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Cafferty on McCain ‘gaffe’: ‘What kind of leadership is that?’»

Today on CNN, Jack Cafferty said John McCain’s confusion over Iran and al Qaeda poses serious issues about his leadership:

If John McCain makes another mistake like he did yesterday — where he got the Shia confused with the Sunni confused with al Qaeda confused with Iran — the number of people who want the troops out of Iraq will double overnight.

I mean, what kind of leadership is that? He’s over there talking to foreign dignitaries, and he has no idea who the players are.

Watch it:

Screenshot

The Wonk Room has more on the right-wing’s revisionism of McCain’s comments. While the McCain campaign “does concede that McCain was wrong yesterday when he said that Iranian operatives were ‘taking al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back,’” right-wing bloggers refuse to acknowledge it.

UpdateAtrios writes that "the Weekly Standard and Wall Street Journal are actively running interference" for McCain.
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69 Responses to “Cafferty on McCain ‘gaffe’: ‘What kind of leadership is that?’”


  1. rastaman Says:

    let me guess…..Borger chimed in soon after with some ditzy apologetic illogic.

    what a glorious (no pun) setup that must be for Jack…..he can point out Bush’s stupidity and then use Borger as a verbal punching bag after she delivers her best political impression of a teenage SC’ian beauty contestant.


  2. Jackie Says:

    What you see is what you get with McCain. Now if Americans vote McCain in as President it will take only a few minutes for a country to come in and take over. It just might happen as Americans knew Bush was a drunk and druggie and dumb as a door knob and put him in twice. But the biggest joke on the public is Cheney. Just as he said this morning live on channel 7. When asked that the American people want out of Iraq Cheney responded So! As if to say he could care less what the American people want or think. Now we once had a Democracy but as Cheney says he does what he wants just as long as he gets the big profits. Now as for Americans he really doesn’t care what happens to the American people.


  3. Bobwurst Says:

    Omicron is the dumbest of the dumb. I can’t figure out if its a Chicothe or Galipolis inbred. Either way it’s an inbred.


  4. RA Says:

    McCain says he is dumb on the economy but an expert on foreign policy yet he doesn’t know the difference between sunni and shiite. Sound familiar?

    Did anyone notice that Obama is under fire because Rev. Wright said 9/11 was the fault of America but McCain isn’t under fire despite the fact that he worked hard to get into the late Jerry Falwell’s good graces in 2006 and Jerry Falwell blamed 9/11 on AMERICANS! McCain knew Falwell had blamed Americans before he courted and became pals with Falwell. Why do you think the press gives McCain a pass? Is it because of race?


  5. Nevar Says:

    We really don’t need another imbecile in the White House…
    John should just stay home. Or stay in Iraq. Seems he likes to go there a lot.


  6. Bobwurst Says:

    Race and repubicanlove. The media can’t get enough of their goosestepping leaders.


  7. Snowball Says:

    C’mon, it’s not a gaff, it’s a lie. McCain has repeated this false, nonsensical claim that Iran is linked to al Qeada over and over again and even stated that he has seen intelligence that backs up this rubbish. He knows what he’s doing. As far as the vast majority of the American public knows, Islam is a monolithic belief system. They know nothing of the demographic, ethnic, religious and political differences between Shiite and Sunni Islam. The American people do not know that the Persian Shiites and al Qeada Sunni Wahabbiist militants are rival, diametrically opposed tendencies in Islam. Just as the public bought into the Bush regime’s transparent lie that Hussein was linked to al Qeada although they were deadly enemies, they will hear McCain’s statement and believe it is true. Even if the Corporate Media were to report that this was a distortion (they won’t) McCain’s lie will have traveled far and wide without a chance for the truth to catch up.


  8. katy Says:

    i tend to think it wasn’t a mistake at all, or that he mispoke, or that it was a “senior moment” - 4 times…

    “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran..heh heh…”


  9. MapleStreet Says:

    What kind of leadership ?I don’t know, Caf.

    Perhaps you could explain as you’ve defended Bush and his frequent gaffs.


  10. joe cantwell Says:

    Omicron Ohayo Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    at least you’re a dedicated cnn watcher.

    not into loofahs and falafels, eh?


  11. Bobwurst Says:

    Re Joe cantwell,

    The batteries in the remote are dead and it’s too obese to get up and change the channel.


  12. pete Says:

    McPander Bear at his finest. He knows his only hope (a very slim one at that) is to keep the lemmings frightened.

    I don’t recall the source but it’s been claimed, “frightened people make bad decisions”. The Republican platform in a nutshell.


  13. Xisithrus Says:

    Al Qaeda is related to every country except from which Osama originated.


  14. ArtZ Says:

    If it was either a mistake or a lie…
    shame on him.


  15. shaun Says:

    ha!! - good old jack - i think he is dead right - and hillary and obama should quit their sqwabbling and nail mccain on this and not let it go - mccain passes it off as a slip of the tongue - don’t let him off easy over this - it is a major blunder.


  16. williamf Says:

    He’s trying like Bush will try with his secret libarrry, to retell and rewrite history. With their doublespeak and sound bites they attempt to clarify and intimidate and set the record straight for themselves. It never crosses their mind that there are actually Americans out here who are smart enough to know they are pulling shit and trying to sell snake oil. The truth is the truth and it is generally agreed upon. No number of attempts at confusing the meaning of language will confuse the real issues. Here’s an anti-sound bite; the Iraq war has been a disastrous failure.


  17. sectionop92 Says:

    So when McCain goes to the grocery store, does he go for the 7-Up, Pepsi or Coca-Cola…then select the Cap ‘N Crunch and start taking orders from the box because he thinks the Captain is one of the Joint Chiefs? Because those “damn insurgents” Ben & Jerry need to be brought into line, just like Boo Berry did all those years ago.

    Because all the studies do say grocery shopping is a big strain for men and old people do wander around when you turn your back on them.


  18. Mr. Evil Says:

    Xisithrus Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    I’m happy to know I’m not the only one to notice that. Pretty soon we’ll be told to be afraid of Al Qaeda of Canada. Then Al Qaeda of France, Al Qaeda of Antarctica (where they’re now recruiting penguins because they don’t require 72 dead virgins), Al Qaeda of Luxembourg, Al Qaeda of Australia because they got rid of John Howard so easily.

    It is absolutely sad that this is what humanity has come to on this planet.


  19. flavorino Says:

    Xisithrus Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    Al Qaeda is related to every country except from which Osama originated.

    True that.
    I wonder why that is?
    google ‘a second look at the Saudis’


  20. Mr. Evil Says:

    williamf Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    Because George Bush is a disastrous failure. Always has, always is and always will be.


  21. Krazny Says:

    Another point about Islam not being some sort of monolithic being. In Darfur the ethnic cleansing has been between Muslim Arabs, and Muslim Blacks. Read a very good article in this months issue of National Geographic about the area.


  22. Bluestocking Says:

    McCain says he is dumb on the economy but an expert on foreign policy yet he doesn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shiite. Sound familiar?

    Did anyone notice that Obama is under fire because Rev. Wright said 9/11 was the fault of America but McCain isn’t under fire despite the fact that he worked hard to get into the late Jerry Falwell’s good graces in 2006 and Jerry Falwell blamed 9/11 on AMERICANS! McCain knew Falwell had blamed Americans before he courted and became pals with Falwell. Why do you think the press gives McCain a pass? Is it because of race?
    – RA

    ******************************************************

    Nah. Although it’s quite possible that race plays some role in this double standard, I think the primary answer is much more simple — namely, IOKIYAR.


  23. Krazny Says:

    Bluestocking Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

    Nah. Although it’s quite possible that race plays some role in this double standard, I think the primary answer is much more simple — namely, IOKIYAR.

    That and Falwell blamed the gays, the feminists, and the liberals. Wright had the termerity to blame white conservatives.


  24. dbadass Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 10:18 pm

    One trick pony? Good stand up requires that you vary the punchline.


  25. Krazny Says:

    LOL I thought we were discussing McCain’s supposed leadership ability, not Cafferty’s integrity. I suppose however it is easier to blame the messenger, then owe up to what McCain said.


  26. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    That’s the best Gigi can come up with? “Liberal Hack”?

    No wonder dbadass smacked that one out of the park so effortlessly.

    Geeg, admit it; you’re not even trying.


  27. Mr. Evil Says:

    I didn’t know Jack Cafferty was running for president.


  28. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

    I guess Gigi is right; we should all start to evaluate public statements based on the driving records of the speakers.

    Excellent idea, Geej. This could save a lot of time.

    Y’know, it sounds a little like the right-wing “kill the messenger” tactic, but it must be something different, right? I mean, Gigi wouldn’t use such a hackneyed trick, would she?


  29. Vanthomas Says:

    Buy guns. War is coming.


  30. The Republic of Stupidity Says:

    Both Botch & the Dickster have DUIs on their records.


  31. Snowball Says:

    # good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

    “CNN anchor Jack Cafferty (above) got off with a $250 fine and 70 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a hit-and-run on a bicyclist. As PAGE SIX reported on July 26, Cafferty - traced by his license plate - was charged after he knocked a man off a bike with his Cadillac on May 14 on Ninth Avenue. A traffic cop and five pedestrians chased Cafferty, but - dragging the bike underneath his Caddy - he drove through two red lights as he fled, police said.”

    http://www.pagesix.com/ celebrities/ Jack+Cafferty?page=0%2C1

    What kind of integrity is that?

    You can’t dispute what he said, so attack the messenger. That’s called a logical fallacy. People who resort to logical fallacies to make their arguments are being inherently dishonest.

    What kind of integrity is that?


  32. Mr. Evil Says:

    Laura even killed her boyfriend after she ran a stop sigh. You started it gg. http://www.bartcop.com/pickles-killer.htm


  33. Mr. Evil Says:

    typo: sign not sigh. Maybe I meant to sigh.


  34. Wayne A. Schneider Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

    Does that mean you have nothing to say on the merits of what Cafferty said? Why is it that conservatives feel that the way to attack someone’s argument is to attack the person making it? Ann Coulter complains that she can’t attack the 9/11 Widows who, she says, were “enjoying their husbands’ deaths”. Why does she feel that one has to attack the widows themselves and not the argument and statements the widows were making? The answer is simple. They have no argument to make on the merits, so they attack the messenger (as our good friend ralph pointed out.)

    The right-wing does this all the time! They cannot win an argument based on facts, so they either lie (and accuse the people correcting them of lying) or they attack the person making the factual claim that they don’t like.

    They have been doing this for decades, and all through those earlier decades, they complained that their views weren’t being heard on TV (though they dominated the radio airwaves). It’s quite obvious now, after more than forty years of this crap, that they have nothing of merit to say.


  35. cerberus Says:

    “what kind of leadership is this”?? It’s more of the same with McSame - another psychiatrically compromised egomaniac who believes himself to be royalty. McSame is even more monstrous and maniacal than Chimpy. He’s also in the throes of profound senile dementia.


  36. cerberus Says:

    McSame has already been inducted into the Hall of Corruption but the kind of leadership this implies with this horrendous gaffe is the same kind of leadership we’ve painfully endured for 7 long years - NO LEADERSHIP.


  37. Above the Clouds Says:

    good_golly: Then why did McCain backpeddle so fast on his confused statements? Poor, old McCain is really flailing when he has to depend on Joe Lieberman to be his “voice of reason.” And you thought it was tough being a Republican in 2006 . . .


  38. gummitch Says:

    I am sure glad that goon_golly is around. I could have sworn it ran away rather than explain this:

    gummitch Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    goon_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Bush did not say that “a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil.” He said that unless we finished the job, al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources (i.e. massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons).

    They would have a difficult time gaining massive revenues without being able to produce and sell the oil, goon. Maybe that’s just too complicated for you to understand. Standing around the derrick just doesn’t make much money.

    So, goon, explain how Al Qaeda could have massive revenues without producing and selling the oil. Please.


  39. Buck Says:

    good_goofy might have a point. Remember Laura Bush ran a stop sign, causing an accident which killed her (then) boyfriend. And we all know the woman never had integrity.

    Ain’t that right, gg?


  40. gummitch Says:

    goon_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:08 pm

    Even liberal MSNBC reported that “Al-Qaida finds safe haven in Iran.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8330976/

    “under house arrest”.

    Do you even read the linked articles?

    And answer the question, goon: why did McCain quickly affirm that Al Qaeda is not, in fact, being trained in Iran?


  41. gummitch Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    Did Iran Help al Qaeda Escape?

    2002? Good googly god, goon, you’re sinking deeper and deeper.

    When will you prove that it was actually space aliens that spirited the terrorists away?


  42. Krazny Says:

    G_G did you read the entire MSNBC article, where it stated the Al Qaeda people are being held in house arrest, perhaps pending a prisoner exchange with the US for Iranian operatives, or were there to many 3 syllable words?


  43. gummitch Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:17 pm

    47. She had an automobile accident after she had barely turned 17, resulting in the death of a classmate. She did not leave the scene of the accident or flee police. Running the red light showed the poor judgment of a teenage driver well over 40 years ago.

    and she is a republican.

    There you go. Fixed it for you.


  44. Above the Clouds Says:

    The Bush Administration has forever put a taint on the concept of the “American intelligence community.” “Wright’s hate cult” may be the worst thing that ever happened to McCain, FOX News and the general troll community because Wright is a christian minister and that fact shoots Dick Cheney-sized shotgun to the face holes in the GOP talking point that Obama is a Muslim.


  45. sectionop92 Says:

    Lieberman had to go over to McCain to adjust the tin foil under John’s scalp. That hot Arab sun interferes with the GOP signals…just ask the Filipino Monkey.

    Plus Pat Robertson wasn’t praying hard enough at the time and Jesus’ wishes weren’t being bestowed upon John…so he became sick with infidelphia; that’s how the religious right puts it.


  46. Krazny Says:

    Uhh isn’t the Washington Post one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Neo-Con Agenda?


  47. gummitch Says:

    goon_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    The Iran-al Qaeda Axis

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ Commentary/ com-11_1_05_PEB.html

    Oh, good, another outdated rightwing blog post. Nice. Very convincing.

    What about that whole Al Qaeda oil thing, goon? Maybe you should explain that before you go off on another one of your spamming_the_wingnut_blog fits.

    I mean, if you’re going to ignore those commies at the Pentagon, at least explain your own “thoughts.”


  48. Krazny Says:

    G_G

    The writer of the article on RealClearPolotics is a senior fellow at the National Heritage Foundation. A neo-con think tank. As for what the telegraph is printing. Think it through man.


  49. gummitch Says:

    and explain, goon, why McCain apologized for making false claims about a linkage between Al Qaeda and Iran. You think you and your wingnut buddies know more than McCain? More than his “advisor”, Lieberman?


  50. gummitch Says:

    Is the spamfest over yet? Hey, goon, explain how Al Qaeda will make massive amounts of money on Iraqi oil without producing and selling it.

    Goon?


  51. Krazny Says:

    Reading through other posts by the fellow who wrote the UK article, it is clear he where his loyalties lay. He also wrote in the run-up to the current Iraq war, how vital it was for western powers to invade and remove saddam before the nukes starting raining down.

    Sounds like the same garbage we heard before, just repackaged.


  52. Above the Clouds Says:

    I wonder if they’ll let Lieberman stand next to McCain and whisper things into his ears when he starts debating in earnest this fall? Even retired General McCaffery (usually a loyal Bush apologist) had it right in TV this evening when he said it’s gonna take a lot of time for the next president (whoever he or she might be) to unscrew this Republican mess they have made in Iraq.


  53. gummitch Says:

    Looks like the goon punched out early. I sure hope those trolls have a good union.

    Don’t worry, though, goon. I’ll keep reminding you about the oil.


  54. old_hack Says:

    5 YEARS WE DID IT! WOOO CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!

    JOHN MCCAIN IS RIGHT I HOPE WE CAN MAKE IT LAST A THOUSAND YEARS!

    GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS AND OUR PRESIDENT

    link


  55. Mr. Evil Says:

    You know what, goon gully, if the reason for your existence on this planet is to live in constant fear and turmoil then go hide somewhere else. If Iran gets a nuclear weapon what do you think they would do with it. Sell it? Use it? I cannot believe that they are so stupid as to invite their own annihilation. We could do it without nukes. We could destroy them with conventional missiles and bombs.
    This constant redefining of why we’re in Iraq is insulting. They’ve lied so much about Iraq and 9-11, one day soon they’ll try to lie about something else and they’ll actually tell the truth without even knowing it. Thinking that it’s just some of the same old baffle ‘em with bullshit routine. They don’t know the difference between where the lies begin and the truth ends.


  56. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Well, I owe goon_golly an apology. I said she wasn’t even trying, but she proved me wrong with those multiple spam posts from right-wing sites.

    That certainly looks like it took a lot of effort to copy and paste that many times. Even if she did post the same things yesterday.

    Please accept my apology, Gigi. You are indeed at least trying.


  57. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Ab gummitch, thanks for reviving that stupid quote of the goon’s.

    Mind if I take a whack at it?

    goon_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Bush did not say that “a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil.” He said that unless we finished the job, al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources (i.e. massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons).

    So, Gigi, let’s take a closer look at your statement:

    you characterized what the president said thusly:

    He said that unless we finished the job, al Qaeda could gain access to Iraq’s oil resources (i.e. massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons).

    Seems to me that “a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization” is a very accurate description of al Qaeda, is it not? They are fragmented. They are clandestione. They are non-Iraqi. (If you want to argue that they are Iraqi, then I’ll have to take issue with Dick Cheney’s complaints of “foreign insurgents” spoiling his party.)

    So you basically said “Bush didn’t say A, he said A” on that one.

    Then let’s look at the oil revenue. As gummitch has pointed out, you haven’t ever addressed the conundrum of how access to Iraqi oil would do al Qaeda a bit of good if they couldn’t process and refine it. Where would the “massive revenues with which they could purchase weapons” (your words, Geej) come from if not from processing the oil?

    So it looks to me like you said the equivalent of “Bush didn’t say A could B, he said A could B.”

    Your thoughts?


  58. old_hack Says:

    Shizam!

    I said to my girl earlier
    “ya know, the entire time we’ve been dating our country has been at war. We’re like Germans in the 30s”

    “yep” she replied


  59. jb Says:

    Mccain doesn’t have a F-ing clue. He says whatever he thinks might fly with the Repuke establishment. Only reason he is a senator is his ex-POW status and his wife’s connections to Republican power. No real talent, no real ideas. Stuffed shirt, my friends.


  60. gummitch Says:

    ralph, methinks the goon has fled the field. Booked. Curled itself into a tiny ball in the hopes it could hide under that bit of crud and escape any notice. Tomorrow it will pretend that all is fresh and new and a whole new stream of vomited spam will ensue.

    We’ll just have to remind it about the oil and the qaeda.

    Cheers. Sleep tight.


  61. pete Says:

    ralph the wonder llama Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

    Yep. Gigi does try. It’s kinda like when my cat tries to do differential equations. I can tell she’s trying, but, she can’t hold a pencil, or dictate in human-talk, so she quickly gets lost. It’s a mirror image of Gigi’s attempts at rational discourse. The tool use is there but the “logic” just won’t fly.


  62. AngryOne Says:

    Just in time for the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain made an unannounced visit to Iraq. Unfortunately for him, this week’s anniversary highlights that at almost every turn, John McCain has been disastrously wrong about Iraq.

    For a catalog of McCain’s erroneous statements, see:
    “Forever Wrong: Five Years of John McCain on Iraq.”


  63. freedom lover Says:

    GiGi is our own Dana Peroxide, a liar, a cheap traitor with spin points and the indefensible bullshit defending Bush’s sociopathy and incompetence. Both are cheap, tawdry whores undeserving of American citizenship.


  64. Mr. Evil Says:

    I can’t wait for tomorrow’s edition psycho-babble from the McCain train of the travelling insane.


  65. old_hack Says:

    IMAGINE if this were the results from a roll call vote and that the results mandated the passing of a bill.

    Like they do in Switzerland. and Venezuela for gods sake.

    http://ni4d.us <- thats what this is.

    http://www.youtube.com/gravel2008 <- and what this guy is trying to explain to you

    http://youtube.com/user/votenader08 <- and this guy is starting to explain to people

    we have to be able to vote on issues. Then we’ll be FREE!


  66. joe cantwell Says:

    gg. losing again.

    a preview of things to come…?

    :)


  67. hussein toasterhead Says:

    good_golly Says:
    March 19th, 2008 at 11:22 pm

    According to recent reports received by Western intelligence agencies, the Iranians are training senior al-Qa’eda operatives in Teheran to take over the organisation when bin Laden is no longer leader.

    So do you have any links that aren’t from completely vague sources? Even the Iran-related footnotes in the 911 Commission Report are dubious at best.


  68. drago Says:

    McCain is as stupid as Bush.

    No More Stupid Presidents!

    Stupid Presidents get people killed, like the 3000 that died on 9/11 under the “watch” of Bush.


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