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

Comments

[TheShadow]

"They call him Flipper...­Flipper...­.."

Grampy's gills are showing.

[realtalk]

I HAVE TO STRONGLY CAUTION ALL OBAMA SUPPORTERS WHOSE STATES HAVE NOT YET VOTED, PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE WHEN YOUR VOTING DATE ARRIVES. THE RACE IS NOT OVER, SO DO NOT BUY INTO WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING. THEY ARE GIVING OFF A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY.

IF THE MEDIA ARE ABLE TO GET OBAMA'S VOTERS TO STAY AT HOME, WITH THE FALSE SENSE THAT OBAMA HAS ALREADY WON, HILLARY WILL WALK OFF WITH THE NOMINATION, BECAUSE YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT HILLARY IS TELLING HER SUPPORTERS TO GO OUT AND VOTE.

OBAMA SUPPORTERS, THIS RACE IS NOT DONE UNTIL ALL THE VOTING IN EVERY STATE IS DONE.
SO OBAMA VOTERS GET OUT AND VOTE, NO MATTER WHAT THE MEDIA SAYS, OBAMA NEEDS ALL YOUR VOTES, THIS RACE IS NOT OVER UNTIL ALL THE STATES HAVE VOTED!!!

[Lazyeye]

You are saying real. This is exactly the game the media plays and is playing now. Obama voters, keep your eye on the prize. Go out and vote in the remaining primaries.

[CTotti]

Arianna,

I can't be sure if you planned this all along, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

- Stating that McCain didn't vote for Bush, CLEVER
- McCain denying it, STUPID
- Witnesses corroborating your story, ASTUTE
- Getting McCain to rant on TV about how much he loves the most unpopular President of all time, PRICELESS!

Some decisions in life you can live with, but for everyone else's sake, don't vote McCain.

Thank You :)

[wmbear]

I AGREE...

Ariana really got a rise out of McCain and put him on the defensive in a way that the affair-wit­h-the-lobb­yist, calling his wife a bad name, a major bigot announcing support of him, giving Bush an "I wuv you" hug on national TV, and a host of other things couldn't seem to do. This actually turns out to be pretty major. I guess you never know what's going to work until you try everything­....

[unscum]

It's great, when it first came out last week I didn't think this story would have legs. But we have to be persistent. The mainstream media still treats McCain like some kind of Saint. Obama has to be extra careful. For one of Obama's gaff, it seems McCain can afford perhaps 5 gaffs before it will be picked up by the MSM.

[john85msy]

Wow!

[RedBrown]

Watch the strange gestures as McCain says "what can you say..." at 22 sec. into it. It should be looped and You Tubed! Can somebody out there do this? It would be better than Dean's famous yell! It really looks like he is disturbed.­..This could really be funny.

[Johnsnottoodistracted]

Keep in mind this is the "best" that sewage splattered group has to offer.

[folksonomy]

I wasn't even going to bother watching him, nay, I couldn't stomach hearing and watching, but I took your advice and watched for the 22 second mark. What the heck is he doing? Doesn't seem a natural guffaw at all.

Ew.

[llozano]

Let's just say for arguments sake that he did say he did not vote for Bush. First of all it doesn't really matter who he voted for now and it is nobody's business. However, if he did make that remark it does go along with his other remarks about bombing Iran, staying in Iraq for 100 years and his other mis-spoken remarks. The man is either losing it or has lost his bearings already. It may seem cute to some and maybe some may find his comments attractive but not for the President of the United States. This is not the wild west and he is not John Wayne. He may be at an age where he thinks he can say anything he wants without facing the consequences. That is the sign of someone who is up in age and thinks he has earned the right to spout out at the mouth.

[mamacat]

"......he is not John Wayne."

"The only uniform John Wayne ever wore were the ones from the prop department­." Hollywood's leading men and support staff enlisted en masse for World War II, with the notable exception of John Wayne. Not only did he not enlist, but twice his draft board tried to draft him, and twice he got the studio to say that he was too important to the war effort by making movies. The original chicken hawk.

Sometime, compare his portrayal of military personnel with the portrayals after the war by returning veterans. His portrayals are two dimensional and shallow.

By the way, he held out until he was the highest paid actor in the movie "The Longest Day." By contrast, Richard Burton (an actual veteran) wanted to be in the movie so badly that he volunteered to be in it unpaid, and said he would take any part they offered him.

[mamacat]

The quotation is an approximation from Lauren Bacall.

[glaze]

Thank you. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. About John Wayne as an actor: eh. As a SYMBOL of what many Americans needed at the time, very good. As a real 'hero'? One of the Maureens in his films petitioned the Congress to put his likeness on a coin, possibly the dollar, calling him "A TRUE AMERICAN HERO!". All due respect,
HE WAS A NORTORIOUSLY MISOGONISTIC, HORSE-HATING A C T O R.
He apparently was also a draft dodger (what else would you call it?).
And before one of his defenders says it... I agree, he probably could tear me apart. In a democracy, that still wouldn't make him right.

[Evelyn]

Damn that truth-telling subconscious. Watch the video with the sound off. McCain continually shakes his head "no." No, of course he didn't vote for Bush.

[wmbear]

AND EVEN IF MCCAIN WERE TELLING THE TRUTH...

(Which I agree with everyone that he's not bloody like to be) he would still be contemptable for supporting Bush after the mudslinging job that Bush did on him in the primaries (especially North Carolina). Straight Talk Express, my ass. McCain is about as phony as they get....

[MsLiz]

The transcript is misleading. McCain was yukking it up and laughing at the supposed absurdity of the idea that he did not vote for Bush, while at the same time O'Reilly was talking, and none of that was in the transcript. He seemed to think he was answering the implied question "Is Arianna Huffington telling the truth" when he said "of course not."

I would not cite this as an admission. It is an example of lousy questioning, because both McCain and O'Reilly were talking over each other. Nevertheless, I agree that McCain is lying. He's not very good at it. (HRC is better. Meow.)

[gnomic]

When you tell a lot of lies, its hard to keep them all straight. Especially when you are really old.

[Bubblefish]

lol - I don't know whats worse for McCain, him smiling and saying "Of course not!" or him smiling and saying 'I voted for Bush in BOTH 2000 and 2004, I campaigned for him as President!" Really, the latter is far more damning!

[Boboday555]

I agree.
McCain was lambasted by President AWOL yet McCain still campaigned for the guy?

The GOP:
Party First
Money Second
God Third
Country LAST!

[BarryChamplain]

Let's just cut to the chase.

My hero, Karl Rove (I think I just puked a little, writing that!), has built a very successful career out of attacking his opponents' STRENGTHS. War hero Kerry is a traitor; AWOL Bush is a War Hero (etc.). It's made us nuts.

Let's do what WORKS. Let's just cut the crap and destroy this shit stain McCain, for once and for all.

Forget issues. Forget explanations. Just take it straight to the low-information dummy; take on his "maverick" staright talker" persona, head-on, for once and for all.

50 MILLION BUMPER STICKERS, 50 MILLION T-SHIRTS..­. distrubuted coast to coast:

'McLIAR!"



That is all. Glad to help.

[unscum]

Unfortunately, youtube, bumper stickers and t-shirts aren't going to have much of an effect on McCain's popularity on the low-information masses. I hate to say this but very few people in the US in comparison to the total population use the Internet to get their news, fewer still read blogs. The cable news networks, network news and radio still hold sway. They are the gate keepers for now! Either you make it an issues and hope McCain's flip flops and gaffs make it onto the MSM or you run TV and Radio ads. That's why the Republican are so afraid of Obama. Any guy that can generate 4 or 5 times the money you have is a serious threat.

[ched]

McCain's a horrible liar. Just as telling to me as his actual words was McCain's hysterical laughter while lying through his teeth.

[only1Demvoter]

ched : That nervous laughter would be McDud's ' tell ' .

Pretty transparent, huh ?

Shit... The Neocons are even Incompetent Liars !!

( Would be laughable were it not TO this country's great detriment !! )


More to follow. -ralph

[IndieVisible]

Arianna, please post about McCain's abortion flip! Play the old video of how McCain slammed Bush in 2000 for not wanted to change the Republican Platform to include exceptions for abortion for rape, incest, and mothers life. A position that McCain supported in 2000, and up to 2007, but is now backing away from it! This issue will come back and BITE McCain harder then Rev Wright hurt Obama! How can McCain claim to be different then Bush or have any hopes of attracting Independents such as myself or even moderates if he is now courting the extreme right? Barack Obama was totally correct, McCain has Lost his bearing!

[sydney01]

This phrase should be enough to make the majority of the country not vote for him:

"I campaigned with him. I did everything I could to get him elected and reelected president.­"

[Davwbaird]

you mean McCain is responsible for bush?

[MTTM]

It's hard to believe anyone would vote for a senile Grandpa McCain for President.

Not only is he a proven liar and flip-flopper, but he's a traitorous collaborator with the North Vietnamese to boot!

This election is too funny...