McCain Confuses Iraq and Afghanistan

I'm not saying these are the biggest things in the world, but they certainly have been adding up, haven't they?

And it was McCain who owns the first big gaffe of the trip -- appearing to confuse Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded:

"I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," said McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Good Morning America."

Imagine if Obama made even one of these mistakes. He can't even get away with a "gaffe" like this if it's an obvious joke, like the 57 states fiasco.

Maliki's Endorsement

We all knew that, after a little waterboarding, Maliki would be softening or retracting his endorsement of Obama's withdrawal plan. I heard about the walk-back from Yglesias, and he says it all:

Thus, the only thing really surprising about this development is how little effort was made to make it convincing:

Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi government, issued a statement saying Mr. Maliki’s statement had been “as not conveyed accurately regarding the vision of Senator Barack Obama, U.S. presidential candidate, on the timeframe for U.S. forces withdrawal from Iraq,” but it did not address a specific error. It did soften his support for Mr. Obama’s plan and implied a more tentative approach to withdrawing troops. More of the statement, which came from the U.S. military’s Central Command press office: [...]

You can read the full statement at the link, but this summary really tells you what you need to know, namely that the walkback (a) doesn't involve Maliki on the record, (b) says the reports are inaccurate but doesn't name inaccuracies, and (c) was issued through CENTCOM. Basically, this morning we saw Maliki speaking in person and endorsing Obama's plan to end the occupation in no uncertain terms. By the late afternoon, an Iraqi government spokesman was pretending this never happened in a statement released by the occupying army. That's hardly even a serious effort at bamboozlement.

No kidding. That's weak sauce.

Furthermore, Der Spiegel recorded the interview and gave the tapes to various news outlets for verification. Here's the competing translations:

Spiegel: "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes....Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic."

Times: "Obama's remarks that — if he takes office — in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq....Who wants to exit in a quicker way has a better assessment of the situation in Iraq."

There's a world of difference there, I tell you. Post-waterboarding, he may have "regretted" saying it, but he said it all the same.

McCain Continues to Abandon Global Warming/Energy Crisis

McCain, that lovable scamp:

WARREN -- U.S. Sen. John McCain backtracked Friday on a pledge to set national auto emissions standards that would supersede those California and other states want to set.

"I guess at the end of the day, I support the states being able to do that," he said at a town hall meeting at the GM Technical Center.

The statement appears to contradict a statement McCain made to The Detroit News last month, when he said he hoped to set a national standard that would make state standards unnecessary.

So, no more cap-and-trade system (even without the cap!), and now no more national mileage standard. What a maverick that guy is... he's even bucking the McCain-Party-Line!

Condi Rice for Obama!

Go figure:

Rice also said she has decided which candidate she will vote for in November, but she wont say in public who it will be.

I guess even she doesn't approve of the way her party has handled things. Good for her.

Update: Here's the video. Seems pretty clear to me.

Obama's Trip: Afghanistan

The headline says it all: Obama Would Be a `Strong' Partner, Karzai Says

That's two days of potential gaffes avoided. Given Maliki's statements yesterday, if Obama finishes this trip without sustaining any damage this election might be in the bag.

McCain Outlines Troop Movements for Enemy

Have you ever heard of our government announcing that one of its top officials was going to Iraq? Of course not. You hear that they have arrived in Iraq on a surprise visit, sometimes to enjoy plastic turkey with the troops. I think we all understand the security reasons for this caution. Well, either McCain doesn't understand that Iraq is a dangerous place (very possible), or he has another objective in mind:

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is likely to be in Iraq over the weekend.

The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon.

Stay classy, McCain.

Bush Administration Shoots McCain in Foot for the Last Time!

Wow, this is hilarious. It looks like the Bush Administration's stunning general incompetence has spread to the last bastion of Republican skill: getting themselves elected.

The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined "Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine."

The misfire comes at an odd time for Bush foreign policy, at a time when Obama's campaign alleges the president is moving closer toward Obama's recommendations about international relations -- sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, discussing a "general time horizon" for U.S. troop withdrawal and launching talks with Iran.

This, I'm sure we'll be told, is just one more example of that damned liberal bias in the news media... and the White House press office. Ha!

But seriously, how many times have the Bush Administration done things that have made McCain look like an idiot? I count at least three. It's almost like they aren't a big fan of this McCain guy.

Iraqi Prime Minister Supports Obama's Iraq Plan

It looks like Prime Minister Al-Maliki is on board the Obama train:

"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

Asked if he supported Obama's ideas more than those of John McCain, Republican presidential hopeful, Maliki said he did not want to recommend who people should vote for.

"Whoever is thinking about the shorter term is closer to reality. Artificially extending the stay of U.S. troops would cause problems."

Of course he wont come right out and tell anyone in America how to vote, but I think he's making himself abundantly clear.

Not that Obama needs the help, but this should be a complete game-ender for the McCain campaign.

McCain Forgets Opposition to Gay Adoption

The New York Times asks McCain about adoption of orphans by gay couples on July 13, 2008.

Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?

McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.

Then, two days later, the McCain campaign clarifies his statements, which again means taking the opposite position:

McCain could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position on gay adoption is that it is a state issue, just as he made it clear in the interview that marriage is a state issue. He was not endorsing any federal legislation.

McCain’s expressed his personal preference for children to be raised by a mother and a father wherever possible. However, as an adoptive father himself, McCain believes children deserve loving and caring home environments, and he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative.

So there. This is exactly like his gay marriage flip flop, which occurred in the length of a commercial break - perhaps the fastest flip flop on record:

McCain Adopts Obama's Afghanistan Policy

McCain now wants more US Troops in Afghanistan, something Obama has been advocating and McCain had been resisting for years!

Here's ample documentation of McCain's previous position, thanks to Hilzoy.

And here's Marshall doing the media analysis on why we are not going to hear similar news stories to the ones we got about Obama's Iraq NotFlop:

Learn about McCain: College GPA

Here's something I didn't know about McCain. He graduated 894 out of 899 in his class - 5 from the bottom.



Coupled with his lack of curiosity, it's starting to sound a little familiar, don't you think?

No Katrina Oil Spills?

Isn't it interesting how the Republicans can't seem to debate an issue without resorting to out and out lies on the topic?

Republicans have wanted to open up the rest of America's protected lands to business exploitation since the idea of protected lands was first proposed. Currently they're trying to get the States to agree to allow off-shore oil drilling, on the premise that it will affect oil prices. It wont.

One of their primary talking points in this argument is that technology has progressed to the point where drilling offshore is no longer a spill waiting to happen. In fact, they say that not even Katrina was able to make any of these off-shore drilling platforms spring a leak! They repeat this every time they are on the TV talking about energy.

It wont surprise you to find that this is not true:

The oil pollution in the wake of Hurricane Katrina could be among the worst recorded in North America, officials trying to coordinate the clean-up say. The US coastguard, which is responsible for the marine environment, said yesterday more than 6.5 million gallons of crude oil had been spilt in at least seven major incidents. The previous worst spill in US waters was the 11m gallons in Alaskan waters from the Exxon Valdez in 1989.

"This is a major event," said Lieutenant Colonel Glynn Smith of the coastguard in New Orleans. "Things are going well, but three-quarters of the oil from the spills has not yet been recovered."

The figure does not include petrol and oil spilt from up to 250,000 cars which have been submerged, or that spilt from hundreds of petrol stations. The coastguard says it has received almost 400 reports of spills, the vast majority of which have not been assessed.

So, once again we see that the Republicans understand that the perceived reasonableness of a statement is directly correlated to the number of people saying it on TV. The Truth be damned, they know how to win elections.

Obama's Foreign Policy Speech

This is pure brilliance. It's like he's in my head.

Here are The Five Goals of his foreign policy:

1. Ending the war in Iraq responsibly
   
2. Finishing the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban
   
3. Securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states
   
4. Achieving true energy security
   
5. Rebuilding our alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century

Here's the meat:

The attacks of September 11 brought this new reality into a terrible and ominous focus. On that bright and beautiful day, the world of peace and prosperity that was the legacy of our Cold War victory seemed to suddenly vanish under rubble, and twisted steel, and clouds of smoke.

But the depth of this tragedy also drew out the decency and determination of our nation. At blood banks and vigils; in schools and in the United States Congress, Americans were united - more united, even, than we were at the dawn of the Cold War. The world, too, was united against the perpetrators of this evil act, as old allies, new friends, and even long-time adversaries stood by our side. It was time - once again - for America's might and moral suasion to be harnessed; it was time to once again shape a new security strategy for an ever-changing world.

Imagine, for a moment, what we could have done in those days, and months, and years after 9/11.

We could have deployed the full force of American power to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and all of the terrorists responsible for 9/11, while supporting real security in Afghanistan.

We could have secured loose nuclear materials around the world, and updated a 20th century non-proliferation framework to meet the challenges of the 21st.

We could have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in alternative sources of energy to grow our economy, save our planet, and end the tyranny of oil.

We could have strengthened old alliances, formed new partnerships, and renewed international institutions to advance peace and prosperity.

We could have called on a new generation to step into the strong currents of history, and to serve their country as troops and teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and police officers.

We could have secured our homeland--investing in sophisticated new protection for our ports, our trains and our power plants.

We could have rebuilt our roads and bridges, laid down new rail and broadband and electricity systems, and made college affordable for every American to strengthen our ability to compete.

We could have done that.

Instead, we have lost thousands of American lives, spent nearly a trillion dollars, alienated allies and neglected emerging threats - all in the cause of fighting a war for well over five years in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

Our men and women in uniform have accomplished every mission we have given them. What's missing in our debate about Iraq - what has been missing since before the war began - is a discussion of the strategic consequences of Iraq and its dominance of our foreign policy. This war distracts us from every threat that we face and so many opportunities we could seize. This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century. By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe.

Word.

From McCain's Past

Republican Senator says McCain roughed up Sandinista:

One of John McCain's Republican colleagues says he saw the presumed GOP presidential nominee roughly grab an associate of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and lift him out of his chair during a diplomatic mission to the Central American nation in 1987.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said he saw McCain, who has a reputation for being hot-tempered, rough up an Ortega associate during a trip to Nicaragua led by former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan.

"McCain was down at the end of the table and we were talking to the head of the guerrilla group here at this end of the table and I don't know what attracted my attention," Cochran said in an interview with the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. "But I saw some kind of quick movement at the bottom of the table and I looked down there and John had reached over and grabbed this guy by the shirt collar and had snatched him up like he was throwing him up out of the chair to tell him what he thought about him or whatever ...

"I don't know what he was telling him but I thought, 'Good grief, everybody around here has got guns and we were there on a diplomatic mission.' I don't know what had happened to provoke John, but he obviously got mad at the guy ... and he just reached over there and snatched ... him."

Also, he apparently thinks rape is funny:

The blog Rum, Romanism and Rebellion pulls out a 1986 Tucson Citizen article recounting a joke about rape told by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Speaking to the National League of Cities and Towns in Washington, DC, McCain allegedly said:

Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, “Where is that marvelous ape?”

McCain was swiftly criticized by women’s groups. A spokeswoman for NOW in Arizona said the organization’s members were “incensed by his cruel and sexist remark.” McCain said he did not “recall” telling the joke. More recently, the McCain campaign scheduled a fundraiser with a Texas oilman who compared rape to the weather while running for governor. “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it,” said Clayton Williams in 1990. After public outcry, the event was “postponed.”

Update: Huffington Post's Sam Stein spoke to reporter Norma Coile, who wrote the original article. Coile told Stein, "I'm not sure exactly what the wording was of the joke, but something was said. Some joke involving a rape and ape was said."

Good stuff, McCain. If only it was still the 20th Century, his century, and you could just deny you ever said such things.

Talking with our Enemies?

The latest on the appeasement front:

President Bush has authorized the most significant American diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, sending the State Department's third-ranking official to Geneva for a meeting this weekend on Iran's nuclear program, administration officials said Tuesday.

....William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, will attend a meeting on Saturday with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement on Wednesday.

It has to be admitted that Obama is right on this issue. Our foreign policy successes (if you can call them that after the failures that precede them) have all come as a result of talking with out enemies. Our foreign policy failures have all come as a result of stubbornly refusing to talk to our enemies. For instance, during the period when we weren't talking to North Korea, they manufactured their first dozen nuclear bombs and developed enrichment technologies that they then spread around the world. Now that we are talking to them, they have suspended their program and destroyed their reprocessing facility.

Once again, the Bush Administration is doing things that McCain has called Obama "naive" for advocating.

McCain for Cutting Social Security Benefits

Excellent work from the Reality-Based Community:

Carly Fiorina says that McCain might raise taxes on rich folks as part of a Social Security deal.

Grover Norquist, speaking as the Anti-Tax Grand Inquisitor, more or less replies: "Bullsh*t! I wear McCain's balls on my keyring!"

Then comes the punchline:

A McCain campaign spokesman told ABC News Monday that McCain continues to oppose any tax increase as part of Social Security reform, notwithstanding Fiorina's comments.

"The lesson of history is that too many specifics at this point polarize the debate, that is the argument Carly was trying to make," Taylor Griffin said. "However, John McCain does believe that we can fix Social Security without raising taxes. As president, John McCain will call on Congress to develop a bi-partisan solution to Social Security — and if they won't, he will."

Three points here:

1. "Too many specifics at this point polarize the debate" translates into English as "If we told the retirees how completely we plan to shaft them, they might not vote for us."

2. The McCain camp seems to have invented a new idea: unilateral bipartisanship. If Congress doesn't come up with a bi-partisan plan, McCain will single-handedly come up with his own bi-partisan plan.

3. Since McCain has now committed to "fixing" the Social Security "problem" without raising taxes, and since the only two ways of getting projected revenues to match projected benefits is to increase revenues or reduce benefits, it follows that McCain is committed to cutting Social Security benefits. And that's before he has to reduce them again to accommodate the diversion of new money into private accounts.

So not only does McCain think that Social Security is "an absolute disgrace," he knows what he wants to do about it: he'll reduce pensions but not increase taxes on the wealthy.

This seems to me like Christmas in July.

Yup. This is an 80-20 issue, and especially so amongst the most dedicated voters - the older generations.

The 9/11 Timeline

If it had been a Democrat that was President on 9/11, this would be all we'd hear about until impeachment:

• Jan 20, 2001: Bush Inaugurated
• Jan 25, 2001: Richard Clarke sends Condi Rice memo, warning about al Qaeda. Rice does nothing.
• August 6, 2001: Bush gets memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to strike in US." Bush responds by telling the briefer, "All right. You've covered your ass, now." Then does nothing.
• September 11, 2001: Bin Laden strikes in US.

(h/t Atrios)

McCain calls War Opponents Traitors

This is more like the Republican rhetoric I'm used to! I'm sure McCain is doing this just to make us Democrats feel at home! Being called a traitor just makes me nostalgic for the days when I was being right about the upcoming Iraq War, and when all the chest-thumping patriots were being so very, so stupidly wrong.

The new accusation was unveiled on a McCain campaign conference call [this morning], with top McCain surrogates making this charge in tandem.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said that a “turning point” was when Harry Reid declared the war “lost” over a year ago, and brought up an old quote from Chuck Schumer predicting that discontent with the war would lead to further Democratic gains. “The Democratic Party built a political strategy around us losing the war in Iraq,” Graham said.

McCain adviser Randy Scheunemann joined in: “Senator Obama seems to think losing a war will help him win an election.”

It might not be the actual word "treason," but the intent is clear. So much for the civil and respectful campaign.

Of course, it's doubly ironic that the Republicans are saying the Democrats want to see US Troops killed and lose on the battlefield. It was the Republicans, after all, that demanded we go to war with a country that posed no threat to us, delivering that country into the waiting arms of the Iranians, and getting hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians killed in the process. Then there is the little matter of the 4000+ US dead. These military men and women deserved better than to be used so cynically.

And let us remember that it is the Republicans who have said that terrorist attacks on US soil would help them electorally! After an OBL tape released during the 2004 election, McCain said, “Bin Laden may have just given us a little boost. Amazing, huh?”

One might say that "Senator McCain seems to think having US citizens killed by terrorists in America will help him win an election." Fair, huh?

Oped: Obama on Iraq

Obama wrote an Op-Ed for the NYTimes today:

In the 18 months since President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly weakening its effectiveness.

But the same factors that led me to oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200 billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge.

The good news is that Iraq’s leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a timetable for the removal of American troops. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. James Dubik, the American officer in charge of training Iraq’s security forces, estimates that the Iraqi Army and police will be ready to assume responsibility for security in 2009.

Only by redeploying our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government. They call any timetable for the removal of American troops “surrender,” even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government.

But this is not a strategy for success — it is a strategy for staying that runs contrary to the will of the Iraqi people, the American people and the security interests of the United States. That is why, on my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war.

Sounds like me. :)

No SOFA

Looks like the Iraqis are holding firm to their demands for a withdrawal timetable before any agreement is reached concerning the United States' legal right to occupy the country.

There will be no Status of Forces Agreement with the Bush White House. Sovereignty is a bitch, huh?