Think Progress

McCain’s 10-second flip on whether he voted for Bush: ‘Of course not,’ ‘Of course.’

This week, Arianna Huffington said that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his wife, Cindy, told her at a Los Angeles dinner party not long after the 2000 election that neither of them voted for George Bush. A McCain spokesman insisted “it’s not true,” and told reporters to “consider the source.” Appearing on Fox News’s O’Reilly Factor last night, McCain tried to clarify:

O’REILLY: Did you vote for President Bush?

MCCAIN: Of course not. I campaigned all over this country for him.

O’REILLY: So you voted for President Bush.

MCCAIN: Of course. I mean, that’s a ridiculous question.

Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/05/mccainvotebush399.320.240.flv]

Today, the New York Times reports that two other attendees at that Los Angeles dinner, “West Wing” actors Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff, say they, too, heard McCain say he had not voted for Bush.

Digg It!



64 Responses to “McCain’s 10-second flip on whether he voted for Bush: ‘Of course not,’ ‘Of course.’”

  1. gummitch says:

    Why can’t he just admit he was furious with Bush in 2000? It would make him a whole lot more credible, given how nasty things got (thanks Karl!) during the primaries. He could admit to being “bitter.”


  2. Fritz says:

    He was against Bush before he was for Bush before he was against Bush before he was for Bush…

    Is this another “senior” moment?


  3. McWars says:

    If voting records existed, he’d be in deep shit.


  4. Zooey says:

    Of course he didn’t vote for Bush in 2000. Rove had just finished dragging McCain’s child through a filthy slime pit!

    And McCain claiming now that he DID vote for Bush in 2000, is McCain throwing his daughter back into the slime.

    Why does McCain hate his own daughter?


  5. The Shadow says:

    Sorry guys, but I have to give the OLD FART props on this one. I’m sure he did vote for Bush in 2000 and 2004. But guess what so did a lot of other people, and they all got it wrong. Look what his vote for Bush got us. Surplus to huge deficits, Tax Cuts for the Rich and Big Oil and Business, low gas prices to the highest gas prices in history, ok housing market to record foreclosures, great food prices to highest prices in US history. Looks like John McCain should have “Decided not vote for Bush before he voted for him.” This makes John Kerry’s “I voted for the 87 billion, before I voter for it” seem like childs play.


  6. LividLib says:

    Republican Party Presidential Candidate Requirements:

    1.) Dumber than a box of rocks.
    2.) Personality of a junk yard dog.
    3.) Hypocrite.


  7. Uncle Ho says:

    of course, I did not vote for Bush either.

    Great video at http://www.myfoxdetroit.com
    Teen Questions McCain at Townhall Meeting.

    I know I posted this on other threads, but she is in the activist group I’m also in. She makes me proud. MUST SEE.

    14 year old Halley is on the podium with others behind McCain, she has a message on her shirt and stands. The woman next to her tries to obstruct Halley with her body and then a sign. McCain then calls on Halley for a question. the woman who tried to hide Halley then sits down looking dejected.

    a MUST SEE


  8. joe cantwell says:

    mcsame: hello, i must be going!


  9. Max-1 says:

    .

    McFish laughs to cover his McLie.

    .


  10. robbez_92107 says:

    You guys had better quit pointing out how senile McSame is acting.
    You’re going to piss the old coot off.


  11. AngryOne says:

    McCain’s past hatred for George W. Bush is the stuff of legend. As Time reported in March 2000, McCain showed a visceral disgust towards Bush and his scorched earth campaign:

    But many close McCain advisers think the personal rift between the two men is too wide to bridge, at least in the near term. After all, the last time Bush tried to smooth things over-at a South Carolina debate in early February-the result was less than promising. During a commercial break, Bush grasped McCain’s hands and made a sugary plea for less acrimony in their campaign. When McCain pointed out that Bush’s allies were savaging him in direct-mail and phone campaigns, Bush played the innocent. “Don’t give me that shit,” McCain growled, pulling away. “And take your hands off me.”

    For more details on McCain’s evolving hate-love relationship with George W. Bush, see:
    “McCain to Bush in 2000: ‘Take Your Hands Off Me.’”


  12. mongo says:

    Wow.

    What a terrible liar.

    This guy must be a great negotiator.


  13. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    Where on the page is it Uncle Ho?


  14. raynman says:

    It’s amazing how much crap one man can keep swallowing just for the chance to become President.


  15. Buckie Boy says:

    Grampy McSame says – My friends, back in the day we would vote with rocks, we would color our rocks on Easter, and take them to the parade, those balloons would float way up in the air, but bees would fly around and land on my ice cream, and I would get mad and yell at the bees, “you stupid bees”, then I would mow the lawn with my straight razor at noon on Thursdays.

    Gramps voted for the Worst President in History, well that’s telling.


  16. ralph the wonder llama says:

    So how could McCain say he didn’t vote for Bush and also say he DID vote for Bush?

    Simple. When he says he didn’t vote for Bush he’s talking about 2000 when he was a pissed-off old coot. When he says he did vote for Bush, he’s talking about 2004 when he was a line-toeing good Republican soldier.

    I think it’s an inborn sense among Republicans to set up a way to lie without lying.


  17. oldtree says:

    The “bearings” appear to be burned out.


  18. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    He’s all lies
    He’s all lies
    He’s all lies
    McCain


  19. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    I personally couldn’t care less if he voted for shrub or not. Right now I am seriously pissed that I just had to pay 4.05/gal for fuel.


  20. deebaser says:

    As much as I HATE to use this term, it’s fairly obvious that McCain ‘misspoke’ (I feel dirty).

    This isn’t a flip flop, this is a character flaw.


  21. robbez_92107 says:

    IgnoranceIsNotBliss Says:

    Where on the page is it Uncle Ho?

    I looked for it, too – being a Fox site, I think it’s been “scrubbed.”


  22. Uncle Ho says:

    http://www.myfoxdetroit.com

    enter in the search site John McCain Oakland University.

    click on: Teen Questions McCain at Townhall Meeting. there is a video. She is even interviewed after the event.


  23. The Shadow says:

    Aint that a bltch!. Rummy bullys the generals and then blames them for doing exactly what he ordered them to do. This idiot has no business being Secretary of Defense in the fist place. You can’t put some old fart in charge who refuses to listen to the generals who know what they are doing. But the generals should have had some balls and stood up to him. I would have told him where to go if I had been one of the wussy generals who worked for him. Why didn’t you guys post my last comment. The truth will set you free or get you locked up at GITMO.


  24. robbez_92107 says:

    Buckie Boy Says:

    PLEASE, PLEASE – “I like to sit in apple pies” is going to get me thrown out of my office for laughing so hard.
    Take it easy on us.


  25. RobertSeattle says:

    McCain is starting to make Bush look like a Scholar.


  26. misshusseinmolly says:

    Time for your nap, John. You’re getting your lies mixed up.


  27. robbez_92107 says:

    Thanks for the directions, Uncle Ho.


  28. katy says:

    last night, on COLBERT, arianna set up a classic for stephen:

    Huffington: He was a real reformer. And now, he’s basically completely surrendered on everything. He wants us all to stay in Iraq of course indefinitely. And here’s the one little problem: that he has this kind of passion for Iraq. [..] Because he has this passion for Iraq, that’s his Viagra.

    Colbert: He has…I guess the warning on that should be, if your erection last more than a hundred years, pull out.

    http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/09/the-colbert-report-arianna-tells-stephen-why-the-right-mccain-is-wrong/


  29. Uncle Ho says:

    please let me know if you could access that video. I have it bookmarked as a favorite, but not sure if or how to post it here(my computer skills are limited)


  30. Who Misspoke Today? says:

    Kudos to that 14 year old. That “school marm” should go back to the 1800s.


  31. Fan of Man says:

    just wait till the debates…. mcheartattack is gonna have a rough time…

    anyone watch futurama? kind of reminds me of when leela asked robot santa the paradox question and his head exploded….

    what reality do these people live in?


  32. Who Misspoke Today? says:

    I found the video on the Politics tab and then related links.


  33. ralph the wonder llama says:

    Is it just me or is McSame’s laughter in this clip even less genuine than Hillary’s?

    When will we see wingnuts mocking McSame’s laugh?

    (crickets)


  34. McWars says:

    Better we have to deal with this, than the pop culture whores who’d be more drawn to Romney based on his shiny looks. This is Paris Hilton America, you know.


  35. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    It got scrubbed before I could see it. I got this message:

    We’re sorry. There are no stories currently available for this section.


  36. familyman says:

    You guys are being disingenuous on this one. It’s obvious that he’s saying “Of course not” in regard to the things O’Reilly is telling him were said on Huff Post.

    Stop trying to play gotcha with stupid things like this.

    There is plenty of substantive things that McCain gets wrong all the time that you can focus on.

    This kind of thing makes you look petty and negatively effects the perception people have of all the other very respectable journalism on this site.


  37. McWars says:

    McCain grew up sticking up for bullied kids; now is he the bully.


  38. robbez_92107 says:

    IgnoranceIsNotBliss Says:

    I followed Uncle Ho’s directions and got to see it. I thought the old crone was going to smack the young whippersnapper.


  39. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    I followed Uncle Ho’s link and then did what Who misspoke Today did and got nada. Heh.


  40. helenahandbasket says:

    How does it help McCain to say that he voted for bush twice? You’d think he would be apologizing for two stupid votes.


  41. Who Misspoke Today? says:

    OK, for those trying to see the video Uncle Ho posted about, try this (do a copy and paste into your browser):

    http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/News/Politics/Detail?contentId=6491811&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.14.1


  42. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    Nope. The page is temporarily unavailable. Makes one wonder who’s lurking here at TP.


  43. Editer says:

    deebaser and familyman have it right; the first time, McCain was responding to all the stuff before, such that the question he was answering was essentially, “Is any of this true?” Making a big deal out of this is waaay too parse-happy.


  44. Shayne says:

    robbez_92107 Says:

    Buckie Boy Says:

    PLEASE, PLEASE – “I like to sit in apple pies” is going to get me thrown out of my office for laughing so hard.
    Take it easy on us.
    May 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    It WOULD be funny if it wasn’t TRUE.


  45. Uncle Ho says:

    Who Misspoke Today? has the direct link to the video.

    many thanks


  46. Shayne says:

    Maybe the video Uncle Ho posted was just busy since we all went to see it at the same time. I’d love to run into that old crone trying to stand in front of her. That girl did an awesome job every time she spoke.


  47. gummitch says:

    That link worked fine. Huge props to the young woman for wearing the shirt and finding exactly the right place to stand, and for her poise in asking the question. I will say that McCain did something that Bush never would have done, and that was to let her ask the question (and make the statement about town halls).


  48. StratRat says:

    This kind of thing makes you look petty and negatively effects the perception people have of all the other very respectable journalism on this site.

    Reasonable people will always differ on how they view certain events. In this case, we have a serial panderer who can’t seem to remember what he said or why he said it. Kerry was mecilessly mocked for his alleged flip-flops, but with McSame, it is merely a senior moment – not to be considered important.


  49. Uosdwis says:

    He’s like Uncle Leo in Brentanos: “I’m an old man! I’m confused!” The question is, will America “swarm! swarm!” to “scare him a little bit?”


  50. J says:

    I’m pretty sure ‘Of Course Not, Of Course’ is the McCain campaign slogan.


  51. Crusty Old Bastard says:

    This fiasco reminds me of the famous sporting events that somehow, years after the event, there seems to be at least ten times the people who claimed they attended as the full capacity of the stadium in question. The negative will be true for the voters who will admit to voting for King George the Dumb. In ten years there will not have been one vote cast for KGtD. Come to think about, however, that may really be the case. After all, we know that the two elections were rigged.


  52. A Patriot Acting says:

    This is no big surprise. Aside from our anonymous trolls here it is nye impossible to find ANYONE who will actually admit to casting a vote for the Shrub!


  53. Evil Spaniard says:

    He’s reaching infinite spinning speed as long as we’re nearing November. Therefore, the Political Uncertainty Principle demonstrates that such a flobbing body moving at near-light speed towards Republican candidacy, reaches the Rightie-Not So Rightie Duality, allowing him to be in favor and against any issue at any given time, or also said to be completely indecipherable his real stance in a given moment.


  54. Xisithrus says:

    Consider the source – McWaffle.


  55. Blueflash says:

    He obviously finds the accusation extremely amusing. Some people laugh when they’re nervous and even some politicians get nervous when they lie. Anyway, everyone knows McCain hated Bush’s guts after Rove successfully slimed him with rumors and push polls in South Carolina, probably costing him the nomination. I think I’ll believe Huffington and everyone else at that party. Liar.


  56. familyman says:

    Notice toward the end of the clip he won’t say that Arianna Huffington lied.


  57. MCMetal says:

    O’REILLY: So you voted for President Bush.

    MCCAIN: Of course. I mean, that’s a ridiculous question.

    And look at how far-seeing and intelligent a decision that has turned out to be………….


  58. Little Freep Goofballs says:

    The Straight-As-A-Snake’s-Backbone Talk Express.


  59. Exit Stage Left says:

    #31..Uncle Ho

    I finally found it with your last round of directions. It played fine. What a terrific clip. Thanks for sharing it :)


  60. Exit Stage Left says:

    I accessed Uncle Ho’s clip at 3:05 PM eastern time.


  61. Uncle Ho says:

    Exit Stage; I checked my e-mails at home this morn before going to work, which informed me of it. Unfortunately, I have very slow dial-up at home, but was able to view it on the high-speed connection at work.
    I loved it so much, that I wanted to share(especially since her parents are charter members of blue november)


  62. Miles Tougeaux says:

    He didnt flip flop in 10 seconds, cmon… transcript is out of context. Listen to the exchange. Cut it out.

    Its easy to assume he flipflopped over 8 years on this. He did on ever other issue.


  63. RUCerious says:

    No, no, no, I didn’t vote for his campaign, while I was campaigning all over the country for him, I voted for him when I was campaigning to not vote for his campaigning. He he..


  64. leblanc55 says:

    AMERICA NEEDS TO WAK UP AND REALIZE THAT JOHN MCCAIN IS THE NEXT GEORGE BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THAT IF THEY WANT THE WAR IN IRAQ TO END THEY NEED TO VOTB OBAMA AND EVEYONE WHO HAS AUTISM AND THE REST OF THE MIDDLE CLASS SHOULD VOTE DEMOCRATE! THE ONLY WAY THE WAR WILL END IS IF THE GOP IS VOTED OUT OF OFFFICE! DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT= NO MORE WAR, MORE $ SPENTB ON HIGHER ED, FUNDING FOR MEDICAID WAIVER, HEALTHCARE FOR ALL, DISABILITY PROGRAMS/ SERVICES, AUTISM RESEARCH/SERVICES, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SOCIAL SECURITY, HOUSING AND DEBT REDUCTION ETC. ITS FOR US TO GET OUR
    PRIORTIES STRAIGHT. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE

    NICOLE LEBLANC



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