McCain II

I thought I’d shared what I have to say on the subject of John McCain as potential President, but events this past week made it clear there’s more that needs to be said.

For a while it seemed that McCain’s occasional “misspeaks” and less than perfect recall might be written off as “senior moments,” as one of his aides said — and wished he hadn’t — a few weeks ago. Indeed, a case could be made, though it would take some creativity, that a President need not have a perfect memory; after all, he can surround himself with people who’ll fill in the blanks for him if necessary.

Some folks may brush off the fact that McCain has confused Sunni and Shii’a on multiple occasions, a not insignificant mix-up when you consider that the two factions basically hate each other, that the Sunni are the ones who have been involved in al-Qaeda while the Shii’a have not, and that the Shii’a are the predominant sect in Iran (and head the Iraqi government, for that matter).

If ordinary citizens like you and I can understand these differences, surely someone who wants to be President should be able to.

A couple of months ago at a press event while they were visiting Iraq, McCain had Joe Lieberman there to help him out.

McCain told the assembled reporters that “al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and … coming back into Iraq from Iran.” Ol’ Joe whispered into his ear, whereupon McCain immediately corrected himself to say, “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda.”

McCain’s style of campaigning is often nonchalant to the point of being blasé. When questioned about the fact that cigarettes are still a major U.S. export to Iran, he answered, “Maybe that’s a way of killing them. Heh-heh.” He quickly added that he was joking.

Y’know what, Senator? The job of President is no joke. Every utterance, every misspeak, every joke will, to paraphrase Mark Twain, be halfway ‘round the world before your correction can even get its boots on.

We have enough trouble getting our message into the Muslim world without giving Al-Jazeera & Co. extra stuff to spin against us.

Phil Gramm, a name you may remember, has been serving as co-chair of McCain’s campaign almost from the get-go, and has been, at least up to last week, McCain’s chief economic adviser.

Last week Gramm told the Washington Times, among others, that America is only in a “mental recession,” not a real one, and that we are “a nation of whiners.”

McCain was Johnny-on-the spot with his own brand of damage control. (Remember: this is his Chief Economic Adviser, rumored to be in line for Treasury Secretary.) Said McCain, when asked whether Gramm might become a member of his administration: "I think that Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for Ambassador to Belarus, although I'm not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that."

Heh-heh. Takes care of that, doesn’t it?

He did go on to say that Senator Gramm “does not speak for me. I speak for me.”
These guys have been best buds for some 25 years; does anyone honestly believe that John McCain had no clue?

Perhaps the greatest “misspeak” of last week — unless, of course, it wasn’t — was when McCain referred to our Social Security program as “a disgrace.”

"Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace and it's got to be fixed."

Um, Senator, that’s the way Social Security is supposed to work. That’s the way it was designed. Back in 1935. Have you forgotten that? Or did you just not know it?

McCain has voted against himself on legislation regarding torture, veterans’ benefits, stem cell research, the environment, and even campaign finance reform. He has yet to offer coherent statements on the mortgage crisis, the economy, energy, or health care — or in fact anything other than his military exploits — because those things have never really mattered to him, and still don't, and he’s now too late to the game.