McCain Hits Obama On Iran Again, Joe Klein Tells Him "Be Quiet" (VIDEO)

Sen. John McCain continued to rap President Barack Obama for his measured reaction to the crisis in Iran, which McCain said was inadequate in its support for the protestors of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's contested re-election.

Appearing on C-Span's Washington Journal on Tuesday morning, the Arizona Republican said that when it came to Iran, Obama response "has not been enough."

Saying that he expected Obama to "come out more strongly" during his press conference on Tuesday, McCain urged the man who defeated him in the 2008 campaign to "follow the example of our founding fathers that declared that all of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights."

"Sen. Daniel Webster, when the Greeks rose up against the Turks in 1823, I would love to give you the full quote, but he said it is our duty to stand up for people who are struggling for freedom," McCain said. "That is what America is."

As for George Washington's famous farewell address, warning of the perils of foreign entanglements, McCain did not mention it.

The line pushed by McCain has become the de-facto Republican criticism of Obama since the crisis in Iran began. The president has expressed his concern with the rising violence in the country as well as the obvious inaccuracies in the presidential vote. But he has avoided outright support for the seating of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi.

The measured manner of Obama's response, while criticized by some, has been described as essential by many foreign policy observers. On Monday night, Time Magazine's Joe Klein applauded the president for his approach. And when asked about earlier McCain's remarks, he urged the Arizona Republican to stop talking.

"Be quiet," said Klein. "You don't need to do this. You know? You know what you're doing is a self-indulgent at this point. Sen. McCain, if he's going to talk about this, should also talk about the fact that the United States supported Saddam Hussein in the Iran/Iraq war for eight years. Every one of those protesters out in the streets, every last one of them believes the United States supplied Saddam Hussein with the poison gas that has debilitated tens of thousands of Iranian men."

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Comments

[hhayden]

12:19 PM on 07/01/2009

"Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket . . . because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, natural gas, you name it. . . . Whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money, and they will pass that [cost] on to consumers."

In the same interview, Obama suggested that his energy policy would require the ruin of the coal industry. "If somebody wants to build a coal-fired plant, they can," he told the Chronicle. "It's just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

The justification for inflicting all this financial misery, of course, is the onrushing catastrophe of human-induced global warming -- a catastrophe that can be prevented only if we abandon the carbon-based fuels on which most of the prosperity and productivity of modern life depend. But what if that looming catastrophe isn't real? What if climate change has little or nothing to do with human activity? What if enacting cap-and-trade means incurring excruciating costs in exchange for infinitesimal benefits?

Hush, says Obama. Don't ask such questions. And don't listen to anyone who does. "There is no longer a debate about whether carbon pollution is placing our planet in jeopardy," he declared in his Saturday remarks. "It's happening."

[middlemoderate]

08:22 PM on 06/26/2009

McCain is Mr bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. Get serious. He is a dangerous neocon.

[hhayden]

05:29 PM on 06/30/2009

How come only liberals are allowed off the cuff comments in jest? Y'all (Yous guys for our Northern friends) said Reagan would lead us into war and he just lead us into more peace.

[hhayden]

05:09 AM on 07/01/2009

According to Wackypedia - Neoconservatism is a political philosophy that emerged in the United States, and which supports using American economic and military power to bring liberalism, democracy, and human rights to other countries. Unlike traditional conservatives, neoconservatives are generally comfortable with a minimally-bureaucratic welfare state; and, while generally supportive of free markets, they are willing to interfere for overriding social purposes.

You might reconcied who is the neocon these days.

[sugarfree]

04:53 PM on 06/26/2009

John McCain -> SHUT-UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

[hhayden]

05:31 PM on 06/30/2009

Too much free speech for you to handle? If anyone needs to shut up for two seconds it's Obama, but I wouldn't call for that.

[timmcveighjr]

04:50 AM on 06/26/2009

bomb bomb momb, bomb bomb iran

'come on, everybody!'

bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran ......

[freeUSofcorp]

03:18 AM on 06/26/2009

Try not to practice fear based living instead of relaxing from the heart. Remember the heart pumps blood to the brain, maintaining a healthy functioning brain. Cut it off, shut the door in fear and you have a non-functioning brain. Any insult you think you give liberals about functioning from the heart is really just a compliment.
I want a calm centered brain leading our country, not a fearful, freaking out, control-freak brain.
Greed makes those in control push fear mongering on the weak masses.
Let me break it down, slowly, Obama did not create havoc. It has been mass produced for a very long time. Obama is trying to slow it down but like all in charge of the most powerful country in the world, many forces are against him, including some he put in power.

[MyGuyO]

02:25 AM on 06/26/2009

Senator McCain.....Ho, hum...Are you still awake?.

[Fareed Cader]

01:32 AM on 06/26/2009

Whenever Israelis massacre Palestinians he is mum but he loves Iranian people because they have oil and gas.

[NeverADullMoment]

11:25 PM on 06/25/2009

I can't stand John McCain's insipid and sanctimonious spew. Ugggghhhh!!!

[jinxed]

02:26 AM on 06/26/2009

I think that is why he didn't get elected, everybody is sick and tired of the warmongering and saber rattling...for God's sake, stay out of it. If we side with the protesters too much we'll sink any chance they have at legitimacy...do you suppose that's what the Repubs want? After all, they favored Ahmedinijad.

[hhayden]

05:46 PM on 06/30/2009

I think it's six of one and half a dozen of another. McCain wasn't saber rattling, just standing up for a free and fair election.

[rzan1]

05:27 AM on 06/26/2009

That sanctimonious tone is what I hate. It masks incredible ignorance. He needs to shut the F up.

[hhayden]

05:48 PM on 06/30/2009

Only radical liberal voices allowed? Why do you fear what he has to say?

[Dustee]

11:03 PM on 06/25/2009

With McCain, I guess we would be on war three (North Korea) and four (Iran) by now. And P ali n would be looking for both places on the map.

[marco01]

11:20 PM on 06/25/2009

Don't forget Syria

LOL, Palin

[hhayden]

05:54 PM on 06/30/2009

I suspect you would have guessed wrong. At least she didn't think that FDR appeared on TV. There are plenty of examples of misspeaks to go around.

[jackoat04]

10:06 PM on 06/25/2009

Who cares what John McCain has to say, we voted for Obama, not McCain.

[DLazar1]

11:49 PM on 06/25/2009

And 58 million voters cast their ballot for McCain. No small number. Bill Clinton wished he had that many votes.

[nbanflfan]

12:09 AM on 06/26/2009

Don't think so. As I recall, PRESIDENT Bill Clinton got more than enough votes, TWICE! SENATOR McCain needs to sit down, shut up and learn from PRESIDENT Obama about diplomacy. The people of Iran have to determine their own future; thank God we have a man in the WH that is smart enough to know the right time to intercede. Empty threats are useless and wrongheaded bullying can make the situation far worse.

[MyGuyO]

02:27 AM on 06/26/2009

That's right. We voted for Obama, but Senator McCain didn't get the message. I suppose he still thinks he is in the running.

[argon66]

02:38 AM on 06/26/2009

Someone tell BO that he has won the election....he is still campaigning

[KCRoger]

09:09 PM on 06/25/2009

I used to respect John McCain. He was the lone Republican who had the courage to speak out against Bush's policies - long before the rest of the GOP tried to distance itself from Bush. Now, he's just another GOP puppet. Their strategy is clear: criticize Obama at every opportunity and don't worry about the fact that you don't have any better ideas yourself.

[hhayden]

05:59 PM on 06/30/2009

Just because your ideas are ignored, doesn't mean you don't have them. Obama likes to say that the only choices are to do nothing or do things his way. There are may, many more options and ideas.

[NEANDERTHALL]

08:55 PM on 06/25/2009

Just shut it McCain!

[DLazar1]

11:51 PM on 06/25/2009

Why didn't anyone say that to Democrat Senators for the eight years Bush was President? This is what United States Senators do . . . they express their opinions. They influence the debate, and often, actually, they improve the decision process across the aisle.

[hhayden]

06:02 PM on 06/30/2009

Putting yourself a bit high on the evolutionary scale are you?

[JonW]

08:03 PM on 06/25/2009

Thanks be to the All-mighty that we didn't elect 'Boom-Boom" McCain. You use to have some stature , Johhny boy when you were not suckling the right-wing T**. Time to retire--you've had a good run.
Don't screw up your legacy anymore than you did with the Alaska babe!!

[DLazar1]

11:51 PM on 06/25/2009

Sexists!

[hhayden]

06:04 PM on 06/30/2009

Apparerntly it's ok if you are a liberal.

[MyGuyO]

02:29 AM on 06/26/2009

And just think, he will be running for re-election to the senate in 2010.
I just cannot fathom that.

[RuWii]

07:39 PM on 06/25/2009

These aren't Republican's they are Republicants.

what Republicant:
recognize global warming
recognize scientific thought
fix the economy
fix the health care system
fix our election system
fix a bridge
fix a levy
help a drowning city
make america look like a good place to live.

what Republican:
allow their rich friends to cheat the system
raise the big boats and sink the little ones
spend all your tax dollars on other peoples countries.

[Hopeington]

10:44 PM on 06/25/2009

Bravo

[marco01]

11:17 PM on 06/25/2009

Nice

[Jim281]

07:33 PM on 06/25/2009

In all due respect, Senator John McCain LOST the election. We the people, are NO LONGER INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM HIM!!!!

Mr. McCain used to be highly respected for his strong moral drive, and ability to "cross-the-aisle", and break the stalemate in the senate, driven by his strong principles. When the votes were counted, my honest hope was that now, the "Karl Rove" McCain would disappear, and the "real deal" McCain would re-emerge in the senate.

WRONG!!!!!

Any number of educated and informed observers of the crisis in Iran clearly agree that President Obama has been doing EXACTLY the most brilliant thing he can. HE HAS "NOT BITTEN" ON THE BAIT!!!

The so-called "Supreme Leader" (and no, not Diana Ross) would like nothing more than to have some LEGITIMIT excuse to blame the USA for the apparent collapse of the Iranian government.

President Obama has voiced an appropriate level of condemnation for the violence, while poining out (Accurately!!) that Iran must figure out this mess internally.

The reluctance of the USA to intevene, or interfere, is to be lauded! Clear evidence that the Obama Administration knows how to lead, and has no interest in perpetuating the defunct political conflicts that were at the core of Bush II.

[rightfromwrong]

08:18 PM on 06/25/2009

the iranian govt isnt collapsing. in fact, its business as usual. they have denounced the protestors to nothng more than soccer hooligans riled up after their team loses.

america is hyping this up. you are broadcasting your hopes and wishes instead of fact. first it was opinion, then it was speculation. notw its imagination. they are on tv talking about what they would like to see happen. thats imagination run wild.

the facts are. ahmadenijah won anyway. they just didnt think it would be by that much or that soon? which is a farce in itself put forth by the US. we knew obama won three hrs after our election, somehow they couldnt have a general consensus of who won3 hours later??
the US is the one who have brainwashed you into deminishing the govt of iran. isnt that a common pattern? you delegitimize any govt you dont get along with

[KCRoger]

09:03 PM on 06/25/2009

40 million Iranian votes were cast by paper ballot, yet they declared the winner within hours after the polls closed. Mousavi lost even in his home town, in spite of massive rallies throughout Iran prior to the election. If you think Ahmadinajad won, you're deluded.

[FutureVizions]

01:23 AM on 06/26/2009

Your suggestion that Iran's election results must be authentic if ours were doesn't hold water: ours were done mostly by computer, while theirs were done completely by paper. To understand the distinction, consider your comment posted here by computer almost immediately- but if sent via paper, it would take much longer!

With the vast majority of votes cast electronically and counted almost instantly, it wasn't a giant leap of logic for the US media to UNOFFICIALLY declare Obama won the US election around 11pm EASTERN... within minutes of the last polls closing in CA around 8pm PACIFIC. The OFFICIAL e-count showed that if EVERY uncounted paper ballot was for John McCain, he still couldn't have overtaken Obama's lead. But paper ballots took DAYS to be fully counted before OFFICIAL final results were available from some states!

Now consider that Iran had about TEN TIMES as many paper ballots to count as the US, ALL their polling places opened and closed at the exact same time across the country, and NO computers were used. It took DAYS to count a fraction of the paper ballots in some states in our country... but in Iran it took only 3 hours?!? Must be some fast counters in that country... which implies, at the least, they may be highly inaccurate.

[DLazar1]

11:59 PM on 06/25/2009

Europe didn't have a problem stating a case for human rights. They didn't exercise restraint . . . but called on the Iranian government to hold an honest election and to stop the killing of peaceful protesters. No one advocates going into Iran and bombing it. George Bush didn't even advocate that. It's Israel who is threatening to bomb Iran (a trick they used on Bush with Iraq - saying they would go into Iraq if the US didn't intervene . . . blah blah . . . and the Neo-con's pushed Bush into it . . . and thank God . . . the Neo-con's are now back in the Democrat party again where they belong.