Truth Alert: McCain's Freudian Slip is Showing (and Very Telling)
At the same time that former West Wingers Brad Whitford and Richard Schiff were stepping forward to say that they too had heard John McCain say that he didn't vote for George Bush in 2000, McCain was grabbing a shovel and digging himself deeper with yet another denial.
Appearing on The O'Reilly Factor, McCain told O'Reilly, "I voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004."
But on the way to that unequivocal refutation, his unconscious mind jumped up, started waving its hands and yelled: "Not so fast!"
O'REILLY: Did you vote for President bush?MCCAIN: Of course not. I campaigned all over this country for him.
As dear old Dr. Freud would tell you, the unconscious is a powerful thing. And the new, do-and-say-anything-to-be-president McCain clearly couldn't keep the old, give-it-to-you-straight McCain - and the truth - from slipping out. "Of course not."
There was another interesting wrinkle in the McCain/O'Reilly Bush vote exchange: after asserting that he'd twice voted for Bush, McCain added, "And not only that, far more important than a vote, I campaigned everywhere in America for him." [emphasis added]
Do I see a fallback position coming? "Okay, look my friends, I was angry, I was contemptuous of him, I knew I was better than him, he'd attacked my family, and I couldn't bring myself to pull the lever next to his name. But I campaigned everywhere in America for him - and that's far more important than one little vote, right? Right? Isn't it..? My friends..?
Check out the video and transcript below.
UPDATE: I've said before that when it comes to the love affair between John McCain and the media, old loves die hard. The latest proof of this comes courtesy of The New Republic's Michael Crowley. Faced with the mounting evidence that McCain is lying about not saying that he didn't vote for Bush, Crowley scrapes the bottom of the logic barrel and wonders: "Is it possible McCain was talking to Arianna about the Arizona primary?"
Talk about bending over backwards to give McCain some wiggle room! The media-McCain dynamic is pure high school: the nerds are always so grateful when one of the jocks is nice to them.
Transcript:
O'REILLY: OK. Arianna Huffington says you didn't vote for Bush in 2000. She's one of these people who is going to come after you.
MCCAIN: Yes.
O'REILLY: On her website yesterday, somebody blogged that you collaborated with the North Vietnamese, and they didn't torture you. This is Arianna Huffington. Now Arianna Huffington flat out said you did not vote for President Bush in 2000.
MCCAIN: What can you say?
O'REILLY: Did you vote for President bush?
MCCAIN: Of course not. I campaigned all over this country for him.
O'REILLY: So you voted for President Bush.
MCCAIN: Of course. I mean, that's a ridiculous question.
O'REILLY: So she lied?
MCCAIN: Well, I don't -- frankly, I do not read Huffington Post. I spare myself from having that experience.
O'REILLY: You voted for Bush in 2000?
MCCAIN: I voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004.
O'REILLY: OK.
MCCAIN: And not only that, far more important than a vote, I campaigned everywhere in America for him.
O'REILLY: (INAUDIBLE).
MCCAIN: I enjoyed it. I campaigned with him. I did everything I could to get him elected and reelected president.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
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I think at this point we get it...A Republican telling the truth is an oxymoron!
If I were McCain, I would be utterly ashamed to publicly admit that I had voted for Dubya in 2000, and then again in 2004. McCain seems to have a short memory. If any man had trashed my family the way that Bush trashed McCain's in 2000, I would have campaigned against him instead of "campaigning everywhere in America" for him. I don't believe that McCain voted for Bush in 2000, because, in his shoes, I wouldn't have voted for him either. McCain seems to have retired the "Straight Talk Express."
"Of course I campaigned for the worst president in the history of the world .... twice even ! "
Watch the extremely awkward reaction from McCain starting at about 22 seconds into the clip. It is really funny if you play it over a few times. Great material for a You Tube creation. How could anybody say," yeah, this is the guy I want to be in charge!" ??? You'd have to be a crazy as McCain to think he's the answer.
I agree. Almost more telling than the slip was his awkwardness while trying to lie.
I don't understand why John McCain would lie about voting for a president with an approval rating in the twenties. Does Huffington really believe that she knows more about McCain's voting record than he does?
....Because not voting for your party's nominee is sacrilegious. Imagine if Obama announced he'd not voted for Kerry, Dukakis, Mondale, etc..... It just isn't done. That's why it's a big deal.
at this point it seems to be more about the cover up than the deed. the fact he seems to be lying about what he said to this group of people is the most damaging.
To those right wing spammers that choose to complain about the HuffPo and liberals, on the HuffPo: tough! You all have been so wrong for so long that it's time, as a course of pure conservative decency, to pull over and let this country go a new direction. Face it--you've had a great chance, and you botched it badly! Now sit down! And before you jump on me for being a liberal--I'm not. I Simply understand words well enough to realize that there has been nothing conservative about the last seven years. Any decent person might say "well...we gave it a shot, but we just keep screwing things up! Let's quit for a while and see if anyone else can figure this out." But not this bunch. They'd rather die trying, and take everyone with them. That's not a sign of intelligence.
John McCain does not have to lie or get caught lying to lose in November. There are factions of his party that are pressuring him to take stances that alienate him with independents, moderates and undecideds. He continues to run as if he's in the primary and they continue to rebuke him. In PA, IN, and NC, over 20% of republicans who took the time to show up at the polls went to that effort to cast a protest vote for Romney, Huckabee or Paul.
And one thing you know, these weren't democrats trying to do a Limbaugh. These were people knowing who the candidate was, knowing who his opponent might be and still taking the time to tell McCain that he wasn't socially or fiscally conservative enough for them.
The GOP demands a lot of their candidates. And especially for a guy like McCain, who has built a reputation for being independent and who could have a shot at winning if he were allowed to be himself, he's allowing his party to pull him off his game (and then they aren't supporting him anyway).
Meanwhile, he's leaving the court wide open for Obama (or Hillary) to move to the center and woo away the moderates.
Funny that McCon so botched the interview with Dill dO'Reilly, practically a photo op- how will McCon stand up to a reporter who isn't totally kissing his ass?
"how will McCon stand up to a reporter who isn't totally kissing his ass?"
First we have to find one.
O'Reilly should have that body language chick he always brings on. I'm sure she'll have something to say about McCain's sincerity in laughing away the topic.
Oops. I forgot. It's Fox News. Nevermind.
ModerateLatino,
O'Lielly did do that.
Deborah at News Hounds covered it here:
http://www.newshounds.us/2008/05/09/fox_campaigns_for_mccain_with_body_language_analysis.php
The News Hounds do good work exposing Fox 'News":
http://www.newshounds.us/
On FN, 'Republics Good, Democrats Bad' is always the mantra.
On re-reading the transcript does anyone else think it odd that he wanted to defend his voting record more than his military record. "What can I say?" this is a very tepid response with laughter.
If i had been a prisoner I would have been angered by questioning my patriotism as a pow
Maybe McCain doesnt really want to go there
McCain said all things can be brought up in the election why shouldnt we bring up his military record.
there are still questions about his service and his being a prisoner and those 32 propaganda releases he reportedly made
after what happened to Kerry i am against it but on the other hand why do demodrats always stay aboe the fray and republicans get dirty and win and steal elections.
I am kind of tired of being the nice guy who finishes last...
OMG Democrats stay above the fray?
Last election you got caught falsifying
documents about Bush's military record.
So far McCain has been accused of
having an affair with a lobbyist. That little
bit of dirt died when there was no proof.
Then he was accused of calling his wife
a c---t.That also died because there was no
proof.Now after being a P.O.W. for five
years, It is being said that it didn't happen.
Please do attack his military record. The
amount of proof of it's validity will be
overwhelming. Not to mention wonderful for his campaign
Because it will put his heroism to the forefront.
It will be a great opportunity to remind the American people.
But i guess to Democrats all this mud slinging
is only dirty when Republicans do it.
Spare me. There doesn't have to be any big lie by Democrats regarding McCain, you certifiable insane GOPERS made enough up about him in 2000. No one is questioning McCain's service. McCain doesn't deserve the Presidency because no Republican deserves the Presidency. After screwing up everything possible (except robbing the Treasury and the Land Trust for themselves and their GOPER cronies) you all need to sit the hell in the corner. And please tell me, where are the original military records of W?
"Last election you got caught falsifying documents about Bush's military record."
You contend that "live" was the person who handed Dan Rather a COPY of an ACTUAL letter? That's some allegation. But that verbal miscue is beside the point. The letter did exist, it was real. However, the Rather letter was not the EXACT letter typed but a FACSIMILE, meaning a copy of the original, identical in every respect. Or is it your contention that copies of the Constitution are meaningless, only the original is legitimate? What about books. None of them are the EXACT article as written by the author. So they, too, are illegitimate. How sad is it that Bush uses his daddy to get out of being drafted into Vietnam and the press gets a hold of a letter to that effect, but the story becomes not the letter, a COPY of the original authenticated by the woman who typed the original, but that the letter is not the original.
That liberal press is SO tricky.
SOT
"Then he was accused of calling his wife
a c---t.That also died because there was no
proof."
WRONG. That story has been verified by others who were there and heard it. Also, he has not denied it; he said he had a long day. Big difference.
This piece of video is manna from heaven. Once the Democrats have selected a nominee McCain will pivot to the general election and move to the political center to attract Independents and moderate Democrats. To do that he must distance himself from an unpopular president who's name and image inspire the need for change.
The Democratic nominee (OK, Barack Obama) will also move to the center and use images of Bush and McCain to define McCain. He will push back, but this video is visual proof that he supports the policies of Bush.
Not according to Arianna Huffington,
He told her he didn't vote for him
remember?
I;m not prepared to call anyone that was at this tea party a liar. Its honestly not a bomb shell story, not by a long shot. Maybe he said it in a joking manner, (ya know, "hey heres the man who campaigned for Bush" Mc: "no no I didn't even vote for the guy" ) I really don't know. Kinda sounds odd that he would campaign trying to convince others to vote for Bush and then deny him a single vote doesn't it? Maybe he said it sarcastically. Maybe he did not say it and those in attendance remember it wrong. Who knows? And who really cares? It was dinner table chatter not a "WMD's in Iraq" statement to a nation. Get a grip for cryin out loud. It was not an " I never had sexual relations with that woman" moment under oath. Nor was it a ( to paraphrase) " I sat in the pews for 20 years and had no Idea Rev. Wright felt these things. I'm just as shocked as you all are" Yea right gimmie a break. I don't give any of them a pass.
I just feel its much ado about err.....not much. What are ya gonna do as President? Thats what I wanna know. Seems to me with Bush's approval ratings where they are, if I were McCain I would have marched Huffington out as my witness that I DID NOT vote for Bush.
I only wish BillO would have grilled him on the Hagee comments against Catholics (BillO is a Catholic).
You are expecting a bit much from BillO.
Dullboy is a well-paid pundit... Catholic is just a cover, like Evangelical is a cover for Hagee.
Hillary's Pinocchio nose is starting to pale in comparison to McCain's. Come on, corporate-owned news media, when are you going to show us the light?
The media did show us the light. McCains demeanor said "I am lying, I am lying" Look how he squirms, just look. I see what I see no matter what anyone would say. McCain is a liar.
When the election campaign starts the MSM will not be so kind to him anymore.
I love this freakin' video. John MCCain seems so unhinged with his bizarre cackling and wiggling around. To say he "enjoyed" campaigning and "did everything I could to get him elected"? The president who has The Worse public confidence rating? EVER?
Notice that he didn't flat out say that's it's a lie. If someone spoke a lie about me I'd say "it's a LIE" in no uncertain terms. He basically didn't answer any of BO questions directly.
Which leads me to the ever obnoxious BO. He doesn't seem too pleased with Chuckles McCain. You get the sense that even he realizes that this will bite McCain in the ass later.
This video will be the gift that keeps on giving.
What difference does it make who John McCaine voted for. He is a Neo-Con_ Man......so why bother with him. If you leftists would spend a little more time on soaring food and gas prices and other
living expenses then running McCaine and Hillary down, she is history , sorry to say, he was
always and is history. So why don't we complain a little more about our pocket book , or are we so rich that we can afford to fill the pockets of these rich greedy oil barons. All congressmen and senators who
are in bed with tthat greedy bunch , should see their last term in Washington.
It speaks to 1) his honesty 2) whether or not he agrees/supports (ie votes) for GWB policies. This could be a problem for him if only because it provides "talking points" to the Democratic candidate.
Unfortunately we need to bother with him because he is the man to beat. So if he provides fuel to do that, it's all good.
Who would be left?
New Rule:
John McCain can not play poker. He will bankrupt his wife. He has more tells than a 5 year old.
Also, he can not ever, ever be out in charge of defending the constitution as he has clearly said the one person vote is not worth much, that its much more important to stay in 5 Star hotels and yap on TV.
What a nitwit.
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