The Big Whisper: What's Up With John McCain?

John McCain has been all over the map recently, especially when it comes to the economic crisis that's been hammering Wall Street. He also managed to make some interesting - or rather, bizarre - remarks about Spain on Wednesday. See more articles below on McCain's actions over the last few weeks.

McCain Remarks Appear To Reject Spain As Ally:

Late Wednesday night, news made its way from the other side of the Atlantic that John McCain, in an interview with a Spanish outlet, had made a series of bizarre responses to a question regarding that country's prime minister.

"Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?" the questioner asked, in an exchange now being reported by several Spanish outlets.

McCain proceeded to launch into what appeared to be a boilerplate declaration about Mexico and Latin America -- but not Spain -- pressing the need to stand up to world leaders who want to harm America.

McCain Flip-Flops On AIG Bailout: Rejects It Tuesday, Says It's Okay Wednesday:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a day after flatly rejecting the idea of a taxpayer bailout for American International Group Inc., said Wednesday that the government had been "forced" into proposing an $85 billion loan to the nation's largest insurer.

McCain appeared to soften his opposition to the bailout proposed by the Federal Reserve, treating the plan as a necessary evil to protect ordinary Americans with finanical ties to AIG and asserting that such a financial collapse should not be allowed to happen again. He also called for an investigation to uncover any wrongdoing.

NY Times: McCain All Over The Place On The Economy:

On Monday morning, as the financial system absorbed one of its biggest shocks in generations, Senator John McCain said, as he had many times before, that he believed the fundamentals of the economy were "strong."

Hours later he backpedaled, explaining that he had meant that American workers, whom he described as the backbone of the economy, were productive and resilient. By Tuesday he was calling the economic situation "a total crisis" and denouncing "greed" on Wall Street and in Washington.

McCain Slams Wall Street "Fat Cats" Who Are His Biggest Donors:

John McCain struck a tough, quasi-populist pose this morning during his morning sweep of the television news shows. Speaking to NBC's Matt Lauer about the current crisis on Wall Street, the Republican nominee said executives have "treated it like a casino and need to be held accountable and stop walking away with these fat-cat packages."

Leave aside for the moment the fact that one of McCain's top economic advisers, former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, walked away with a $42 million "golden parachute" after being fired. Overall, the generic Wall Street "fat cat" is a tough character for McCain to cast as his nemesis, given his success in fundraising among their ranks. As Bloomberg reported Monday night, securities and investment companies have collectively donated millions to both McCain and Barack Obama.

Time's Joe Klein: "Increasing Numbers Of Otherwise Sober Observers... Are Calling John McCain A Liar":

Politics has always been lousy with blather and chicanery. But there are rules and traditions too. In the early weeks of the general-election campaign, a consensus has grown in the political community -- a consensus that ranges from practitioners like Karl Rove to commentators like, well, me -- that John McCain has allowed his campaign to slip the normal bounds of political propriety. The situation has gotten so intense that we in the media have slipped our normal rules as well. Usually when a candidate tells something less than the truth, we mince words. We use euphemisms like mendacity and inaccuracy ... or, as the Associated Press put it, "McCain's claims skirt facts." But increasing numbers of otherwise sober observers, even such august institutions as the New York Times editorial board, are calling John McCain a liar. You might well ask, What has McCain done to deserve this? What unwritten rules did he break? Are his transgressions of degree or of kind?

Comments

[3rdCitizen]

This blog has generated some pretty nasty comments about McCain & his age, etc. -- the sort of comments that Repubs use to justify their own offensive personal attacks on Obama et al. Personally, I think such remarks always make their authors look worse than their target.
It's true that recently McCain has contradicted himself in short order, misspoken about some significant issues, & been testy & off-balance in some interviews, but since a lot of public figures have had periods when they were off their game, it's something of a leap to blame it on McCain's age or to make a diagnosis of dementia. And while I disagree with him on pretty much every important issue, and am disgusted by how he's betrayed his own principles & honesty in this campaign, still, as a dark horse candidate in the Republican primary, he managed to overcome the resentment of many of his colleagues & the fury of right-wing pundits such as Limbaugh & Colter to win the nomination (not to mention making this a very competitve race with Obama despite the unpopularity of the Repub brand he represents) so I wouldn't write him off as an empty suit just yet. Maybe he just needs a few days rest & the recovery of some of his integrity.

[FredBrighton]

The problem with suggesting that he needs a few days to rest up is that once President the man will not be able to "rest up a few days" while the world is melting around him. We can't afford a tired old man with the Islamists and their complicated issues, the climate change already past the tipping point and the extremists on all sides of American culture getting increasingly loud and angry. We need someone young, bright and sensitive to the complexities of the changes the world is going through. These storms in the Atlantic aren't a one time thing. Withe the climate changing we can expect more storms, more powerful storms, droughts lasting for decades, 2/3 of Florida going under the waves and the subways of New York and Washington filled with sea water. To help us survive these changes is too much for someone in his condition. I'm not putting him down personally, he's old and tired and fixated on one thing, winning the White House. I pity him. But put him in charge of everything America, including our nukes and carriers and submarines and then you throw in Cheney's mercenaries and you have a formula for McCain folding up and losing what's left of his mind and we get stuck with Sarah "I can see Russia from my house" Palin. It's important.

[LAThinker]

It is a looney tunes time

http://www.ucubd.com/Index.aspx?id=722&cid=3144

[Unrepentantliberal]

My dear Grandmother would call that 'hardening of the arteries.' It's something that happens to 'old folks.' BTW, with Palin around....­...... John, I would hire a food tester if I were you. I'm just saying?

[mmelodee]

LOL

[hangdogit]

McCain/Palin is on the ropes.

The tide turned last week when the media finally tired of his lies (e.g., sex-ed for Kindergarten & lipstick on a pig) and began exposing them.

The downward spiral continued this week with the comment about the fundamentals of the economy being strong during Monday's meltdown -- and later attemps to "explain" what he meant. Then the flip-flops about the AIG bailout hit home.

And polls show that the voters reject the notion that a long-time anti-regulation Republican can suddenly become a pro-regulation reformer and change agent.

It really is sad to see this unfold. McCain often loses his bearings -- and I predict that he will implode totally before long.

[Whatashame]

Why is CINDY always by McCain side? Could somebody answer that. Am beginning to think its about assurance. When people get OLD they always want someone around they never want to be alone without family.

[EarthToZoey]

They think the "younger trophy wife" will make him look virile and sprightly.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Trouble is is that the "younger trophy wife" looks like she's in a drug-induced daze herself.

Either that or Cindy McCaineMutiny is the latest model of "mature companion" android courtesy of Stepford Industries.

Go figure...

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[PAposter]

I've been asking that question for a while now, to no avail. Same question about the First Dude.

Meanwhile, Michelle Obama when home with the girls for a while because school reopened and came back on the scene to do a roundtable discussion about the economy today.

You tell me, who seems like the first family that will get the job done?

[peterperfect]

It's simple really. Both pill-poppin' Cindy and the First Dud know that their partners are not monogamous (oh, for the Repub lurkers, that means they 'sleep around'). That's why they hang around. Or maybe Cindy knows the difference between Sunni and Shia and will correct the old guy when he has a senior moment. The First Dud is there to turn the microphone off when Caribou Barbie gets asked, 'Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can't locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?'

[Whatashame]

It's call OLD age and its time the media question his mental capabilities.

[mesuki]

Just more proof that this man is not mentaly fit to be president,what is it gonna take for people to realize that McCain has early signs of dementia,which is very common in people his age. I can only imagine the amount of medication he must be taking for all the pain he suffered in the POW camps. The man has problems controlling his temper,he gets confused easily,he's very forgetful.­...I mean,really what more proof do we need that he is incapable of goverinng this country for the next four years....a­nd did I mention that he doesn't tell the truth!

[Jahbundance]

Can anyone understand why McCain seems incapable of finishing a sentence from his stump speech without having to actually read it from the script? Surely half way through his sentences ( which he has been delivering over and over for months now) he must know what he wants to say, yet his head is always down reading the words on the script, unless he's repeating a phrase that he's just read. It's disturbing to me that a long-termed Senator who has given thousands of speeches should need to rely on what is written for him. As a financial planner, I work with mostly elderly people, and McCain is acting old to me. He is not the McCain I admired in 2000.

[Zingaro Zorro]

Lack of conviction.

[Zingaro Zorro]

Somnambulism.

[siney]

i agree. age is setting in. besides the inability to deliver simple lines that should be rote, he just makes stupid mistakes of the sunni and shia variety that someone in his position, a veteran senator, should not be making. he should know this stuff like the back of his hand. this issue and his temperment spell DISASTER for a presidency­... gee, kinda reminds me of the current white house occupant..

[tigs]

One sign of alzhiemers is getting testy and petulant, forgetting words in middle of a sentence, making strange decisions, sometimes using bad language, speach can become mixed up, repeats the same questions over and over. Of course mc cain maybe just very tired and lack stamina, whatever is the problem he dosnt seem in good shape and ready to be commander-in -chief. I sympathise with him, but to let him continue with Sarah Palin would be nothing but disasterous, She is making america the butt of jokes around the world, Palin may think she is up to the task, but it is blatantly obvious she is not, she is making Mc cain look like second fiddle.

[majorteddy]

Hey . it's been two whole weeks of standing behind her looking at her full buttocks, oh they are so much more luscious than Cindy's bony behind. Do you know what that does to a horny old man? well, do ya punk? His brain is just about fried. Do you know the strain that puts on a guy ?

[judyc]

Oh--that makes me want to throw up!

[EarthToZoey]

I dry heaved multiple times after reading that. Now I must go read the Bible and think happy thoughts.

[Awash]

Hey teddy look at that ass all day long. Then bumping up against cindy's frame has gotta be stressful

[EarthToZoey]

lol @ "full buttocks"

[jesuslovesObama]

That's the Viagra talking.

[majorteddy]

What up, Old Wrinkly Dude? Makes you want to poop your Depends, doesn't it? Palin- McCain Administration. Why, you ought to pull her pants down and give her a good spanking!

[larose501]

McCain needs to drink some hot tea or warm milk at night instead of kickin back them cold Buds'

[JonRaymond]

Mooseheads

[eus]

Would someone please photoshop his in a hospital gown.. Sarah could be next to him in white... looking like a naughty nurse...

[Zingaro Zorro]

Nurse Rached, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

[eus]

Perhaps his medication is making him confused. At his age, I assume he's on meds. Hopefully what he's on can be exposed...­. There should be drug testing for this position like most any other job.

[gnostic19]

not that it should matter, but he is on a vast array of meds. He takes stuff for his cancer treatment, Ambien, and some other meds. Again , not that it should matter.

[Totto]

Ambien?

[grf67]

McCain has lost it and has no chance of getting ti back. He is too old and dementia has set in.

[Hiphopcrates]

Here comes the Manchurian Candidate!