 PM on 07/16/2008

THE SAD PART IS...

There actually are conservatives around who insist on calling it "Constantinople" instead of "Istanbul"....

[JamesRiddle]

04:31 PM on 07/16/2008

McCain has taken a lot of flack about dumping his first wife for the current trophy. But he does have a moral compass. Today he mentioned that he would not attend any offical ceremony if Henry the 8th was present.