McCain accidentally says what he believes about the war in Iraq

May 3, 2008

No matter how long the Democratic presidential race lasts, and how much damage it does, the saving grace for the party may very well turn out to be John McCain’s inability to speak coherently about foreign policy. If he were bright and lucid, I’d probably feel a whole lot worse about Democrats’ chances.

Take his comments yesterday about Iraq, for example.

For those who can’t watch clips online, McCain hosted a town-hall event in Denver yesterday, and said, “My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will — that will then prevent us — that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

This was, to put it mildly, a shocking admission. As a rule, Republicans recoil at the suggestion that we’d fight a war for oil, and yet, here was the GOP presidential candidate admitting as much publicly.

As Chris Matthews, of all people, responded, “You know, if somebody else were to say that, they would be accused of being a communist, or radical, or a leftist…for John McCain, a war hero, to say that we’re fighting in the Middle East to protect our oil sources is an astounding development.”

Complicating matters, McCain tried to explain his way out of this, he dug in deeper.

Instead of saying he misspoke, McCain initially said he was referring to the first war in Iraq.

Republican John McCain was forced to clarify his comments Friday suggesting the Iraq war involved U.S. reliance on foreign oil. He said he was talking about the first Gulf War and not the current conflict. […]

He said he didn’t mean the U.S. went to war in Iraq five years ago over oil. “No, no, I was talking about that we had fought the Gulf War for several reasons,” McCain told reporters.

One reason was Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, he said. “But also we didn’t want him to have control over the oil, and that part of the world is critical to us because of our dependency on foreign oil, and it’s more important than any other part of the world,” he said.

McCain’s spin is patently and demonstrably false. McCain wasn’t referring to the first Gulf War during his town-hall event, he was talking about the DNC’s “100 years” ad and Democrats’ plan for ending the current war in Iraq.

And then, in case this wasn’t entertaining enough, he switched gears again, and said he wasn’t talking about the first Gulf War after all.

[W]hen specifically asked by an Associated Press reporter if, when he made the statement, he was “thinking about the first Gulf War,” he said no.

“No, I was thinking about – it’s not hard to – we will not,” McCain stumbled. “By eliminating our dependency on foreign oil, we will not have to have our national security threatened by a cut off of that oil. Because we will be dependent, because we won’t be dependent, we will no longer be dependent on foreign oil. That’s what my remarks were.”

Remember, according to McCain and his media allies, his strength is foreign policy and the military.

For those keeping score at home, just recently, McCain has been confused about whether the U.S. can maintain a long-term presence in Iraq; confused about the source of violence in Iraq; confused about Iran’s relationship with al Qaeda; confused about the difference between Sunni and Shi’ia; confused about Gen. Petraeus’ responsibilities in Iraq; and confused about what transpired during the Maliki government’s recent offensive in Basra.

Worse, this isn’t a new phenomenon. As recently as November 2006, McCain couldn’t answer a reporter’s question about his own opinions on the war without reading prepared notes on national television. As recently as March 2007, McCain was embarrassing himself by insisting that Gen. Petraeus travels around Baghdad “in a non-armed Humvee” (a comment that military leaders literally laughed at, and which CNN’s Michael Ware responded to by saying McCain’s credibility “has now been left out hanging to dry.”)

I think any intellectually honest person would agree that if all of this happened to Barack Obama, he’d be laughed off the presidential stage, and the media would relentlessly insist that he was clueless and unqualified to be commander in chief during a war.

And then there’s McCain, who’ll pay no price whatsoever for having no idea what he’s talking about.

considering how unrealistic his health care and tax plans are, i wonder what kind of ideas McCain is going to present in “an energy policy which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East.”
what kind of “straight talk” is this going to entail. i can hardly wait to see it.

  • Wow.

    There sure were a lot of cats in that bag. Depending on how much BushCo cares about extending the ReThuglican Reign of Terror they might finally admit that yes, the war is about oil and any American who is angry because dear old BushCo is trying to bring them cheaper oil is an ingrate and a terrist and a liberul doody head.

    And I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say I am sick and damn tired of pols who can’t get from one end of a statement to another without serious mishap:

    “No, I was thinking about – it’s not hard to – we will not,” McCain stumbled. “By eliminating our dependency on foreign oil, we will not have to have our national security threatened by a cut off of that oil. Because we will be dependent, because we won’t be dependent, we will no longer be dependent on foreign oil. That’s what my
    remarks were.”

    Doubleplus ungood.

  • Hasn’t Bush himself said the war was about oil? Like a couple of times? Seriously, am I misremembering?

  • They can’t admit that the war is about oil because the THREE TRILLION dollars it has cost so far would buy all the oil we want for many many years.

    Or, even better, we could have invested in alternative technologies and funded the conversion – and we would have money left over the EDUCATION and HEALTH CARE!

    The oil industry is part of the larger military-industrial complex – what they actually are fighting for is the enrichment of those industries.

    The wealthiest of Americans that are part of “chimpy’s base” (remember him saying that) cannot earn the profits they want in an honest, peaceful economy. Hence the endless wars and the looting of the federal treasury.

  • “My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will — that will then prevent us…

    And it starts with a gas tax holiday? Who’s kidding whom?

  • “For those who can’t watch clips online…”

    It’s not that i can’t watch clips online, it’s that i can’t BEAR to watch bush, cheney, mccain, and the clintons. My stomach ties up in knots, my blood pressure goes sky high, and I scream at my computer, television, or radio, as the case may be.

    Without kind people like you to summarize these things for me, I’d have huge gaps in my knowledge of what’s happening in the world.

  • Helena Montana – hey, leave us BEARS out of this. We didn’t vote for a chimp!

    On second thought – maybe your use of the term “BEAR” is wholly appropriate – are you saying that, just like a BEAR, you cannot stomach the crap from dur chimpfurher and the MSM?

    We would be a lot better off if we let the bears among us run the country instead of the lame stream of humanoids that are paraded in front of us.

  • Well it’s a relief to know that he wouldn’t send troops in to protect Israel from attack. Does he include air power here too? So we wouldn’t obliterate Iran over anything not oil related?

    It is an amazing combination of ambition and ignorance, maybe even senility. Just amazing.

  • Here’s what it is about:

    Carter’s Presidential Directive/NSC-63
    Subject: Persian Gulf Security Framework
    http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/pd/pd63.pdf

    Since the democrats won’t allow us to drill for our own oil (or even build new refineries), preferring instead to keep us chained to Middle East tyrants, then we must maintain a presence in the Gulf area, and as Carter put it – to protect the “vital interests of the United States.” PD-63 was the only thing that Carter did right.

    Saddam kept trying to gain control of the area, as has and is Iran…Saddam is dead, and Iran is ‘On Deck’…

  • Who is kidding who. The only reason we are in the mid-east for whatever reason is because of oil.

  • All of this needs to be turned into an ad PRONTO.

    It doesn’t even need any comment, it’s a perfect in-their-own-words type of ad. First the “100 years” comment, then the war-for-oil comment, then all the contradictory explanations.

    This is the kind of thing that could piss off EVERYBODY, especially our troops and the families of our troops. To say that we DID go to war EVER because of oil instead of the (bogus) humanitarian reasons that are always given will seriously hurt McCain.

  • #11 Carol

    well, not the ONLY reason — there’s a bit to do with spreading ‘democracy’ via our 51st state — see AIPAC, Kristol, Wolfy, Pearle et. al.

  • John McCain must have the cleanest shoes in the world, he’s always sticking his foot in his mouth. And he’s an able gymnast, because he’s always flipping from his own previous statements. If the media wasn’t already focused on the “he said-she said” Democratic primary, they’d have no choice than to rip McCain apart. The longer that mess drags on the more missed opportunities to knock back the Republicans.

  • First, I read this morning at Raw Story that McCain and Bush’s people talk EVERYDAY. Isn’t it logical, then, that he (McCain) wouldn’t know what he is talking about?

    Second, Dems should play up these “promises” of McCain, like freeing us from MidEast Oil or avoiding any future disasters like Katrina (how does he keep that promise in the coming centuries?). No one–not even McCain I venture–beleives them, they are silly on their face, and they show just what a shameless panderer he is.

  • #14 Lew Scannon

    EEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!! ICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    YUK – mclame steps in the doo-doo so often, to even think about him “sticking his foot in his mouth” and licking them clean is a terrible mental image.

    Gotta go bleach my brain….

  • You want proof that these dipshits running for office and all of the people in congress only care about themselves? I am posting this video everywhere that shows the truth, not as I see it your see it, just the truth, of course you can ignore it, but it won’t go away if you close your eyes. I want you to keep an open mind put aside all the bullshit these people are shoveling and watch this movie from start to end and you be the judge.

    http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

  • That’s the problem with getting old and lying that much.

    It’s really hard to keep your lie, oh I mean “position”, straight.

  • It’s not only McCain, it’s also the corporate media who has no idea what they are talking about. McCain is no war hero just because he was a prisoner of war. By that logic Jose Padilla is a greater hero for having endured much worse torture, just not to us. McCain knows nothing of war having had no actual experience other than some arcade like bomb dropping from high altitudes where you can remain above all the horror.

    The man is two steps away from senility and all one has to do is question him on what he just said for him to demonstrate his ongoing confusion. He is just the least embarrassing candidate the GOP had to present but how can anyone seriously think this guy could be president. He gives new meaning to the term “goober” and no amount of ‘wishing’ by the press is going to make him credible.

  • Ahh little bear…the $3 trillion it has cost us so far means nothing when the oil corporations have estimated they stand to make $11 trillion from controlling the oil in Iraq. (Dead people don’t figure into the equation). This would keep them in wealth for generations. Besides the $3 tril. is not their loss.

  • Or maybe McCain is actually a bright guy who needs to lose the election since all of America knows there will not be a win in Iraq and what’s needed now is a face saving regime change. It was McCain who insisted (during one of the debates, not sure which one) the military did not give up on VietNam; the American People gave up on VietNam.

  • Jeebus: The straight talker talked straight for a change:

    …that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

    And C-Span’s Brain Lamb will call you plain out and out stupid for saying the Iraq war is about oil – so I wonder, what does that make Greenspan and McCain at this point – Stupid?

    Anyway, WE KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING, this is all leading to some big ole HYPE about drilling for oil in ANWR.

    First McCain caved on torture, now it’s going to be ANWR, as the Bushie loyalist MUST show his true colors to the unbid contract driven neo-con righties – and they will be EXACTLY the same color as Bush. This part whereby Maverick is considered a good thing, WHY? Bush is also a Maverick too, because he doesn’t care what Americas think, indeed even as Cheney said that he was not elected to serve the Republican Party anad he said again on March 19 as ThinkProgess noted.

    CHENEY: On the security front, I think there’s a general consensus that we’ve made major progress, that the surge has worked. That’s been a major success.

    RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.

    CHENEY: So?

    RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?

    CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.

    Maverick is just another way for saying “What business has American citizens got in the direction of their government?” With Bush as with McCain it is not a “Government of the people, by the people or for the people”. Maverick just means no democracy need apply. As we have seen Bush and Cheney are mavericks too.

    This war is about oil, it’s never been about anything else.

  • BTW, here is another AD for the DNC to make use of, and I hope Howard Dean graps it up quickly because I would like nothing better than to hear Repugs scream about how McCain didn’t really mean what he said all over again.

  • It’s certainly is nice that a candidate for our highest office called us ,as a nation, out as criminals and thugs. I see very little difference between this and a mugging with murder in New York or Detroit.

  • To # 10: Drilling in ANWR gets us 2 years of oil 10 years from now. Pursuing fantasy solutions to real problems is a mismatch of resources. There are certainly many imaginary problems which would yield to fantasy solutions, but I suspect we might be better served in pursuing real solutions to real problems.

  • Could somebody please remove Chris Matthew’s lips from McCain’s ass, pronto? Pretty please? Thanks in advance.

  • He’s old.
    He’s rich.
    He’s white and male.
    He’s conservative.
    That’s all he needs to be qualified to be President.

    Duh.

  • Why is what McCain said surprising to people? It is something that has been known since the war started. He must be getting to old to remember the Republican story line.

  • To Antonius @ 24

    I think maybe it’s not McCain himself the media want. I think somehow, behind the scenes, they’ve already chosen McCain’s VP, and they’re betting he/she are going to be needed real quick.

  • The majority of Americans are too stupid, ignorant, uneducated or just plain apathetic to think for themselves so they join a political party, a church or some other organization close to their limited views and then follow the leader’s line of thought without question. They vote because they remember good years under Bill Clinton not realizing the world has changed in the interveneing years or they buy the “war hero” line about McCain without ever questioning what all those years in captivity did to his mind. If they vote in this senile old goat I for one will be packing up and heading south of the border.

    • Comments are closed.