McCain the Liar

This is another nicely compiled list of McCain's recent foibles. I had been calling them instances of forgetfulness, or perhaps confusion, and thinking that was harsh enough. But with the recent profusion of them, it's becoming clear that his age is no longer the likely explanation. He is now far down the path of being a likely prevaricator rather than a well-meaning straight talker that's just past his prime.

• We know that he lied about not writing letters to the FCC to benefit one of his campaign contributors;
• We know that he lied when he said that he never asked for nor received a single earmark;
• We know that he lied about privatizing Social Security;
• During the primaries, he lied about his potential running mate, Romney on more than one occasion;
• Over the past week, he lied about Obama and visiting the troops. In fact, his new ad on this is also a lie.
• He lied this week (again) about not using the word "timetable";
• He lied about his admission that he is the damn fool when it comes to the economy;
• His campaign lied about oil spills after Hurricane Katrina;
• He lied about his voting record when questioned by a veteran about it;
• He recently lied to either a child or to conservative bloggers about immigration;
• He lied about his POW experience (i.e., Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers), and while this isn’t as big a deal to me, it should be raised if stupid petty nonsense about Obama gets raised.
• Of course his wife Cindy lied about her recipes for cookies when she stole them from Family Circle magazine. Of course, stealing is something that she knows well, as she also stole painkillers from a veteran’s charity that she was in charge of.
• He lied recently to FoxNews about a Town Hall event they were working together on;
• He lied about decreasing oil prices being because Bush lifted the offshore drilling ban;
• He has lied about Obama’s and Clinton’s health care proposals;
• He lied about his position on Bosnia and Kosovo in trying to prove his credentials;
• He lied about Clinton and Obama’s comments regarding renegotiating NAFTA;
• He lied about his opting into public financing when it was convenient for him to opt back out;
• He lied a few months back about Iran-Contra.
• He lied about his involvement (not sexual but political) with Iseman and her firm.

And that is just off the top of my head and a quick search.

So let’s start calling him what he is. A full on liar. Not only "forgetful", not only "misinterpreted", not only "misquoted", not only mean-spirited and stretching the truth.

That's what it's looking like more and more. Poor McCain. His legacy was a good one, and the Rovians have dragged him into the intellectual and moral mud.