 Things getting hot under the collar, John? |
I heard an interesting discussion with a linguist on the radio the other day about the difference between a misstatement and lying. The result was that McCain must have known what he was saying was untrue and was spouting propaganda. Similar examples were given for Hillary. However, with this latest “surprise,” you have to wonder if McCain has incompetent advisers. Given the fact-checking that quickly gets done on the web, what’s incorrect is quickly, and viciously, attacked making him look like an idiot or worse. Bad memory, spouting propaganda. incompetent advisers or the worst of all — a complete lack of understanding of a priority subject — are all things we’ve had enough of during the last eight years.
McCain ‘Surprised’ By Events In Basra, Uninformed About How Ceasefire Occurred
John McCain did a little more damage to his foreign policy credibility yesterday. After hailing the Basra offensive last Friday as “a sign of the strength of [Maliki’s] government,” yesterday McCain distanced himself from the Iraqi leader, expressing surprise that Maliki had chosen to lead the offensive, and claiming that “Maliki decided to take on this operation without consulting the Americans.”
[…]
Despite [McCain adviser] Scheunemann’s fear-mongering, no credible Middle East analyst has ever suggested that Al Qaeda would ever be “in control” of Iraq. Given how uninformed John McCain is on Iraq, it’s no surprise that his advisers are too.
I see a simple explanation.
He really wants Obama to win.
I don’t know … could it be … wait for it … senility?
Imagine what he will be like in 3-4 years
It worked for Bush. Why shouldn’t McCain spout propaganda and lie?
Just bring me my warm milk and tuck me in Mommy.
Any eight y/o can tell you the game is called “Follow The Leader”.
*
So far McCain is getting a free pass by the media. By the end of May that will change when the Democratic Party candidate can focus on him.
Senility, too many of those little white pills, the continued cancer treatments, or not enough coffee all aside, McCain is not the kind of person we need in the White House.
Yesterday’s PR included a statement – no plan, no method – that he’ll end imports of oil in 5 years.
You won’t hear anything that outlandish from anyone outside the coal industry. Maybe he’s found his key source of campaign funds?
From what we’ve seen so far, this is going to a campaign of “misstatements”. All three appear unable to tell the truth. We’re really screwed this time. Not one good candidate…
Ahh great another liar. Man I’ve given up on democracy, I’m voting for the first person who proposes destroying and replacing the system. I think Thomas Jefferson was right the only way to keep government honest is to replace it every once in a short while.
You forgot a third alternative: Being wrong.
Is everyone here going to say they lied when they said something they thought was true, but was not?
As for the Shi’its being supported by Iran, that might as easily been something McCain was not supposed to mention. Have you never had a neighbor you thought was a jerk, and considered giving his brat of a kid a hammer?
im sure he’s just dyslexic
There’s another thing. His own self-righteousness. Rather than Clinton-like evasions, He will make categorical denials about his own wrongdoing that probably won’t stand up under scrutiny.
Listen sheeple… McCain’t has ALZHEIMER’S… Just like Raygun did… Do we want another moron in the White House? Vote for the REAL Manchurian Candidate, and you can kiss this country goodbye!
None of this matters at all. The Presidency is a figurehead position any way. McCain is the chosen one. It matters not who you vote for, he will not be the one in control. Did you really think they are going to let McCain or Obama change anything? Wake up please.
What the hell is going on?
It’s called desperate liberal wishful thinking. You’ll be seeing this a lot as McCain is re-positioned by Dems into an dotty anti-Christ far worse than the likes of George Bush the Younger.
In this case, unbelievably, the so-called “misstatement” concerns a pissing match over who actually called a ceasefire first: al-Maliki or Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr. Each say they called it with the other accepting. McCain is supposed to know, as apparently everyone else in the world does, which dude actually called it first. Like it even matters.
Salon.com says al-Sadr asked for the ceasefire.
http://tinyurl.com/2bjgkr
ABC shows al-Sadr called for a 6 month ceasefire last Feb.
http://tinyurl.com/2dqy4h
In fact just Google & you’ll find lots of ceasefires called by the guy.
McCain’s big misstep: “Apparently it was Sadr who asked for the ceasefire”
Here’s the “journalistic” opportunity that the above Wonk Room article and this blog item are really all about:
“Bush’s ballyhooed “surge” turned out to be as evanescent as a rainbow.””
“Given how uninformed John McCain is on Iraq, it’s no surprise that his advisers are too.”
And now you know what the hell is going on.
RBG
The press is in the tank for McCain. He feeds them BBQ, and acts like he has let all of them become part of the kool kidz in the locker room, so they don’t really care about his “misstatements”. The press has their marching orders (Democrats are sissies, Republicans are strong and resolute!), and they can’t use their brains for anything more than hero worship.
16 Dubie
Is that the “liberal press” you’re talking about? Maybe McCain almost being asked to run for the Dems, and his current “running mate,” former democratic VP candidate Lieberman, just has them a bit confused.
RBG
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the press is neither liberal or conservative. What they are is lazy. They are far more interested in talking about sex, haircuts, and scary black people than they are in digging in to find out why this country is in such bad shape.
If they weren’t so lazy, maybe they would have noticed that Lieberman all but left the Democratic Party many years ago.
#18 said – “Contrary to conventional wisdom, the press is neither liberal or conservative.”
MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans.
What “wisdom” do you use?
#19 – what wimpy nutball blather. The ownership and control of all American media has never rested in the hands of journalists. They don’t hire and fire the editors. They don’t decide publication policy. The morning “budget meeting” doesn’t include journalists. They haven’t even a say in what’s scheduled for pub.
You poor ignorant gits should at least learn something about the basics of a business before you re-prate the blather of Rushes and Bushes.
Folks might respect your opinions if you proved to have knowledge of what you speak.
What is not “wise” is to rely on a report on the donor histories of 143 journalists (a group that according to the article itself includes journalists from the sports, food, and fashion areas) out of approximately 100,000 staffers in newsrooms across the nation from 2004 to 2008 as evidence of liberal bias.
Once again, I did not claim that the press has a bias either way. I think they are extremely lazy, and read from the scripts and frames given to them. The right is far better at media manipulation than the left, and as a result get the better part of the media hero worship.
McCain is a master at this. He has said about 25 times in the last few weeks that Iran is training Al Qaeda (about equivalent to saying that Israel is training Hamas). The media keeps trying to explain it away as “a senior moment”, a “misstatement”, or other kinds of innocent mistake. However, he continues to say these things and get away with it. Either he is a master manipulator and the press are his unwitting dupes, or he is a blathering idiot, and the press is even dumber. Either way, we would be screwed with this doofus in office.
Imagine if any of the Dems had done such a thing, the story would be bigger than Natalee Holloway.
#19 – Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans.
Democrats are moderates. With rare exception, there are no “liberals” holding office in the United States. There are very few “liberal” causes either.
The Green party is liberal. Everyone else is middle of the road.
20 Moss. As if owners and “controllers” or even editors of news media with its oppressive deadlines and pressures to scoop have any time to interfere minute-by-minute with a reporter’s attempts to quickly break a story. As for the other journalists who aren’t permitted to report as they see it, what do you think? Maybe they’re bought off with under-the-table cash or sex?
21 Dubie. I’m sure 143 donations versus 16 can’t possibly be empirical evidence of reporters putting their money where their mouths are, and somehow this must prove just their opposite inclinations.
“McCain In Amman, Jordan Today:
McCain: Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran…
… I’m sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not Al Qaeda. Not Al Qaeda. I’m sorry.”
McCain Press Sec.:“In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself.”
http://tinyurl.com/2rn8u5
You’ve got about 24 other times?
RBG
well hes gotta keep his name in the headlines somehow…obama and clinton are getting all the spotlight right now
McCain is in a lose-lose-lose situation.
If Hillary says something wrong, she’ll be portrayed as embellishing.
If Obama says something wrong, he’ll be portrayed as being a typical politician.
If McCain says something wrong, he’ll be portrayed as having Alzheimer’s.
How long did you have to search the far left sites to find this one Dave?
When you come up with sources that aren’t attached to the hip of Obamassiah or St Hillary let us all know…ok?
When are you people on the left going to see what is in front of your eye’s. Iran has been funding Sadr from the beginning. Sadr has been holed up in Iran since his last little attempt to show how powerful he was.
Maliki DIDN’T tell us he was going after the militias. But the Democrats should be happy, since last September the Democratic leadership in Congress said if he didn’t go after the Shia militias then he wasn’t living up to his end of the bargain with the US.
Of course it’s a power play. But this is the first time that the Iraqi government (Shia) went after any Shia militia. They did it primarily alone, with minimal air support and no advisers on the front lines. It wasn’t a big victory, but the Iraqi’s held their own and from reports inflicted some heavy casualties on Sadr. The Maliki people went to Iran to ask Iran to stop suppling weapons to the Shia militias. The Iranian government brokered the ceasefire (it was THEIR idea). There will be more of this as Maliki finally feels he has a better and better trained army.
McCain on his worst day is still 100 times smarter than Obamassiah and Hillary on Iraq.
I’ve said it before Dave, put down the conspiracy mags and broaden your horizons beyond Moveon.org and the dailyKos for your sources.
#26, joshua,
In case you missed the gist of the point here, it isn’t McCain’s mistake that is the problem, its the regularity.
But since you have such a difficult time grasping reality, I notice you accuse Uncle Dave of being a regular subscriber to far left blogs and news sources. Instead of blaming the messenger for McCain’s screw-ups, try looking at McCain. McCain’s free ride in the press is coming to an end and he is being called to explain his gaffes.
Regardless of your worship, Clinton or Barak would make a far better President than this old senile gas bag.
Well, McCain can’t help having “Senior Moments” – he is afterall A SENIOR !!! We ought to count ourselves lucky that he doesn’t go arount with his pants pulled up to his armpits !!!
27. Catscat. “Instead of blaming the messenger…”
I see these innocent & impartial messengers had a problem headlining the DU pork item with “Prez-candidate McCain Didn’t Spend A Single Pork Barrel Dollar” but could be counted for a corrected “mistatement.”
Wait, wait. Not a single pork dollar? That’s it, go for the senility angle.
RBG
>>McCain is re-positioned by Dems into an
>>dotty anti-Christ far worse than the likes
>>of George Bush the Younger
McCain may well be dotty, but there could NEVER be an anti-Christ worse than El Stupido. 10,000 years from now (if man is still alive), Dumbya will be held up as the worst example of a politician ever to blemish the civilized world.
Mission accomplished.