A McCain Moment: Do You Want Four More Years of This?

If our polarized country can agree on one thing, it's that the greatest danger facing America over the next decade will not be Islamic extremism and instability in the Middle East, but rather Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. That's just "common knowledge," right?

So it only makes sense that the media have focused non-stop on this looming threat while paying scant attention to the fact that the presumptive Republican nominee for president apparently doesn't have a clue about what's going on in the Middle East.

And with the U.S. death toll hitting 4,000 (with 25 American soldiers killed over the last two weeks, the deadliest fortnight for our troops since September 2007), and with another 57 people killed in Iraq yesterday, John McCain's tenuous grasp on what is happening in the region becomes all the more worthy of attention.

For those who were too busy watching Rev. Jeremiah Wright damn America for the 10,000th time to hear about McCain, let's review: at a stop in Jordan last week, McCain made the ludicrous claim that Al Qaeda insurgents were being trained in Iran*. Asked again about it, he dug in deeper, claiming it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known."

A few moments later, McCain's chief lady in waiting, Joe Lieberman, leaned forward and whispered in his ear. McCain promptly offered a quick rewrite: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."

Now, it's been widely reported that, heading into the Iraq war, George Bush had no clue about the differences between Sunni and Shia. But that was 2003, and it was George Bush. This is five years later and we're talking about John McCain. But it turns out this acclaimed foreign policy expert doesn't know the difference between Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Sunni insurgents, Iran and Syria. Or, perhaps more charitably, he's doesn't care to know.

Yes, John McCain is a war hero, and yes, we're all grateful for his service during the Vietnam war. But as McCain's embarrassing foreign fact-finding fiascos make clear: having acted heroically in a foreign war does not magically translate into foreign policy expertise and judgment.

Yet every time McCain packs a suitcase, the press automatically anoints him as "presidential." They dutifully did it on this latest trip, even though it came just under a year after McCain's clownish stroll through a Baghdad market, which he declared proof that one could "walk freely" around Baghdad -- while being guarded by three Blackhawk helicopters, two Apache gunships, and 100 armed soldiers.

The fact that the presumptive Republican nominee doesn't grasp the general outlines in Iraq would seem to be a big story. But not to the mainstream media. As soon as they heard that the Straight Talk Express had run off the road, they sprang into action to get the wreckage out of view. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

To the Washington Post, it was just a "gaffe." CNN let stand the McCain campaign's assertion that he had just "misspoke." Brit Hume, senior member of the McCain Support Team, brushed it off as "blip," and a "senior moment." (Of course, Hume had a very different take on "senior moments" when it came to Jack Murtha.)

Not content with excuses, one of McCain's foreign policy advisors, Max Boot, decided to tout the "misstatement": "What gaffe?" Boot asked, going on to claim, "there is copious evidence of Iran supplying and otherwise assisting Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni terrorist groups (including Al Qaeda central). The 9/11 Commission itself noted a number of links between Iran and Al Qaeda." And McCain senior foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann claimed there is "ample documentation" for this.

This would be news to Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno. In July, Odierno, then the No. 2 commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said, "We don't see any evidence, significant evidence, that shows that [Iranian-controlled] groups that are funding and providing arms to Shia extremists are directly related to al Qaeda."

No matter, because as Brit Hume says, "we all agree that McCain has understanding and knowledge of world affairs."

Sorry, Brit, but we don't all agree. In fact, we don't all agree at all.

Yes, McCain loves to talk about war. He loves to talk about "service," and "character," and "sacrifice" -- which are all great things. But McCain's version of foreign policy is simply rah-rah melodrama. It's like watching a John Wayne movie.

This was no gaffe. A gaffe would be something that was out of the ordinary. This is the opposite of a gaffe. This is evidence. And it's evidence we should not ignore. We already know what it's like to have a president who just assumes that whichever way he wants things to be is "common knowledge." It turns out that it's not just George Bush's war that McCain wants to continue; it's George Bush's approach.

Does the country want another George Bush in the White House? Voters should at least be given all the facts so they can make that decision for themselves. The problem is that the media have got an image in their creaky narrative machines about John McCain and they're sticking to it. It's much easier to just present the tried-and-true version of McCain that that has prevailed since 2000 instead of presenting the new McCain as he's become: cavalier, dismissive, and lazy about the facts.

John McCain doesn't need surrogates. He's got the media. Which is why his "gaffe" wasn't bigger news. Doyle McManus, Washington bureau chief of the L.A. Times explained it this way on Face the Nation yesterday (as Harry Shearer noted on HuffPost): "Iraq wasn't what was on voters' minds." Unlike the sermons of Jeremiah Wright.

Sometimes, the reason why McCain's dangerously tenuous grasp on the facts doesn't strike the media as odd is because they believe the same thing. Here's a video of CNN's Kyra Phillips pushing the same Iran/al Qaeda nonsense in an interview with Gen. Petraeus. To his credit, the General sets her straight.

I know one thing that might have made the media play McCain's "misstatement" bigger: if it had been uttered by a Democrat. As NBC's Chuck Todd pointed out, if Clinton or Obama had said such a thing "this would have been played on a loop, over and over."

And it's hard to claim it's all just because the public is bored with Iraq and prefers a good story about incendiary pastors. If that's true, why was there no feeding frenzy about Rev. John Hagee, the bigoted minister who endorsed McCain, partly because McCain's foreign policy fits neatly into Hagee's apocalyptic (and I'm not speaking metaphorically) worldview? Again, the media rushed to let McCain off the hook, even though, as Hagee himself said in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, "McCain's campaign sought my endorsement."

You can count me as one who actually does have Iraq on my mind and who wants the next president to have a mind capable of understanding it -- and a thirst to do so. As his trip to Iraq makes clear, McCain is not a candidate who has crossed that threshold.

* This sentence originally read "...at a stop in Jordan last week, McCain made the ludicrous claim that Al Qaeda insurgents were being trained in Syria." Thanks to the Weekly Standard's Michael Goldfarb for pointing out my "senior moment," which led to a copy editing lapse. McCain did mention Syria, but it was his repeated claims about Iran that were ludicrous.

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Comments

[shelobo]

I agree with your comments,the only problem I have with McCain is he IS exploiting the hero bit.We have over FOUR THOUSAND HERO'S DEAD ,and McCain wants Americans to believe he 'McCain' cares about those HERO'S?No I can't go along with HIS hero story as a campaign platform . One live hero from another WAR mistake does not make up FOUR THOUSAND DEAD HERO'S,from ANOTHER MAJOR MISTAKE !! I'd vote for Mickey Mouse before I would McCain !!Doesn't anyone remember Mickey shooting Iran the finger back in the 'old' days?I do and I also remember the other 'mistake' that cost this country so many lives !!How can McCain even think it's OK for our youth of today ,to die for ANOTHER MISTAKE by a war mongering president !!!

[Lane]

"the only problem I have with McCain"

you're kidding right??? The biggest problem with McCain is that he is a Republican! God help us all if he gets elected and puts more republicans in the supreme court!! I can't even imagine our econoy if we continue this occupation of Iraq. I don't care who wins the Dem nomination, I will vote for them just to get us back on a sane track!!!!!

[MAurelius]

God forbid we have more justices who think that much of our legal can be derived from the actual text of the Constitution.

[NeoOilygarch]

My thoughts are that these types of "miss-statements", which at least came from the bottom of his heart as his actual organic belief, as opposed to other Hillarious "miss-statements" which were other than genuine and with the intent to self-aggrandize, inflate and deceive... ...my anticipation is that these "miss-statements" will only increase as his age continues to increase and if he is so lucky as his living mom, break the charts.

His views are likely to be stale, from day one; probably do not align with the mean or median cross-section of the American people. The GOP probably acquiesced to the realization that with the tidal wave brought forth by the course of events the GOP has created, that Senator McCain would be a "face-saving" sacrificial lamb for this go-around.

[NeoOilygarch]

Not really.

Though we all have our moments, as well as our secrets, the warm-fuzziness factor, which he tries like h-ll to infuse through his voice demeanor is overridden by his lack of knowledge of world affairs as evidenced by blanket statements such as these: "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known."

This is an insult to Iraqis, Iranians, all muslims, al-Qaida and worse of all, to the American people. That he would be representing Americans in probably the most influential of world state positions, and that his outlook would serve as baseline to determine his decisioning process and courses of action towards future peace or conflicts is very disconcerting. Now, just add hubris as an embedded initial condition and supremacy over all else as the ultimate goal and we got a recipe for further disaster.

Although he is a better environmentalist than most republicans, even some democrats. He tends to be a bit nuclear for my taste though.

[mockiave11i]

"Yes, John McCain is a war hero, and yes, we're all grateful for his service during the Vietnam war."
Excuse me.... He was shot down on a mission to bomb civilian targets in an unjustifiable war. As a prisoner of war, he cracked under torture and cooperated with his captors. You may be grateful but I'm appalled.
Following a corrupt doctrine doesn't make him a hero, it makes him a stooge. And in the new millenium, the biggest stooge gets to be president. We are doomed.

[MAurelius]

Are you really willing to get on that moral high horse? You clearly have no understanding of just war theory, and your moral self-righteousness about “cracking” under torture shows an ignorant self-righteousness.

McCain was bombing military targets. Civilians might well have been killed in the process, but they were not the target and their loss was proportionate to the military targets. The doctrine of double effect is well accepted in both just war theory and in the laws of war.

As far as the justice of the war, that was the domain of America’s elected representatives and the American people who elected them. In traditional just war theory, political decision makers hold moral responsibility for the just cause of war. Military leaders have responsibility for just conduct of tactical actions within the war. It is called the jus ad bellum / jus in bello distinction.

Your most egregious charge is that McCain cooperated with his captors. Most POWs in the Hanoi Hilton. In fact, nearly all people subjected to extreme forms of prolonged torture “crack.” McCain did give information, often the information consisting of lies he made up to his captors. Are you positive that you would have lasted even the five years that he did?

You need not support the man’s politics or candidacy, but unless you have spent five years subjected to extreme physical torture and can say confidently that you resisted to the end, I would suggest that you suspend your moral judgments.

[mockiave11i]

But I'm not running for the White House and I did not recently vote to endorse torture as an acceptable tactic. McCain is an outrageous hypocrite. (see also: Keating, Charles)
Truth be damned; we'd all be telling them whatever we imagined they wanted, inside a month. He, of all people, must understand that the use of torture is a brutal and unreliable Intelligence Gathering Tool.
When I consider what the use of torture can achieve, I perceive only a brutal and effective Behaviour Modification Tool. Wow. Abu Graib made me puke. I cannot support that.. at.. all. Ever. Not even a little tiny bit. It diminishes us all.
I respect McCain for surviving a most horrific ordeal. I'm totally awestruck about all that. But I'm not going to vote to see him take on the most stressful job in the world, afterwards. I can see where too many things might go wrong.

"And in the end, we have lost, for we have proved crueller than our foe."

[shelobo]

You are SO RIGHT !!

[kae]

"We already know what it's like to have a president who just assumes that whichever way he wants things to be is "common knowledge." It turns out that it's not just George Bush's war that McCain wants to continue; it's George Bush's approach."

Bush's approach WILL determine the next election. Just watched a video recommended by another poster called "Uncounted - The New Math of American Elections. (RE: video - I would like to know ALL states that will be using paperless voting this NOV). Please go watch it on you tube, it's 1 1/2 hours but necessary viewing. The media makes apologies for McCain then quickly tosses to a Rev. Wright clip. They will not bring up McCain's faults but continually show us the democrats fighting. We're so anxious and distracted awaiting the next corporate indebted president that we are not looking while Bush finishes robbing us all. Now they are hinting at Ms. Rice as vice president?! Doesn't that just reek of "Bush's approach"? We are screwed:)

[WheredidIleavemyteeth]

We are screwed if Billary and the media give this away to McCain.

7 years of a man who has lost his mind to 4-8 years of a man very likely to lost his. He'll be 72 when he's sworn in and 76 (or possibly 80) when he leaves office.

"Non-verbal memory impairments are also considered to be a common cognitive deficit associated with aging. Control and maintenance of attention and immediate memory can be affected in normal aging individuals. With regards to the language abilities associated with normal aging, it has been found that vocabulary and verbal reasoning remain unchanged or may improve during the aging process. However, the ability to generate words declines at a faster rate than confrontation naming which is the ability to name objects. This is particularly true with advancing age beginning in the 70s."

http://memory.ucsf.edu/Education/Topics/normalaging.html

Just what we need in a Commander in Chief inheriting this botched occupation we routinely refer to as the "War in Iraq".

[WheredidIleavemyteeth]

Non-verbal memory impairments are also considered to be a common cognitive deficit associated with aging. Control and maintenance of attention and immediate memory can be affected in normal aging individuals. With regards to the language abilities associated with normal aging, it has been found that vocabulary and verbal reasoning remain unchanged or may improve during the aging process. However, the ability to generate words declines at a faster rate than confrontation naming which is the ability to name objects. This is particularly true with advancing age beginning in the 70s.

http://memory.ucsf.edu/Education/Topics/normalaging.html

Scare anyone else?

[cafemocha]

Spot on about Senator McGaffe. It is most refreshing to see many people on this website unwilling to allow his supporters to use his military service as a "fast pass" to the front of the line for the presidency. Indeed, he is one very tragic figure, forever to regret his decision to choose prison instead of freedom in North Viet Nam. Ever since his release and unprecedented 45 minute recovery from 5 years in prison, he's been longing to return to battle and vanquish the demon that haunts him to this day - that his failure to return to the fight might have cost the USA the war: "...for the loss of the pilot, the battle was lost, for the loss of the battle, the war was lost...". While it is appropriate to pity him for his agonies of past and present, it'd be better for all if he were to step aside, and stop this staggering and bumbling as he cruises towards the republican convention. Let better minds take the reins (okay, it is doubtful to many that such minds exist in his party). But instead we are in for even more scary times. Guard your loved ones while he issues McCain Quatrains like Nostradamus in prophesy, "There's going to be more wars, I'm sorry to tell you this, there's going to be more wars". A McCain presidency will bring early, brutal death to many undeserving people abroad and at home. He's already told us so.

[sqwerl]

To all that have a question about mccains heroism. It wasn't him sitting in a cell, or missing the anti-war movement, it comes from his decision to stay with his men instead of being released for political reasons. He chose to be equal.

[couch2000]

To everyone that Loves this country i think we owe it to all the dead Soldiers that give there life for this great country to rise up against these Anti Ameriacn left wingers like Obama and J Wright, Obama is anti american, he is not what he is telling everyone, just look at the people around him, when his wife said she just now started to love her country i can just see a tear run down those soldiers face that give there life for this country, and if they could here one of Wrights Sermon they would turn over in there grave, we should rise up against these guys and make swiftboat look like a picnic, shame on you Obama and Wright and all the anti american people around you.

[kamldp]

If you would like to help stop the potential rush to McCain's side by voters, perhaps you should stop using ridiculous headlines when talking about the Dems. If I only read headlines I'd think Barack Obama was as big a liar as Hillary Clinton. Don't print headlines like they are facts, time and time again the headline has been easily proven wrong within a day or two but all the people who saw the original sensational headline don't necessarily see the follow up.

[shelobo]

Yes like the headline where Clintons 'camp' said Obama was never a professor ,and the school CORRECTED them on it? Oh yes we gotta watch those MIS-LEADING headlines .........

[researcher]

"Yes, John McCain is a war hero, and yes, we're all grateful for his service during the Vietnam war."

you just proved my point about americans by calling mc cain a hero for fighting in a illegal war in vietnam that is the very definition of imperialism.

one can only hope the iraqis will have the ability to kick american's war mongering butts out of their country.

not everyone is grateful for mc cain bombing vietnamese just most war mongering imperialist americans are grateful.

where is jane fonda when america needs her. a true american war hero. she tried to stop that other illegal war and war mongerng americans came down on her. go figure. and who will god look kindly upon jane fonda or mc war.

[MAurelius]

Again, I would suggest you study the jus ad bellum / jus in bello distinction. McCain did exactly what a soldier should do. He observed the military subordination to the civilian government that lends our Republic its stability. The moral responsibility for choosing the wars we fight, right or wrong, lies not with the military but with our elected officials, and by extension, the American public who elects them. When you can comment more intelligently on both our form of government and just war theory, you may be able to contribute something more meaningful.

[researcher]

america deserves a mc war or is it mc same or a mc pain. he wants to make up for his feeling of losing vietnam. no surrender for this man. he would have killed every man woman and child in north vietnam to win that illegal war.

americans did not learn from vietnam so now they have iraq. iraq will bleed them slowly to economic self destruction. startting to see that now with federal reserve printing money to save banks.

oh the price of imperialism and war mongering could not have happened to a more deserving country after killing over one million vietnamese. war mongering america is history as the dollar falls and the price of food and gas sky rockets. dollar worth .63 euro oh ya.

dumb americans will be told by the capitalists that this is good for the economy and they will believe it.

even the american media is imperialists. bye america super power bully nice knowing ya. the next super power will be china while americans beg china for more and more money. americans have become beggers in the world for money and oil. suckers.

bye bye ignorant middle class reagan screwed you good while you lined up to vote for him. deregulation will wipe out the middle class in america while they looked for terrorists and socialists under their beds.

ike warned them but no one listened.

[YvonneH]

Aaahhh, great post, Arianna! No worries though............. McCain will never be elected president!!! He was destined to lose this from the start....

[andj]

I used to respect Mccain - but there are some things that shouldn't be joked about by a presidential candidate - particularly after looking at the destruction, lives lost, and all the suffering in Iraq.

So here he is singing about bombing Iran ................ need I say anything more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAzBxFaio1I

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Correcto Mundo.

[Manx]

Another great post! If American Idol's Simon Cowell was a political judge of candidates for the presidency, he might say to the media about McCain:

"I don't think he's as good as you think he is."

[hu.man]

Rather than focusing on what we don't want, which is McCain and what he is going to do in Iraq, how about focusing on what we DO want. What is the post-Bush Iraq plan?

The Democrats are running the danger of running a populist position on the war up the flag and having it get torn into pieces by Republicans in November. The public wants to end the war and bring the troops home. But is this a realistic and practical solution to the current state of affairs?

There is a real danger of losing the election to McCain if Democrats don't articulate a clear and workable alternative to the current Iraq policy. If the perceived public anger toward Iraq policy is real, then Republicans will not only lose the presidential elections but might just as well be finished as a political party because the damage in congressional elections will be irreversible.

Politicians are survivors. I don't see Republicans self-destructing like this. True, they are taking a huge risk with backing the war. But imagine if the war has a successful outcome. Then what will be the future of Democrats who are constantly beating the drums of opposition without providing a cohesive long-term foreign policy alternative.