McCain Seems To Be Forgetting Some Pretty Important Stuff
Guest Post by Adam
Earlier this week, when CBS was revealed as having edited an interview in a manner that omitted a pretty serious foreign policy error on McCain’s part, I assumed the problem was ignorance, rather than a deliberate effort to hide what had happened. It’s one of the major shortcomings of the evening news format that stories are often condensed in ways that leave out important information. It seemed likely to me that whoever edited or produced the piece simply wasn’t aware that McCain had reversed the chronology on the Anbar Awakening and the Surge, and thought McCain’s attack on Obama’s patriotism made the segment more dramatic. Given that the entire interview was posted online, it’s hard to imagine CBS thinking they would have gotten away with anything by leaving something that significant on the cutting room floor.
But it’s really hard to imagine that anyone could be this ignorant.
On the July 22 broadcast of the CBS Evening News, while airing portions of an interview anchor Katie Couric conducted that day with Sen. John McCain, CBS News did not air McCain’s response to a question in which he characterized the Iraq war as “the first major conflict since 9/11,” apparently disregarding the war in Afghanistan, which Couric addressed in her question and which began in October 2001.
It’s not like McCain doesn’t know there’s a war in Afghanistan, he simply forgot. But he’s also running on his expertise on foreign policy, meaning journalists should be giving more scrutiny to his claims, not less. Instead, it seems like even egregious foreign policy mistakes by McCain are overlooked, simply because he is believed to be expert, which is the opposite of how things are supposed to work.
But McCain seems to be having some trouble remembering other things as well.
Yesterday, McCain went after Obama for “speaking at a rally or political gathering any place outside the country”:
“I would rather speak at a rally or a political gathering any place outside of the country after I am president of the United States,” McCain told O’Donnell. “But that’s a judgment that Sen. Obama and the American people will make.”
John Cole links to several posts indicating that McCain actually has spoken at political gatherings outside the United States, like this one from MSNBC’s Mark Murray.
However, on June 20, McCain himself gave a speech in Canada — to the Economic Club of Canada — in which he applauded NAFTA’s successes. An implicit message behind that speech was that Obama had been critical of the trade accord. Also, McCain’s trip to Canada was paid for by the campaign.
Not only that, but as Atrios points out, McCain also took trips to Colombia and Mexico in order to favorably contrast his foreign policy experience with Obama’s. It just wasn’t as high profile as Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe, and that’s partially because the McCain campaign acted as Obama’s hypeman in making the trips such a big deal in the first place.
Trade, drugs and immigration will top the agenda of U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain during a visit to Colombia and Mexico this week designed to showcase his foreign policy experience over that of Democratic rival Barack Obama.
McCain, an Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party’s White House nomination, was to meet with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and other officials in Cartagena on Tuesday and Wednesday in the first leg of a three-day journey to South and Central America.
That was earlier this month.
I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that McCain may have forgotten to run a “respectful campaign” after basically accusing Obama of wanting the United States to lose a war earlier this week.
Just for the record, I don’t think this has to do with age. I think it has everything to do with a candidate who has gotten good press for so long that he hasn’t had to think much about making mistakes or being consistent. But McCain, who has referred to the political press as “his base,” seems to have forgotten about all that too, complaining that the press now favors Obama.
“You have billed this event as a Presidential Town Hall, and I sincerely hope that the next president is here today,” McCain said. “My opponent, of course, is traveling in Europe, and tomorrow his tour takes him to France. In a scene Lance would recognize, a throng of adoring fans awaits Sen. Obama in Paris – and that’s just the American press.”
Maybe they just stopped bringing him donuts.
Dale
says:Technically speaking, McCain thinks that he’s rubber and Obama is glue.
Journalists aren’t exactly known for thinking on their butts. Couric was sitting there doing the interview thinking about something else and just hearing McCain murmur murmur murmur in response to her questions. But in the hours of editing someone should have caught those McCain lies. Or I guess they did and covered them up.
Steve
says:McCain Seems To Be Forgetting Some Pretty Important Stuff
If only he would forget something along the lines of “inhaling and exhaling….”
2Manchu
says:You left out:
He doesn’t realize that the border between Iraq and Pakistan is called “Iran”.
He thinks Czechoslovakia still exists.
He has no clue about the differences between Sunnis and Shias.
citizen_pain
says:“I’m John McCain damnit! A POW! I’ve been a Senator for over 20 years! How dare the press disrespect me! They can’t ignore me! I want so goddamn attention!”
Just don’t report on anything I say…BBQ anyone?
Roberto
says:I have an unsettling feeling that McCain is getting a free pass on his supermarket blunder, e.g. the redefinition of what a surge is to retroactively fix his time-line mix-up. Also, outrageous accusations from McCain’s campaign against Obama (that would have been severely punished by the press had they been issued by Obama against McCain) have not received a critical analysis from the press. Claiming that Obama is against preventing genocide (when he is one of the highest-profile figures in the U.S. to recommend actions in Darfur), claiming that Obama is somewhat to blame for high gas prices, and claiming that prices will drop in any significant way if drilling starts, are just a small sample of the kind of low-fact content that McCain has been throwing out lately. And the press doesn’t seem to care…
maya
says:After 25 years in the Senate, which is Latin for ‘old men’, one is bound to collect a few cobwebs.
I can only get NBC news and although I keep hearing Kelly O’Donnell enthusiastically say that McCain is taking advantage of Obama being out of town by explaining his economic program to the voters, I have yet to hear what his economic program is!
I may have missed it when I sneezed
SteveT
says:Not only that, but as Atrios points out, McCain also took trips to Columbia and Mexico in order to favorably contrast his foreign policy experience with Obama’s.
McCain also traveled to Columbia to highlight the opposition of Senate Democrats to a trade agreement with that country.
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/07/01/politics/horserace/entry4223369.shtml
Did anyone from the corporate-controlled media ask McCain whether it was hypocritical for him to express support a free trade agreement with Columbia before visiting Columbia to see the “facts on the ground” and then to criticize Obama for having his mind made up about withdrawal from Iraq prior to visiting Iraq?
I know … IOKIYAR
rege
says:Here’s the deal. Obama goes to Berlin and gives a speech for free which was open to the public and drew 200k people. That’s just wrong. He should have followed McCain’s Canadian example. Speak only to a handful of business executive, charge them $100 to attend-$31 more than is typical at the venue– and use the US ambassador to round up attendees. Had Obama only followed this template, I’m sure that McCain wouldn’t have had a problem with it.
beep52
says:I’m always amazed that the party of Jesus and personal responsibility has three modes: attack the other guy, praise one’s own righteousness, and whine. Upon closer inspection, all are usually unfounded, but rotating among them seems to be quite appealing to large segments of the public.
As for TV journalists, there is no such thing. They’re media personalities, media stars that shine only so long as the ratings hold. The same applies to most print writers whose names we know.
sparrow
says:I think this has been the longest horse race that I can remember. If anyone thinks the press is going to let it appear anything but a close contest, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell. They’ll keep the old coot on his feet at all costs.to keep interest high and eyeballs glued, factual and honest reporting be damned.
Prup (aka Jim Benton)
says:What people forget is that, after the initial primary in his run for the House, McCain never had a difficult election — and that he was running in a state that has favored Conservative Republicans since Goldwater defeated McFarland in 1952. (And Arizona conservatives are not ‘religious conservatives.’ Remember that Jim Kolbe was relected five times after he came out, and that, like Goldwater, many Arizonan Conservatives are pro-choice and not homophobic.) The only exception was his 2000 primary run which lasted a total of 19 days betwen his victory in NH and his defeat in SC.
He simply never learned (or had to learn) to appeal either to the center or to the Religious Right. He never learned — really — how to campaign. He’s never been called on his contradictions before.
(In contrast, Obama won handily, yes, but in a very politically diverse state, and his legislative career taught him how to work ‘across the aisle’ to get things accomplished. And unlike McCain, even running against an Alan Keyes, his campaign acted as if the election would be close, and he didn’t just ‘sit back and coast’ to a sure landslide.)
tomj
says:McCain may be skating now, he only has the blogs and Keith O. making any fuss. The question is what is going to happen in the Fall when everyone is actually paying attention. I have a sense that the Obama campaign is simply collecting a long list of McCainisms that they can hit him with later on, after he has talked his way in circles.
This is my “give him enough rope” theory, which doesn’t fit into the 24 hour news cycle. Blogs and pundits are looking for punch and counter-punch, but it looks to me like that was put on hold this week, maybe as an experiment of sorts.
The Fix reported that in Jordan Obama said (to a reporter question about something McCain said) that he didn’t want to engage in a colloquy with McCain. For some reason Chris didn’t know what this word meant and needed to look it up. But, as a senator it has a special meaning. Senate rules only allow oneS Senator to control the floor. A colloquy would require that this Senator cede time to the other Senator. I wonder if this was a subtle joke as Obama definitely didn’t cede any time to McCain.
Anyway, the Obama campaign seems to run on several parallel time cycles. Only one of these meshes with the news cycle. This last week was all about showing Obama as we would see him as president dealing with world sized problems. Nothing visual happened on this trip which would indicate that he was running for office. Visually this was not a campaign event.
Behind the scenes, unseen to us, was a longer time cycle: preparation for this trip. The point of this cycle was to dry run his staff to organize substantive meetings with world leaders. These organizational encounters paved the way for the good reception that he received. His staff took it seriously, and he took it seriously, and his guests responded.
Meanwhile, McCain gets cornered in the cheese and cold cuts isle making stuff up. He was seen writing down prices on a tiny slip of paper, then glancing at it as he decried $4/gallon milk. The same day he answers more questions outside the “Fudge Haus”. Seriously?
SteveT
says:beep52 said:
I’m always amazed that the party of Jesus and personal responsibility has three modes: attack the other guy, praise one’s own righteousness, and whine.
You’re forgetting a fourth mode: lying their asses off. Either they lie about how wonderful things are (when things aren’t), or how bad things will be if the other guy is elected, or they insist some things never happened (when they did).
Doesn’t the Bible have things to say about telling untruths?
Grumpy
says:It’s not like McCain doesn’t know there’s a war in Afghanistan, he simply forgot.
Perhaps he lumps Afghanistan under the label “9/11” since it happened so quickly. Or else he doesn’t consider it a “major” conflict. Or a major “conflict.”
BTW, it’s very hard to read the text as long as that Pam Anderson ad is up.
Racer X
says:McCain remembers the important things… that the media corporations which make billions of dollars because of Republican policies will continue to cover for him, blatantly and without shame. And since those corporations make more money the closer the race appears to be, if he drops back in the polls they’ll tighten it back up for him. Add to that the fact that huge percentages of the vote are counted inside black boxes controlled by die-hard Republicans, and you have a good picture of what John McCain really needs to remember.
karen marie
says:mccain is just making it up as he goes along, and very poorly at that. his ability to organize a campaign is the same ability he would bring to the job of president. remember that, folks. do you really want grandpa in charge of the single most complex organization on planet earth?
here’s an example of mccain’s stoopidity that i missed in early june:
June 05, 2008
‘Reform, Prosperity, Peace’
NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell picks up what may become McCain’s mantra:
In an appearance before Florida newspaper editors today, she reports that “McCain broke down each concept with a fuller explanation of his views on what he would do to provide the country reform, prosperity and peace.”
“Interestingly, McCain told this audience that this synthesis of his campaign was a response to a question today from ABC News’ Charlie Gibson about the three biggest concerns in America today.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0608/Reform_Prosperity_Peace.html
mccain is creating his campaign slogans from ideas he gets from softball questions out of the mouths of the likes of ABC’s charlie gibson.
i went to “mccain nation” earlier to see what silliness they were up to. i inquired about events near me, nothing within 100 miles. i guess he’s keeping a wide berth because he doesn’t want me showing up.
karen marie
says:i’m with you, tomj, on the “give ’em enough rope” theory, but additionally, obama not rising to the bait means the already shrill tone of mccain’s campaign can be heard more clearly.
i look forward to the fall viewings of the mccain blooper reels.
Equal Opportunity Cynic
says:McCain also took trips to Columbia and Mexico….
Your criticisms of McCain’s foreign policy knowledge will look better if you spell Colombia correctly. Just copyediting, I know.
Lance
says:Does the phrase “First Major Conflict since 9/11” seem to concede the point that Iraq actually DIDN’T have anything to do with the al Qaeda attacks on America? Otherwise wouldn’t Iraq be part of 9/11, like he seems to be suggesting that Afghanistan is?
You know, I’m amazed that the Republican’ts allowed themselves to be saddled with this senile old man. Do they really want to lose in November so the Democrats can (again) clean up the mess they’ve made of this country and give them another surplus to squandor in eight years?
danimal
says:Count me in for the “rope a dope” theory. When McCain burnishes his halo and decries negative campaigning in the fall, he’ll have lots of ‘splaining to do. Maybe someone can let him know about YouTube on that internet thingy.
Obama’s keeping his powder dry while McCain’s spending all his cash on negative ads just to stay in the game.
ResumeMan
says:No no, the poster was referring to McCain’s trip to Columbia University to look for Obama’s Senior thesis…
dnA
says:Freudian slip. I went to Columbia.
William
says:I guess my PC here at work block Pamela Andersons advert, I finally saw it at home yesterday. I wondered what the Hell everybody was talking about. Anyway, it’s a toss up between seeing her or McBush. I’m not certain which one I’m more disinterested in! My gayness offsets your child’s carbon footprint.
William
says:Oh well, so much for proofreading huh?
Gary Bonner
says:The issues you point out are appropriate and deserve a full media vetting. Unfortunately, it will not in the end affect the election in a way that is good for Obama. Here’s why:
What a perplexing position citizens of these United States find ourselves. We have reached a cross-road as a nation. These are perilous times at home and abroad. Economic uncertainties abound and our fast eroding moral standing in the world threatens to place at risk our role as the world’s most powerful influencer. Before us stand two starkly different choices whom, depending on our choice, may lead us into another “American Century” or may lead us further down the road to a permanent erosion of power and influence.
Essentially we are asked to vote for either of two approaches to moving forward. One approach seeks to harness American power and influence in order to rule the world; the other approach realizes that rather than American power, it is American principles and core values which must be harnessed that we might lead (not rule) the world.
We all know in our hearts that the right and just perspective to adopt is to “…harness American principles…that we might lead the world.” For this is and has been the decidedly American root of our world perspective as a nation. This is our American way…our ethic. But there is one problem that causes us great consternation. The leader who most effectively espouses (and seems to most passionately believe in) the “decidedly American root of our world perspective…” is born the son of a minority group – the fruit of a relationship that in years past (and perhaps even now, if we be truthful with ourselves) was taboo.
The white guy, we know in our hearts is dangerous and wrong on almost every substantive issue affecting our welfare at home and abroad; yet we struggle to bring ourselves to truly embrace the other guy who espouses the most American of American ideals with enough eloquence and passion to ignite and capture the imagination of an entire next generation of Americans.
And so we vacillate and try to find ways to justify our guttural instinct to choose the guy who represents the past, though we yearn to step into the promise of the future. We whisper within the shadows of our body politic about “…is he Muslim…his middle name is Hussein…he’s part Black…etc.” We know within our hearts that Senator Barack Obama is the product of a conflagration of conspiring American ideals: freedom, justice, equality, meritocracy, our American melting pot. He is, as much as anything, one of our own.
My fear is that when we as a nation are on the other side of this decision…when we, in the end, vote our fears and forsake our promise; when we hold our heads down in shame as we watch John McCain’s inauguration on our TVs; I fear that the Great Scribe of History will be left with no choice but to pen within our national epitaph, “…He came unto his own; and his own received him not.”
JW
says:Adam, why don’t you take it easy on the old man? In other words, “Get off McCain’s lawn”!
joey(bjobotts)
says:Bullshit. Two points. McCain’s response being edited out wasn’t ignorance…XCBS knows that more people will see the original Couric interview than will ever even hear about the on line correction. The goal is to makes sue that the lie or the smear is dominate and the correction or apology is seen by less than half of those who saw the original. Part of the “confuse the voter” agenda is that seldom is the correction very clear and is muddled for a reason with extremely less exposure…this is why McCain is free to lie at will without regard to consequences.
2) as evidenced by the Bryan “how’s my hair, do my eyes look serious enough” mirror addicted Williams, reporters following him are hitmen.
“The surge, the surge, the surge…and we released a new poll showing how Americans overwhelmingly think McCain is better than you and can’t you see why they would…”
“But ‘removing’ all you other explanations can’t you agree the surge, which McCain supported from the first, is working…why won’t you just admit it worked and you were wrong?”
The “splurge” got over 2000 more troops killed while performing sectarian cleansing.
Here Bryan…if Bremmer hadn’t fired the Iraq army to begin with there would never have been an insurgency, which McCain ignores. The truth of this statement is demonstrated by the Sunni awakening when the US started paying Sunni insurgents to fight al qaeda and the criminal militias…finally re-hiring army members…violence went down immediately. Negotiations with Shiite militias who laid down their weapons agreeing not to fight had nothing to do with the “splurge”
So, Bryan, not only was the insurgency which killed thousands preventable, the surge did not accomplish political reconciliation or did anything more than enable and protect contractor profiteering while performing sectarian cleansing, segregation and displacement of Sunnis while you, Bryan, kept the public in the dark not telling them any of this and blindly pushing the “splurge” and McCain’s war cheerleading with your “military experts propaganda” and slanted polls. The poll you ran never mentioned any of this huh?
Another liberal hating reporter just asking “tough” questions eh. Williams, you are either the stupidest person on the planet or just willfully ignorant and biased.
Lee
says:Upon reading many of the blogs posted here, I must clarify something.
Most Americans agree with the lofty words and visions for world peace that Obama so eloquently pontificates in his speeches … It’s Obama we don’t trust. those of you who hypnotically fawn over Obama take everything he says as gospel. But, you don’t even know the man. You assume that because his words are worthy, he is trustworthy. People they are just words! Obama, the man who is speaking those words has a horrible track record. He did nothing as a senator. He spent the last 20 years accepting an anti-American racist as his mentor. His associations have been with extremely unsavory people. However, you Obamabots keep trying to characterize the rest of us as disagreeing with what Obama says … when it’s Obama himself we don’t trust … nor should you!
Always hopeful
says:And you, Lee, don’t pay attention to words, which is why you can trust a Republican and can vote Republican. If their lips are moving they are LYING. I call that a trust issue. You, on the other hand, don’t trust Obama because he doesn’t look like you and he was raised differently from you. It’s that simple. There’s nothing Obama can do to make people like you trust him.
William
says:Lee said: Its Obama we don’t trust those of you who hypnotically fawn over Obama take everything he says as gospel.
How about the gospel of John McSame? Not so lofty sure but not so brilliant either. Bomb Iran? The Iraqi/Afghan border? Iran is training Al Quesadilla? How about the surge, sure “it’s working” but did it cause the Anbar awakening? If we don’t get them over there, they’ll come here? Phil Graham is who’s economic advisor? Carly Fiorina is the Victory 2008 chair and surrogate expert on exactly what area(s) of expertise again?!!!!!! I get you though; go with the real “winner” candidate right?! Good luck with that. Have any of you Neotards taken a glance around in the last 7+ years? Does anything seem just a little off to you? I’ve got to get me a pair of those blinders you’re wearing because listening to you guys has convinced me that they’re incredibly effective. I would put a brussels sprout in the White House before another republican. And I f#cking hate brussels sprouts!
Always hopeful
says:What about George Bush or Ronald Reagan did you trust? Both of them were governors of states. That was their only EXPERIENCE. How many of you read up on what they even did as Governors? In Texas, it’s the Lt. Governor who does all the governing. The laws are a throwback to the carpetbagger days when the northern state victors of the Civil War installed governors for the vanquished states. In other words, GW did jack sh*t to recommend him to the electorate for the Presidency.
jbs
says:The truth is demonstrated by the Sunni awakening when the US started paying Sunni insurgents to fight al Qaeda and the criminal militias and also rehiring the fired army members…violence went down immediately. Not a Surge. Wait and see what will happen when the USA stops supplying and paying the Sunnis. Remember “Osama bin Laden” The USA stopped supporting him back in late 1987 after the Afghanistan won the War in kicking out the Soviets. The Sunnis, Shiites, Shias and Kurds will be back to the same old story. Oh yes another sign that Religion is Man made.
“Truth hurts”.
jbs
says:Always hopeful, I agree with you 109% if there is such a thing.
Scupper
says:Here was McCain’s judgement on Iraq. Let’s Review:
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we will prevail and there’s no doubt in my mind, once these people are gone, that we will be welcomed as liberators.” –on the Iraq war”
[Hardball, March 24, 2003]
“Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.” [CNN, 9/24/02]
“We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” [CNN, 9/29/02]
“But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
I don’t know why McCain thinks he is so credible?!
Someone should remind him of his own judgement! He obviously is having problems remembering his OWN statements on Iraq.