Jonah Goldberg Falsely Claims McCain Has Been ‘Consistently Right About The War’ In Iraq
Jonah Goldberg Falsely Claims McCain Has Been ‘Consistently Right About The War’ In Iraq
In a Los Angeles Times op-ed today, National Review contributing editor Jonah Goldberg attacks Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) record on Iraq, arguing that he “may indeed have great judgment, but his record shows little experience employing it.” As a counterpoint, Goldberg claims that “the supposedly dogmatic” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has “been consistently right about the war.”
As evidence, Goldberg recalls three times in the past five years that McCain was critical of the Bush administration’s Iraq strategy:
In the summer of 2003, in response to the upswing in violence, he called for “a lot more military” in order to win in Iraq. He publicly “lost confidence” in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. In May 2004, McCain told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that “we’ve got to adjust to the realities of the situation as it exists, and that means doing whatever is necessary and acting decisively.”
Ah, but Goldberg forgets so much about McCain’s record and rhetoric on Iraq.
For instance, despite McCain’s 2007 claim that he knew from the beginning that Iraq was “going to be long and hard and tough,” he was one of the most vocal cheerleaders declaring before the war that it would be “easy”:
- “Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.” [CNN, 9/24/02]
- “We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” [CNN, 9/29/02]
- “But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” [MSNBC, 1/22/03]
In terms of being just flat wrong, predictions can’t get any worse than McCain’s April 9, 2003 claim on ABC that “the end is very much in sight.”
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McCain’s CIA file : totally “Manchurian Candidate” stuff, honestly:
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:12 pmhttp://cryptome.org/ cia-mccain-pow/ cia-mccain-pow.htm
ot, but hoffmania has a very funny one about “bobo” brooks.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 pmIn terms of being just flat wrong, predictions can’t get any worse than McCain’s April 9, 2003 claim on ABC that “the end is very much in sight.”
Prophetic, folks. The end is in sight for Goldbrick, as well.
MY GOD, will AEI have room to employ all these retarded, (oops), retired Republics?
Will EXXON continue to fund AEI, now that they’ve ‘gone green’?
Will Goldbrick land on his feet or his ass?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 pmJonah needs to find a compliant whale, and go hide away for awhile, whilst we forget how uncredible his opines are.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmOf course the Doughy Pantload has been dogmatic about a wrong proposition.
It’s what he does.
There are a lot of media figures who have no business earning a living at this game, but few of them are as consistently, spectacularly stupid in what they say as the Doughy Pantload.
Talk about affirmative action for pasty, over-privileged white boys… sheesh.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pmoh wow! good report, Matt! yey! I love when the truth gets out! McSame makes it up as he goes along.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 pmDoughy Pantload. Pfffftttt…
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm“been consistently right about the war.”
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 pmYep.
Every one out of ten.
Bush/Cheney have tried to distinguish the initial assault from the Occupation to defend their statement it would be easy. McCain’s comments clearly counter this position on multiple levels.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:21 pmAgain, Obama is going to lambast the feeble-minded old McCain.
I’m ready for the debates.
You guys are much too kind to Goldberg. He doesn’t forget about McCain’s politically incoherent takes on the war. He misleads. He misdirects. He lies.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 pmHis McClellon piece the other day was sort of Coulteresque. I think he might be a wannabe
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:26 pmWell, I’ve consistently claimed that Jonah Goldberg is an idiot.
Do I win?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 pmYeah!!!
It’s OPPOSITE DAY, jokes on us.
McSame has been right all along, but then again, it is opposite day, which means WRONG all along.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:29 pmThe whole point of the illegal criminal invasion and occupation of the sovereign state of Iraq was to provide cover for the looting of billions of taxpayer dollars from the U. S. Treasury by Halliburton Corporation, Blackwater Corporation and other right-wing Corporations with the “no-bid” BS… As long as this looting goes on, the occupation is a “success.”
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmWhen has Jonah Goldberg ever been right about ANYTHING?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmWhen the hell has Goldberg ever been right about anything, much less when he is fellating Bushco or McFlipFlop?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:32 pmhouse rockin guru bo diddly past away…
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:33 pmJonah Goldberg is a lying sack of shit. He like all of the other right wing nuts will do or say anything to get grandpa McCain elected. Anyone who depends on the son of the low life Linda Tripp to give them political advice is not only a moron, but an idiot as well. Come on like Jonah is really fair and balanced and his opinion is based on fact rather than republican talking points. This guy goes around the media getting paid to spread propaganda and that’s the bottom line. If he told me it was raining and I could feel the rain drops, I’d still check to make sure it wasn’t a sprinkler system.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:34 pmThomasMc Says:
When has Jonah Goldberg ever been right about ANYTHING?
LOL, look at the timestamps for 15 and 16.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 pmWell, Annie, I don’t know if you win. Your statement doesn’t require an enormous amount of insight (yet somehow, it is insight that the editorial board of the LA Times still lacks).
You do score points though.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 pmThis is the same guy who told us that Fascism and Socialism are the same thing. According to Goldberg, there is no difference between modern day Sweden and 1930’s Italy.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 pmBy the looks of the picture, at least he didn’t wear striped pants with a checked shirt.
Of course, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he dresses himself.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:37 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
Of course, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that he dresses himself.
EEWWW! Can you imagine being dressed by Lucianne Goldberg? Now, I feel like I’ve got bugs crawling all over my skin!
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:41 pmyellow Says:
Idiot, what the f uck are you rambling about?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pmReally, it there anyone more stupid than Jonah Goldberg?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pmIt’s easy for Insane McCain to be right he is on both sides of every major issue Jonah would be wise to emulate his hero and alternate spouting his nonsense
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 pmToo bad no one told Lucianne that she should stop drinking while pregnant.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 pmMcWars Says:
yellow Says:
Idiot, what the f uck are you rambling about?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
He was owned on a different thread yesterday, and feels the need to prove he lurned sumpin.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pmRowan Berkeley Says:
McCain’s CIA file : totally “Manchurian Candidate” stuff, honestly:
http://cryptome.org/ cia-mccain-pow/ cia-mccain-pow.htm
yeah, this is indeed very interesting. from reading just a little bit, it sounds like he’s been delusional for a very long, long time. not only is he insensitive to mass murder, as it is written in the document, he thinks he is just playing cowboys and indians.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pmHillary Clinton’s campaign chairman Tuesday told CNN she was not planning to concede the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama — minutes after The Associated Press reported two senior campaign officials saying she was going to quit the race tonight. developing story
Really, it there anyone more stupid than Jonah Goldberg?
Little Jonah has lots of competition for that title — Limpballs, Insanity, Rumsfailed, GDumbya, Dougie Feith, Little Billy Krystol, Bilge O’Reilly, Michelle Muffin and Annie Coultergeist just to name a few.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pmI’m sure Mr. Goldberg will assure us that whenever McCain has made mistakes about Iraq, they’ve at least been worthy mistakes.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmthis document is a real eye opener and it really explains a lot!
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmAww, crap, Ralph! I was reeeeeeeeeally looking forward to that fabulous new 45 piece set of Melamine dinnerware! :o(
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pmWhoops, left out the URL for Goldberg’s “worthy mistake” article: Here.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:49 pmyellow Says:
when did Obama vote against the Iraq war? I love you!
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I take it back. You didn’t learn a thing. You’re still a Dumbass.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:49 pmFrom his predictions of a short war and claims U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators to his announcements of mission accomplished and his ongoing confusion over friend and foe in Iraq, McCain’s is a record of unbroken error.
For the details, see:
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm“Is McCain ‘Sick at Heart’ Over His Own Iraq Mistakes?”
Hi Zooey, that’s what I don’t understand. They removed only the flagged posts but didn’t ban the troll altogether. It’s a troll they already banned numerous times.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 pmLeftside Annie Says:
Aww, crap, Ralph! I was reeeeeeeeeally looking forward to that fabulous new 45 piece set of Melamine dinnerware! :o(
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I’ll send you a set. My wedding gift to you. ;)
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 pmHillary Clinton’s campaign chairman Tuesday told CNN she was not planning to concede the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama — minutes after The Associated Press reported two senior campaign officials saying she was going to quit the race tonight. developing story
Here’s a wild-a**ed idea for you. Hillary’s campaign is trying to tamp down this story today so as not to spoil the big surprise this evening when she shows up at the St. Paul Excel Center with Obama tonight to throw her support behind his candidacy.
This will likely not happen but it would be a huge bombshell and a great way to send us all forth to do battle with McNumbNuts in the general election. All that plus the obvious fact that we will “mark our territory” tonight by starting the general campaign in the very place that the republicans will be holding the “funeral” for their dead party in September.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 pmMcWars Says:
Hi Zooey, that’s what I don’t understand. They removed only the flagged posts but didn’t ban the troll altogether. It’s a troll they already banned numerous times.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Naturally. I don’t know why it’s such a problem getting rid of these doofi. When TheZoo gets rid of ‘em, they stay gone. :)
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:52 pmEven a broken clock will be right twice a day, doesn’t make the clock a genius.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 pmGoldberg argues that Obama “may indeed have great judgment, but his record shows little experience employing it.” Even if that were so, we would have to contrast it with McCain where we see poor judgment, and a record showing decades of experience employing it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pmTell me again. Just WHAT was Goldies’s military service?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pmThe neocons should all be tried for treason. They are singularly responsible for a failed agenda of nation building, let alone the economic fallout casued by borrowing trillions to fund thi sfiasco. All the while, they have also made their inner circle of friends in the defense and oil industries untold billions, all the whole looting our treasure. Isn’t there a law against profiteering from war?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm.
Jonah Goldberg is NOT a contributing editor of the National Review. More correctly, he is the contributing Propagandist.
But if Jonah Goldberg is correct, then maybe he can explain how the MISSION is ALMOST Accomplished…? Sorta like how the surge has ALMOST worked…?
.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:01 pm.
Oh, and maybe Jonah Goldberg can spin how our continued occupation of Iraq is ALMOST a success… Just another corner away… NO?
.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:06 pmWhy is ANYONE still taking this guy seriously!!?!?!?
These people are JOKES!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:10 pmyellow Says:
So no one can answer my question? einstein was called a dumbass all throughout his life so i’m in good company! Thanks for the comp!
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
I answered your question yesterday. Run along and find it. Maybe if you think REAL HARD, you’ll kinda understand it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:10 pmyellow @ 1:06
FLAGGED!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:11 pmHow can anyone with a single ounce of common sense actually be considering McBush for President? Have these people totally lost there minds? Let me guess, they are all blind? Obviously if they cant see the mess that we are in thanks to Dictator Bush.
JJ
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:17 pmUltimate Anonymity
If Yellow is comparing the genius of Einstein vs. the incompetence of the entire GOP/Bush machine, the troll is wildly confused and terminally broken. There is no convincing this cretin. None. Yellow represents the Low Information Voter (LIV) I often refer to.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 pmBye Bye Yellow-bellied neocon chickenhawk azzlicker!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:19 pmUncle Ho Says:
Tell me again. Just WHAT was Goldies’s military service?
He once gave a blow job to a soldier.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pmyellow Says:
Republicans have ’stunning’ tape of Michelle Obama ranting about ‘whitey’
This hit job was brought up by a caller on Colmes last night. Apparently the tape is doctored to ‘whitey’ from ‘why did he’
Debate the issues or shut your f ucking mouth.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pmMcCain’s emphasis is clearly on the combat stage of US vs. Iraqi forces. In September 02 and even January 03, we did not know that the Bush administration would go to war with far too few troops and preparation, thereby leading to a security vacuum that facilitated the insurgency.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:24 pmMcWars Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
The Obamas better be prepared for this never-ending parade of vicious stupidity.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 pmThese McCain quotes parrot what Dick Cheney was saying at the same time. Both assumed we would be greeted as liberators rather than occupiers. Neither had a plan for what happened after Baghdad fell. At this point McCain was in complete agreement with Donald Rumsfeld. It was only later that McCain started to second-guess Rumsfeld mildly. The only Republican that has been right on Iraq is Chuck Hagel and he may end up endorsing Barack Obama.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm*
McCain plans major speech tonight -Boston Globe
’twill be interesting to see how the “mccain media” handle this one…
it’s a 3-way!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:32 pmWhat a picture! Goldberg, the LazyBoy General.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:33 pmkaty Says:
it’s a 3-way!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Oh, how very modern. Naughty! ;)
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 pmAP tally: Obama clinches Democratic nomination
The Associated Press - 10 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention …
1:37pm eastern.
it’s HISTORY folks…
not in stone… but that’s the first report…
and when i heard ed read that, i got teary…
such mixed emotions…
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:42 pmBREAKING
ed just reported that the clinton camp is reporting
that the AP report is wrong…
oh, ok…
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:49 pmZooey Says:
Oh, how very modern. Naughty! ;)
there is a new tv show being promoted that will be about
1970s wife swapping parties… kinda weird…
something like that should be on HBO, not primetime network…
gonna make a bunch of republican-family-values-parents squirm.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmJonah Goldberg Falsely Claims McCain Has Been ‘Consistently Right About The War’ In Iraq
McCain HAS been consistently right…Right Wingnut crazy!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pmAs usual, Goldberg is half right. McSame has been consistent: CONSISTENTLY WRONG! Just like Jonah.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:56 pmWhy don’t warmongering, chicksh!t, chickenhawks like Jonah Goldberg enlist and help with this illegal, immoral, occupation instead of lying all the time? I think he would have much more credibility and as a Vietnam Veteran, I think he would have a different point of view.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:08 pmMaybe Goldberg could look at the facts. The Iraqis are close to being united in their opposition to the U.S. occupation, and the U.N. “mandate” expires at the end of the year. There’s no way McCain’s permanent occupation is going to happen.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:17 pmkaty Says:
there is a new tv show being promoted that will be about
1970s wife swapping parties… kinda weird…
something like that should be on HBO, not primetime network…
gonna make a bunch of republican-family-values-parents squirm.
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Yeah, they’ll squirm when they see themselves on the teevee screen. :D
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pmGoldberg would never be where he is today if it were not for family money and name. Like Kristol, he is full of himself - believing his own bullsh!t.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:37 pmAh, but Goldberg forgets so much about McCain’s record and rhetoric on Iraq.
What is so remarkable about Goldberg and his kind is that while they have been wrong about virtually everything, they continue to talk as if they actually have a clue. Even worse, they’re still considered foreign policy “experts” by the main stream media.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 pmkasinca Says:
Why don’t warmongering, chicksh!t, chickenhawks like Jonah Goldberg enlist and help with this illegal, immoral, occupation instead of lying all the time?
Look at him. Do you think he looks like military material? We have enough problems in Iraq without soft, nerdy, miscreants getting in the way.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:07 pmJonah Goldberg?
That reminds me…I gotta clean a couple closets ’round here.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:05 pmSorry it took me so long to get back to this. Uncle Ho @ 44 and kasinca @ 67 ask about Goldberg’s military service (or lack of). Someone else brought up the same question in February 2005:
Jonah explained (here):
You may remember that this same chickenhawk once wrote (The Cowboy Way, 1/29/03):
I think he, Cheney and many others are saying that they’re far too valuable as cheerleaders to ever actually expose themselves to enemy fire.
June 4th, 2008 at 3:00 amDoughy Pantload is appalling. I wouldn’t waste time on his crap, consider the source and walk away.
June 4th, 2008 at 12:18 pm