‘Astonished’ McCain Ignores His Multiple Al Qaeda/Iran Gaffes, Claims ‘I Just Simply Misspoke’
‘Astonished’ McCain Ignores His Multiple Al Qaeda/Iran Gaffes, Claims ‘I Just Simply Misspoke’
In an interview yesterday with NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) dismissed criticism of his multiple false claims that Iranian operatives are “taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back” by claiming that he “corrected it immediately.” “I don’t claim that I won’t misspeak on occassion, but I will correct it immediately,” said McCain.
Asked if it’s “a fair question” to wonder if it was more than “simply a slip of a tongue,” McCain replied that “to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.” Watch it:
Just as McCain’s initial assertion about Iran training al Qaeda was false, his claim that he “corrected it immediately” is also false. In fact, McCain made the claim at least three times on two separate occasions. He corrected himself only after the third utterance when Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) whispered in his ear.
While NBC aired only a snippet of O’Donnell’s interview, in the full video, which is posted online, McCain also played the common conservative game of using “intentionally deceptive language” to blur “the differences between groups with different goals and ideologies in order to create the illusion of a united Islamofascist enemy”:
Al Qaeda is military. Al Qaeda is killing Americans as we speak. Islamic extremists are being trained in Iran and they are being sent back into Iran, I mean into Iraq.
Making a false claim and then making it again is the opposite of the correcting it immediately. It’s also the opposite of “straight talk.”
Transcript:
KELLY O’DONNELL: I’d like to ask you about a moment yesterday when you were speaking about the influence of Iran and there was a gaffe, if you’d call it that. When you described Iran aiding al Qaeda, does that suggest that your depth of knowledge on some of the cultural issues may not be as great as some of your military knowledge?JOHN MCCAIN: Al Qaeda is military. Al Qaeda is killing Americans as we speak. Islamic extremists are being trained in Iran and they are being sent back into Iran, I mean into Iraq. And explosive devices, these copper ones, which we just discovered, uncovered a large cache, are killing American soldiers. We should care about that. We should care about Iranians who are sending these lethal devices, the most lethal devices, into Iraq and killing Americans. That’s what I care about. That’s what the subject is. I just simply misspoke when I said al Qaeda. But they are training extremists and they are sending the most lethal devices that are killing Americans. That’s what we should care about.
O’DONNELL: Do you feel comfortable with understanding the differences between the Shia and Sunni political agendas?
MCCAIN: In all due respect, that was my eighth visit to Iraq. I am constantly briefed. I am constantly engaged in this issue. I’ve been involved in every major national security challenge this nation has faced for the last 20 years.
O’DONNELL: I ask it respectfully because people did notice that you made this comment and wondered, was it simply a slip of the tongue…
MCCAIN: I corrected it immediately. I corrected it, my comment immediately. I don’t claim that I won’t misspeak on occassion, but I will correct it immediately. Ha ha ha, I’m astonished. Frankly, I’m astonished.
O’DONNELL: You don’t think that’s a fair question?
MCCAIN: I think anything is a fair question, but to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.
O’DONNELL: Ok.
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“Yeah, I misspoke. I misspoke FOUR times.”
Heh. Ol’ Warmonger doesn’t know Shi’ite from Shinola.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:43 amIf McCain misses many more spokes he’ll be rolling no more.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:44 amSorry, I didn’t mean to push that red button….
March 20th, 2008 at 11:47 amThis is no accident. His words are intended for domestic consumption, much like Dick Cheney’s past assertions that Saddam Hussein had connections to al Qaeda.
Guess what just finished up in Israel? Joint military exercises drilling on “extreme situations”. Haaretz ran an article on it.
So Cheney will visit Israel soon with the results of those exercises fresh off the table. It’s a setup folks.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:48 am“to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.”
- - All evidence to the contrary. If McCain had a (D) after his name he would be Swiftboated mercilessly.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:48 amNot only is he dumb, he’s senile.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:50 amit’s no wonder he’s the repugnican party’s pres candidate.
That’s just what I was thinking, it “is a bit ludicrous” that after 5 years and 8 trips there McCain still doesn’t know who the enemy is.
and one thing, off topic, why is there a big “W” at the top of the sign in page for this site these days . . . just wondering . . . W having a certain connotation these days.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:51 amMcDunce, McLame, McInsane, McSame, McPutz, McDoofus, McDitz, McCant, McAsshat, McBoob, McZero, McCracked, McFool, McGoon, McHell, McJerk, McLoon, McSellout, McTool, McCheney, McBush.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:52 amBy mis-speaking repeatedly he is trying to prove that he is as lame and ill-informed as his idol W, who mis-bombed the wrong country. Vote for McCain to continue the massive screwup that the GOP has turned our country into.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:52 amis that like having a gun, taking it out of the holster, pointing it at someones head, pulling the trigger then saying…. i simply misfired….
fu*k you mcbush
March 20th, 2008 at 11:56 amMcCain is trying to demonstrate to the GOP that he too doesn’t need no stinkin facts. He will bomb and invade and steal for whatever reason he can cook up off the cuff and they can keep cheering.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:56 am“Well, my friends, I often don’t know what I’m saying…”
Nice, Reagan Jr.
Maybe this one will be diagnosed before he’s elected, and we can avoid having another dotard in the WH.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:57 amMcCain explained it his way “It has to be one of these
March 20th, 2008 at 11:58 am1. McAmnesia
2.McForgot…or
3. McAged”.
Take your pick…
Corrected McPain:
“I don’t claim that I won’t have any clue about what I am babbling on most occassions, but I will correct it immediately, when told by my friend Joe what to say…” said McCain.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:58 amMcCain isn’t misspeaking. He is saying things according to a script concocted for him by Karl Rove and other campaign consultants. This is precisely their M.O., conflating Al Qaeda with whoever they want to attack.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:59 amI see that our good German is here to soil the thread with his lies.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:00 pmIf selected president, the White House may need to be color coded based on McCain’s mood.
Green = Angry
March 20th, 2008 at 12:05 pmYellow = Cursing, throwing chairs
Red = Extremely irate
L. Hussein Annie Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
“Yeah, I misspoke. I misspoke FOUR times.”
———————————–
You forgot this part: “I corrected it immediately. Right after my handler whispered the right answer in my ear.”
March 20th, 2008 at 12:06 pmIt is possible McCain is speaking in Rovian campaign fear speak.
Let us not overlook that McCain might be showing signs of his age. Forgetfulness to be kind. It is a genuine issue when considering McCain. These gaffes may simply be his age and thought process. Naps could be vital for John.
Yet it is similair to many GW gaffes. When you are not knowledgable of a subject, you have speech writers spel it out for you. There is no heart and mind into the words you would read. Getting off writen speech could be as detrimental as it has been for Bush. And our President has been the master of gaffed speeches.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:12 pmSorry about you laptop, I mispeed.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:12 pmDid anyone else go to stateofthedivision’s link (#4)?
McCain’s fundraiser in London today is being hosted by the Rothschilds for crying out loud!
‘An invitation sent out by the campaign says the luncheon will be held at Spencer House, St. James’s Place, “by kind permission of Lord Rothschild OM GBE and the Hon Nathaniel Rothschild.”‘
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2008/ 03/ 14/ AR2008031403897.html?hpid=topnews
Will McCain call the first one, “My Lord”?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pmso what if he becomes president, and says something like “We are declaring war against country A” instead of saying country B, and then he realizes that he misspoke?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:16 pm“to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.”
So, if McCain slept in his garage every night he would become a Chevrolet?
This is another of his disconnected rationals for remaining uninformed about the real issues, AND/OR purposely obfuscating any matter to say everything in a scatter shot manner so as to confuse the audience and be able to take all sides on all issues over a period of time.
Remember, this has been the Bush modus operandi for the past seven years.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:16 pmSo McCain makes a huge gaffe, at least 4 times, and then he’s irritated when people ask him about it. Isn’t it kind of premature for him to be thumbing his nose at the American people ala Cheney?
March 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm“I just misspoke… HEY LOOK OVER THERE! BLACK PREACHER!”
March 20th, 2008 at 12:18 pmHey, Gigi — I thought you were going to let your previous statements and links from the Heritage Foundation stand on their own? You now feel you must repeat them?
As others have pointed out here many many times, Saudi Arabia has far greater and deeper ties to al Qaeda than any other middle eastern country, and those ties make anything linking Iran to AQ look like a cobweb on a dustbroom. Which of course they are — just straws grasped at by deluded, desperate ideologues and dittoheads and built up into… not even a straw man, really, since there’s not enough straw. More like a straw rabbit.
But it’s a cute little straw rabbit, Gigi — just in time for Easter, too.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:25 pmgg is relying on the 9/11 commission to prove her talking points. The same commission whose leadership admitted they had been lied to and never given the info they needed. good one, ggoebbels!
March 20th, 2008 at 12:26 pmSo, if McCain slept in his garage every night he would become a Chevrolet?
That is the funniest thing I’ve read today.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:26 pmgg is a fake, hollow transparent patriot. His defense of KBR is evidence of this.
gg will still believe that Saddam and AQ had operational ties even though the military just released a report stating that after pouring over 600,000 pages of seized documents inside the former Iraqi govt’s most secret operations that there is no link.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:29 pmJohn McCain is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pmPoon-golly,
You’re all fluff, no substance, in spite of your huge, lard-a$$.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pmToo many times, that’s troubling.
Could McCain be suffering from early stage dementia?
http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=1906
.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:37 pm33 - of course he is. now if the press would stop giving him a free pass and the hero-handjob every time he appears, it will become apparent to everyone - but I doubt they’ll do that - their fortunes are too closely tied to the MI complex.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:40 pmThis flyboy is McLoopy…what’s up with AMERICAblog..no work’em.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:40 pmHolly crap PollM. That’s a scary thought. Imagine McCain becoming president and his inner circle trying to hide this. Watching his decline while the fearmongers juggle for a different spin.
This is scary.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pmIt’s too LATE for early stage demential. I believe he’s more advanced like Reagan in his second term.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:44 pmThis is so familiar. Bush used exactly the same confusing rhetoric to sell the war. He’d talk about Al Qaeda one moment, then Hussein’s support for terrorists the next. The clear impression was that Hussein was sponsoring Al Qaeda. Over time the “clever” wordplay was dropped and now we hear Cheney *still* mouthing the conventional wisdom [sic] that there was a connection.
This is the same thing that is happening to McCain. He is trying to conflate the various terrorist groups, but in so doing he occasionally gets confused himself. It’s a bad idea to mix deceitful wordplay with senior moments.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:44 pmMCCAIN: “… to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.”
The obvious follow up question is “And what is the difference between Sunni and Shia senator?” McCains answer would be very interesting to hear.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:51 pmPollM Says:
March 20th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Too many times, that’s troubling.
Could McCain be suffering from early stage dementia?
No. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:56 pmMcMaverick’s cialis-fueled war-boner is impairing his cognitive functions. Only the sublime release of watching footage of the bombs dropping on Tehran will make it subside.
In the meantime, McMaverick’s war-boner will be calling all the shots - sucking up to the press, mooching cash from the seemiest of fringe-kook supporters, pretending to care about all kinds of things other than “military penetration”.
What we need to worry about is how contagious this war boner is - will a bunch of nascar/nra/megachurch crackermen and their submissive spouses “catch the bug” from him, and decide “what the hell, we’re already in the tank, let’s go for broke, and maybe Timmy and Annie wil be able to get good-paying jobs over at the ammo plant.”
The “american public” may, yet again, gravitate toward someone they feel akin to in ignorace, which is very comforting to them. They don’t want some “stuck-up knowitall” telling them things they don’t want to hear. They want someone they feel is not very much smarter than themselves, which is not very smart at all, and McMaverick is currying sympathy from them every time he mea culpa’s himself over these propagandistic war-boner statements.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:01 pmMisspeaking happens a lot when you’re developing dementia. Ronnie RayGun was also prone to this…
March 20th, 2008 at 1:08 pmThree time loser!
March 20th, 2008 at 1:19 pm41 - TomBaker - God help us if that happens.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pmI’ll cast my vote for fear-mongering (lying) as opposed to misspeaking. I would guess that Lieberman didn’t get the memo.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:21 pmgood golly, Under your logic Bush is helping Osama. His family does business with Osama’s, His father was meeting with his family members on 911. Sound like operational ties etc.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:37 pm44 - My pessimistic friend is all but certain of it. When I see the press treating McMav the way they do, I start to think the same way.
“the people” have been turned into such shallow, self-involved, dependent, ill-informed babies that there’s a real possibility it will go down that way.
fear of death and the promise (albeit a fals promise) of protection are the primary psychological motives driving americans these days. the public holds itself in very low esteem when it comes to important matters, even though they are wildly ego-istic on the most trivial things.
Thanks, Marketing and Psych double-majors - you’ve reduced a once-proud people into a teeming mass of needy dummies.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:39 pmOsama/turrurizm is Righty’s gravy train.
If the “war” were to stop, so would the cash flow, and they can’t have that.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:43 pm.
What McDementia meant to say was:
“I forgot that I forgot why I forgot the reason I misspoke. Can you forgive and forget me?”
.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:01 pmWatch the first 15 minutes:
http://www.leadingtowar.com/ Film/ FLVs/ nosubs/ video_player.html
March 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pmThe REAL TEST is:
Would the “MSM” be SCREAMING 24/7 if this was Clinton or Obama that had “misspoke”??
Yup, the “MSM” would be saying they LIED.
So, McSenile is a LIAR.
And not fit to be the Commander-in-Chief or Deciderer or “president”, either.
Just an unamerikkkan TRAITOR to the USA.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:30 pmMcCain replied that “to think that I would have some lack of knowledge about Sunni and Shia after my eigth visit and my deep involvement in this issue is a bit ludicrous.”
———————————–
I’ve changed planes at Dallas/Fort Worth many times, but I’ve never been outside the airport. Does this make me an expert on Texas? No, but I know that if I’m going to be connecting in Terminal B, I can pick up a snack at Au Bon Pain.
McInsane wants us to believe that his “visits” to Iraq exposed him to anything remotely accurate as to what’s happening in that country? I don’t care if he went over there 100 times, if they were all carefully staged photo ops where he was never outside a carefully crafted security cocoon, and he was never exposed to any information other than dog-and-pony shows organized by Bushco.
And it’s fairly obvious that he doesn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shia — despite his “deep” involvement in this issue. I encourage him to prove me wrong on this point.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:37 pmAS we can here is no quality leadership any more in America. If a guy like MC Cain is all that’s out there for the most powerful office in the globe…..then we are all in serious trouble
March 20th, 2008 at 5:21 pmAstonished? Or stoned?
March 20th, 2008 at 5:32 pmI was here thinking (I do that on once in awhile) Wouldn’t it be nice if we, for a change crash a McCain thread and just bash them with some of the dumb comments he makes and other things they don’t want to hear?? I wouldn’t even know where to go. I like to keep myself clean of germs so I never thread to the dark side of the web. I might give it a try. Any ideas?
March 26th, 2008 at 2:14 pm