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This page contains a single entry by Mark Willen published on March 19, 2008 12:58 PM.

Obama Spoke, But Was He Heard? was the previous entry.

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McCain's Gaffe: A Big Deal or Not?

By Mark Willen | Comments (6) | Permalink

When John McCain mistakenly accused

Iran

of supporting al Qaeda in

Iraq

, Democrats pounced on it as proof that his foreign policy credentials are overblown, while Republicans dismissed it as a minor slip of the tongue. The truth lies somewhere in between.

It was interesting to watch the press grapple with McCain's mistake -- one in which he mixed up Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites and blamed Iran for supporting al Qaeda (mostly Sunni) when in fact Iran backs extremist Shiites. Liberal cable outlets had a field day -- Keith Olbermann on MSNBC played the video at least four times in less than an hour last night, while the more conservative Wall Street Journal and Washington Times didn't mention it. The New York Times and the Washington Post ran stories, but put them deep inside their front sections.

McCain's trip to Iraq hasn't gone exactly the way he planned it. Instead of a tour that emphasized his national security credentials, he found himself shunted off the front pages by the crisis on Wall Street, upstaged by Vice President DIck Cheney's almost simultaneous visit to Baghdad, and Bush's remarks today on the five year anniversary of the war. And then there was this verbal gaffe, which surely undercut his image as someone who can slip easily into the role of a confident world leader.

McCain's larger point -- that Iran is causing trouble in Iraq -- is obviously true and crucial. But can you imagine how Republicans would go to town if Barack Obama or even Hillary Clinton made a similar gaffe? It would be taken as proof that neither is ready for the presidency. Just remember how McCain tried to do just that when he thought Obama, during a debate with Clinton, had implied that al Qaeda isn't present in Iraq.

But there's a more serious point to be made about McCain's linking of Iran and al Qaeda. It goes to the mindset that has been fostered by the Bush administration -- one that sees an al Qaeda hand behind every dilemma the U.S. faces at home and abroad. No one doubts that al Qaeda is a real threat to this nation, but it's not the only one. And we do ourselves a disservice by thinking that way.

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6 Comments

Marcus said:

Yes, but you don't mention that he made the mistake not once, but four times, and only corrected himself after a furtive "whisper in the ear" from Joe Lieberman. The greater worry is not McCain "gaffes": it's McCain's unshakable conviction that it's good we're in Iraq, and that it's fine for us to stay there in perpetuity. He plans to keep on paying a billion a week HOW?

March 19, 2008 1:36 PM

Bob Kubit said:

A slip of the tongue is understandable. I remember President Bush the elder, a war hero, misstating the date of Pearl Harbor as "September 7" to an American Legion audience.

In this case John McCain, headlining himself as the candidate best suited to be Commander-In-Chief, made the same mistake at least twice. Once in the press conference you describe in your article and again the day before on the Hugh Hewitt show.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7020979&ch=4226716&src=news

Monday, March 17, 2008 Hugh Hewitt radio show transcript:
http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/talkradio/transcripts/Transcript.aspx?ContentGuid=ae522a49-6c82-4791-a76e-44ebb718bf32

Slip of the tongue? No. An indication that John McCain is past his prime? Probably. A person who can be trusted to wisely direct American foreign policy for the next four years? Absolutely not.

America cannot afford any more foreign policy mistakes.

March 19, 2008 2:14 PM

jared said:

Actually, Iran training Al Qaeda HAS been widely reported in the news. He meant to say extremists, but his original statement was accurate too. Look at the 9-11 Commission Report, page 61 or The New York Sun 11/14/06, or USA Today 4/11/07, The Guardian 5/22/07, and on and on. It is not unlike Iran to support both Sunnis and Shiites or whoever they think is likely to kill Americans.

March 19, 2008 7:22 PM

Kerri said:

Strangely, no one seemed to notice when Obama, at a town meeting at Newman Smith High School in Texas, said we should decrease our dependence on foreign oil because as is we're making countries like Iran rich. (We haven't bought oil from Iran since the 1970s).

March 19, 2008 7:25 PM

Bob said:

Yo. Jared.

You seem to know what McCain thinks. Tell us all what's going on with the Straight Talk Express when he flips by saying Iran is training al-qaeda and sending them back into Iraq then flops when he apologizes and says he misspoke, then flips again and says Iran has been helping al-qaeda all along.

Here is the link to the NY Sun:
http://www.nysun.com/article/73277

Flip, flop, flip. Flop?

You find him trustworthy?

March 21, 2008 10:56 AM

Bob Kubit said:

General David Petraeus speaks on the issue.

Phillips: The Bush administration has referred to Iran as the axis of evil, but it stands firm that Iran is funneling weapons and supporting al Qaeda and supporting the insurgency.
Was it a slap in the face to Americans the fact that the Iranian president came here to Iraqi soil when you and other US troops are trying to rebuild this country, and trying to end terrorism in this country?
Petraeus: No again, I think it's very natural that Iraq should try to deal with its neighbors.
Phillips: Would you support a war in Iran?
Petraeus: Well, first of all (laughs) that's not a question that I would deal with at all, and I'm worried about Iraq. That's what our focus is on. We certainly are concerned.
Phillips: But clearly the influence of Iran is huge here.
Petraeus: We are concerned very much about the lethal excellerants as they are called that do come from Iran and we appropriately raised that to those who have a broader perspective and who have a regional and then a global look in the same way we do about what comes through Syria. As you know the flow of foreign fighters and suicide bombers that help out al Qaeda typically is through Syria.

Video here.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/22/cnns-kyra-phillips-pushes-the-iran-is-supporting-al-qaeda-lie/#more-27513

March 22, 2008 2:38 PM