McCain's Iran/al Qaeda Gaffe: Big Deal?

March 19, 2008

During yesterday's press conference in Jordan, John McCain repeatedly said that Iran is supplying al Qaeda. McCain asserted that Iranian operatives are "taking al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back." Problem is, the Sunni-dominated al Qaeda does not receive any help from Iran, a predominately Shiite country.

If your read the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post, you probably haven't heard about this. If you watch Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, you saw the video at least four times on last night's program. In the video, McCain finally corrected himself, after Senator Joe Lieberman whispered something in his ear.

This misstatement may reveal the tendency of certain politicians to generously invoke al Qaeda as a way to conjure up national-security fear. If Americans and their politicians had a more sophisticated, or at least accurate, understanding of the situation in the Middle East, would we be better prepared to face threats at home and abroad?

Should McCain be given the benefit of the doubt, since international intelligence might be more complicated than we know? Or, do his misstatements make you question if he is ready to be commander in chief?

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210 Comments

remedios 5 years

only commie liberal think this was a mccain flaw. frickin' liberals need to move to russia or something!

remedios 5 years

Ha... bush as a scare tactic for mccain.. um... he's kind or proud of that fact so if it's a "scare tactic" it's his own doing.

remedios 5 years

Is there even a point? I can guess the McCain defenders... but wait.. I'll post this and then see if I'm right.

lilkimbo 5 years

OK, I can't really sum it up, but for those who are interested, this is the best link I found that summarizes his plans for the Mideast: http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/pressreleases/55906246-b33a-4f7e-bce5-063a79528eca.htm

lilkimbo 5 years

OK, I can't really sum it up, but for those who are interested, this is the best link I found that summarizes his plans for the Mideast:http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/pressreleases/55906246-b33a-4f7e-bce5-063a79528eca.htm

lilkimbo 5 years

Not really on-subject, but does anyone else see a McCain/Lieberman ticket as a stronger and stronger possibility?Oh, and lula, I am trying to work on condensing McCain's Mideast strategy into a single comment. Out of curiosity, does anyone know Obama's or Clinton's long-term Mideast strategies?

lilkimbo 5 years

Not really on-subject, but does anyone else see a McCain/Lieberman ticket as a stronger and stronger possibility? Oh, and lula, I am trying to work on condensing McCain's Mideast strategy into a single comment. Out of curiosity, does anyone know Obama's or Clinton's long-term Mideast strategies?

lula29 5 years

IMO this is beyond being conservative or liberal. Do we really want to further this war? Regardless to the party you belong to, I have to ask, have you asked yourself that question, and if so what has brought you to your answer? I'm most interested in those who think yes, the war should continue because maybe I need to be educated as to why furthering the war into Iran is a good thing. What is McCain's Mideast strategy. Not Iraq war strategy, but long term vision for the Middle East, beyond bringing peace, because that's so vague and undefined. Anyone in support of him please let me know, because I really don't understand this push for more war.

lula29 5 years

IMO this is beyond being conservative or liberal. Do we really want to further this war? Regardless to the party you belong to, I have to ask, have you asked yourself that question, and if so what has brought you to your answer? I'm most interested in those who think yes, the war should continue because maybe I need to be educated as to why furthering the war into Iran is a good thing. What is McCain's Mideast strategy. Not Iraq war strategy, but long term vision for the Middle East, beyond bringing peace, because that's so vague and undefined.Anyone in support of him please let me know, because I really don't understand this push for more war.

Jude C 5 years

Proof that being a gung-ho warrior type isn't the same as being knowledgable and qualified about foreign affairs.

LeChatonNoir 5 years

Wow.Let me just say that this is not a debate over whether to say "nuke-you-lur" or "noo-clear", this is about a person who wants to lead the country whilst not understanding what's going on in the world - I mean - REALLY not understanding. You don't make a slip like that. Repeatedly. You just don't. The issue of the Iraq War and terrorism is way too IMPORTANT to misunderstand, or say the wrong country name.Wait...what's the right country name? What did his tongue mean to suggest?I feel that this is obviously, obviously, plainly proof of the ignorance of people in power in our goverment.Good this is out in the open, right?Out...in the...on NBC.*wince*

LeChatonNoir 5 years

Wow. Let me just say that this is not a debate over whether to say "nuke-you-lur" or "noo-clear", this is about a person who wants to lead the country whilst not understanding what's going on in the world - I mean - REALLY not understanding. You don't make a slip like that. Repeatedly. You just don't. The issue of the Iraq War and terrorism is way too IMPORTANT to misunderstand, or say the wrong country name. Wait...what's the right country name? What did his tongue mean to suggest? I feel that this is obviously, obviously, plainly proof of the ignorance of people in power in our goverment. Good this is out in the open, right? Out...in the...on NBC. *wince*

zeze 5 years

I have one question.Can McCain pronounce "nuclear"?Because if I have to go through 6/8 years being told IRAN has "weapons of mass destruction" in addition to terms like axis of evil and stay the course....I would lose it! These past few years have been like a freakin' comic book and Bush thinks he's God's Superpresident....joking aside, I really, really, really, don't like where McCain is going with this Iran thing, he is selling it HARD, and he is not even president yet. It really scares me that any minor, unrelated attack that might happen will give him the leeway that Bush used to get into Iraq (granted Bush had a huge event like 9/11 to con us into that war) but I think b/c of the growing Al Qaeda and 9/11 being so recent, McCain would not need such as huge event to get us into another war fought for all the wrong reasons and based on lies, and at the worst time too, where we are really in no position preemptively strike anyone.

zeze 5 years

I have one question. Can McCain pronounce "nuclear"? Because if I have to go through 6/8 years being told IRAN has "weapons of mass destruction" in addition to terms like axis of evil and stay the course....I would lose it! These past few years have been like a freakin' comic book and Bush thinks he's God's Superpresident. ...joking aside, I really, really, really, don't like where McCain is going with this Iran thing, he is selling it HARD, and he is not even president yet. It really scares me that any minor, unrelated attack that might happen will give him the leeway that Bush used to get into Iraq (granted Bush had a huge event like 9/11 to con us into that war) but I think b/c of the growing Al Qaeda and 9/11 being so recent, McCain would not need such as huge event to get us into another war fought for all the wrong reasons and based on lies, and at the worst time too, where we are really in no position preemptively strike anyone.

Jillness 5 years

"that when it comes to certain topics with your candidate that your knowledge base allows you to look at his experience and take the situation for judgment on your own without the medias spin."I see your point, and it is a good one! :)

Jillness 5 years

lula29 5 years

mymellowman,As far as your question concerning the reaction a religious confidante to a presidential candidate making statements a la Rev. Wright, that question has already been answered.Mccain/Hagee was brought up on the Rev. Wright blog. The reaction McCain got was pretty mild in comparison. Bush got some flack for the Robertson comments though and had to apologize.As far as McCain and his recent Mideast flap, I have to say, I find it disturbing. I already don't agree with is economic philosophy and definitely don't want to further the war. His making such mistakes is disconcerting to me.

lula29 5 years

mymellowman, As far as your question concerning the reaction a religious confidante to a presidential candidate making statements a la Rev. Wright, that question has already been answered. Mccain/Hagee was brought up on the Rev. Wright blog. The reaction McCain got was pretty mild in comparison. Bush got some flack for the Robertson comments though and had to apologize. As far as McCain and his recent Mideast flap, I have to say, I find it disturbing. I already don't agree with is economic philosophy and definitely don't want to further the war. His making such mistakes is disconcerting to me.

hausfrau 5 years

Interesting Jill! I was just wondering :)

raciccarone 5 years

Sunni, Shiite. Look, we went to war over non-existent WMDs, how bad could a little mistake get at this point?

mymellowman 5 years

"Honestly. This war is the biggest influence on our country, and our economy, and our security right now." I think the mortgage, the situations with the banks, the investors and how much people have over extended themselves in credit is a far worse situation in regards to our economy than the war, but that might be an issue for another time."I think that Fox News and other right wing outlets would be all over it if a democrat had said these things." - Why do you think this hasn't been a bigger issue for CNN, MSNBC, the Times, etc etc?"I don't think I am being bias for questioning his view of what is going on in the region." - I honestly didn't quite take this as you being extremely bias, but I do believe that you come to a point that you have researched and undertand a large part of your candidates history, present and goals and plans for the future so that when you hear something of this nature it does not strike you quite as hard.Hillness, I know you are extremely knowledgeable on Obama which I believe makes it easier for you to discredit certain situations because you have studied your candidate to the point that you know a about him and why you stand behind him. I'm not saying I'm blind to McCain's faults or your blind to Obama's, but that when it comes to certain topics with your candidate that your knowledge base allows you to look at his experience and take the situation for judgment on your own without the medias spin.For me, with McCain, as this i related to area he holds much education and knowledge it does not concern me. I'm sure there are areas with Obama that you could use that same knowledge base to hold less concern than might be held to others with an issue.

mymellowman 5 years

"Honestly. This war is the biggest influence on our country, and our economy, and our security right now." I think the mortgage, the situations with the banks, the investors and how much people have over extended themselves in credit is a far worse situation in regards to our economy than the war, but that might be an issue for another time. "I think that Fox News and other right wing outlets would be all over it if a democrat had said these things." - Why do you think this hasn't been a bigger issue for CNN, MSNBC, the Times, etc etc? "I don't think I am being bias for questioning his view of what is going on in the region." - I honestly didn't quite take this as you being extremely bias, but I do believe that you come to a point that you have researched and undertand a large part of your candidates history, present and goals and plans for the future so that when you hear something of this nature it does not strike you quite as hard. Hillness, I know you are extremely knowledgeable on Obama which I believe makes it easier for you to discredit certain situations because you have studied your candidate to the point that you know a about him and why you stand behind him. I'm not saying I'm blind to McCain's faults or your blind to Obama's, but that when it comes to certain topics with your candidate that your knowledge base allows you to look at his experience and take the situation for judgment on your own without the medias spin. For me, with McCain, as this i related to area he holds much education and knowledge it does not concern me. I'm sure there are areas with Obama that you could use that same knowledge base to hold less concern than might be held to others with an issue.

Jillness 5 years

Ultimately, if Obama doesn't get the nomination I would look at both McCain and Hillary. I think they both have areas where I agree and areas where I disagee with them, strenghts and weaknesses. I also think that McCain will be more under the gun to make his case when the democrat nominee is decided, and what he stands for now will become more apparent. Generally, it seems I agree with Hillary more than McCain, but there are some areas where I strongly disagree with her policy ideas. Long way of saying I would be on the fence! ;)

Jillness 5 years

janneth 5 years

They love their Al Qaeda threats, these war people.I see a big difference between Bushleague and McLame.Bush wants to be in Iraq only 3 - 5 more years. McC is ok with 100 years (or even 1000).Any mathematicians in the crowd? 100 years x $600 billion adjusted for inflation = the end of our country.McC has a basic intelligence problem and I am not talking about spy stuff.

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