The Grandpa Problem
Over the past two days, John McCain has repeatedly made the same foreign policy gaffe, confusing Sunnis and Shiites and the relationship between Iran and Al Qaeda. While on a radio show, McCain suggested Iran was training Al Qaeda, and later repeated the claim multiple times in Israel. In the most publicized of those incidents, Senator Joe Lieberman is seen (and heard) correcting McCain, a scene Keith Olbermann referred to as a possible "senior moment." And despite being ridiculed by the media about those mistakes on Wednesday, the McCain campaign made the same mistake, yet again on Thursday, this time in a statement marking the war's fifth anniversary.
His error was not simply a misstatement; its repetition speaks for itself. It was, instead, evidence of a fundamental misunderstanding of Middle East politics. For a man who stakes his credibility on military affairs, to be unaware of the difference between Sunni and Shiite is unthinkable. This is not an issue of complexity or of disagreement and debate; it is as basic as knowing the difference between the two sides of this war. More importantly, McCain's ignorance seems to suggest an extremely limited comprehension of the politics of the entire region. Iran and Iraq are predominantly Shiite, but Shiites make up only 15% of the Muslim world. Might knowing that context help a president understand Iran's political objectives more clearly? Might knowing that fact help inform our decision making throughout the entire region, including Iraq? How can a man who doesn't understand a conflict help to resolve it?
His series of gaffes will no doubt become coveted ammunition, perhaps as damaging as his suggestion that the war might last 100 years. But they are also evidence of a larger problem McCain faces on the trail: the Grandpa problem. As a 71 year old man, John McCain would be the oldest man ever elected president. Recognizing the enormous rigor of the job, and the toll it has etched on the faces of those who have held it, many wonder if McCain can serve competently, and whether he will even contemplate a second term. Each time McCain makes a mistake on the campaign trail -- as he is often prone to do -- he will face questions about age, and whether the campaign and the presidency will strain him beyond his capacity.
McCain has tried to confront his age in a number of ways. He kept a rigorous campaign schedule during the Republican primary, proving an enormously impressive stamina. For a man who cannot lift his arms above his shoulders, the result of years of prison camp torture, he has certainly impressed. But he cannot afford to be seen as a grandfather confronting the first signs of senility. It would have been far better for McCain to have corrected the misstatements himself, hours, even days, after making the initial blunders. But having Senator Lieberman whisper the answer in his ear produced an undeniable imagery, that of weakness and dependency, of a grandfather struggling and confused.
Well-intended as he may have been, Joe Lieberman did a serious disservice to John McCain, a deeply satisfying irony. McCain cannot afford to have the general election debate focused on his age. But if he continues to show an alarming lack of knowledge on subjects crucial to the country, he may well help hasten his downfall.
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And the increasingly amazing thing is that The Clintons are running for the Democratic nomination on John McCain's coattails. Bill C. yesterday heaped praises on McCain the anniversary day of the Iraq war's start, while Obama was on the front lines battering McCain over his obvious foreign policy inadequacies. Since The Clintons likely have lost, could it be that Hillary is now actively seeking the vice presidential spot on the Republican ticket? Stranger things have happened in the long-running series "As the Clintons Turn."
That's an interesting thought. It's become obvious the Clintons will do ANYTHING for power --destroy their party, diss its members as insane and the decisions of entire states as irrelevant. They're beyond focus groups and on to news cycles. Your theory makes sense in some twisted way. McCain is pretty old, after all.
I don't think they were unintentional gaffes. I believe that this is part of the Bush agenda to attack Iran. If they were unintentional then McCain is showing an inability to learn and a lack of memory.
Exactly. This is a concerted effort to scare the bed wetting Republicans (and Dem Blue Dogs as well as most of the MSM) who aren't really concerned with facts. They hear the buzz word "al Qaeda" linked to whatever target of aggression they choose and bingo- they are gnashing teeth over the impending "threat". The target is Iran and they are running out of time. So what if most of the world and half this country knows the difference between Shia and Sunni. As Cheney said, they don't care what the American people think. McCain will take us to Iran, no doubt about it.
viva g-mac!!!
Wish Bush it was "Is he lying, stupid, or insane?" and now with McCain it's starting to look like it will be "Is he lying, stupid, or suffering from Alzheimer's?"
This gaff by the Republican nominee reminded me of the Prxnential debate between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. If you recall... during the debate, Ford declared that during a Ford administration countries like Poland would not have to fear dominance by the USSR (if memory serves) and the look on Jimmy Carter's face was disbelief. How could someone running as the Republican nominee misstate such a central thrust of the cold war??? We knew that Ford was history after that point. We also know that the Republican Party is the party of dull bulbs, but when you consider their constituency it really does not seem so strange.
Don't get overconfident. Remember that Ford nearly won that election despite his well recognized stupidity. It appears that reflecting on the past 7 years, we like stupidity in our presidents.
yeah, and when Carter boycotted the 1980 Olympics, that showed foreign policy brilliance.
The blind leading the blind
Actually McCain may not be that far off. Saad bin Laden (Osama's eldest) has lived in Iran for many years. At first he was under "house arrest" now he and a couple of his stepmothers roam freely. Iranians are pragmatists and have no doubt helped al Qaeda when it serves their pruposes (they took in many fighters after the Afghan invasion.)
How many Bin Ladens were flown out of the US within days of 9/11, during the time all aircraft were gounded??? These people are Bush family friends and business partners.
....hundre
That's way these tapes seem to mysteriously appear when Bush is promoting his war.
No he is not even close.
I personally don’t think he is ‘Mistaken’. He is toeing the Bushco line of say untruths over and over again, until they are common knowledge.
Horst, I appreciate your effort to draw a geo-familial line between bin Laden and Iran. But the whereabouts of Mr. bin Laden's son is as nothing compared to:
1. where bin Laden is from
2. where most of his family still resides, and,
3. where 19 of the terrorists involved in 9/11 claimed citizenship.
That would be our dear, dear friend Saudi Arabia
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