All Posts Tagged With: "McFalsehood"

I‘ll admit right up front that I’m no fan of John McCain. In fact, I find him to be a pretty repugnant character and not very impressive presidential material.

I know. He’s a war hero. However, even on this point he has his detractors. There are those who served with him in Viet Nam who call him ‘Songbird.’ Some accuse him of giving up information pretty quickly. There are others who tell a story about how he received preferential treatment because of his high-ranking Navy father. Then, there’s the issue of his disability payment of some $58,358 per year, tax free, because he can’t raise his arms above his shoulders. Really? I think I’ve seen him do that a few times. We could focus on the bush-league anti-Obama ads (no pun intended) he’s been running. First, there was the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad. Then, for lack of a better description, there’s “The One.” One would think that the American people would need something bit more substantive from McCain than what these ads provide. Both of these are pathetic and juvenile attacks. However, it could very well be that I’m overestimating the needs of the American people. It doesn’t end here. There are other concerns.

I’d be concerned about anybody who wants to be the ruler of the free world who just can’t seem to get his information straight. I’ve been reading a lot of articles. Some people are questioning his age. Some people are wondering if it’s Alzheimers. I’m just plain concerned because I don’t think it’s either of those things. I think it’s lack of knowledge. I think he just doesn’t get it and I’m doubtful that he cares about getting it. What he cares about is getting to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and, in some cases, the twisted facts help him make his case. Here are the things the media should be focusing on, rather than the trivia they are so fond of analyzing, such as what candidate doesn’t wear an American flag lapel pin.

It goes without saying that McCain’s famous confusion between Sunni and Shia is now treated quite lightheartedly. This is serious misinformation, given the circumstances in Iraq. This isn’t an isolated incident. He continually refers to the country of Czechoslovakia, which hasn’t existed since 1993. As documented by Media Matters for America, McCain made an errant claim that Iranian operatives were training al Qaeda members for fighting in Iraq three or four times over the course of two days - once on March 17 while speaking with radio host Hugh Hewitt and twice on March 18 while speaking to reporters to Amman, Jordan. It took yet another out-of-touch politician, Joe Lieberman (I-CT), whispering the correct information in McCain’s ear before he got it right. McCain corrected himself in Amman saying, “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al Qaeda.”

Still, other gaffes by McCain border on falsehoods. In defense of Bush’s Iraq escalation (called a “surge” for political expediency), McCain claimed that the Anbar Awakening was a direct result.The fact is that the Anbar Awakening began months before the surge in troops was even announced. This fact is confirmed by Colonel Sean McFarland and Major Neil Smith, who co-wrote a published article stating that most of the progress in Anbar province occurred between June 2006 and February 2007, months before the first troops ever arrived in Iraq. Misinformation such as this should be a concern when Mr. McCain boasts superior judgment to Barack Obama on all issues Iraq. McCain also embellished facts in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Constitution’s habeus corpus protection extended to all persons being held in U.S. prisons, including those at Guantanamo Bay.

On June 17 of this year, McCain spoke at a Pemberton, New Jersey, town hall meeting: “By the way, thirty of the people that have already been released from Guantanamo Bay have already tried to attack America again; one of them just a couple of weeks ago as a suicide bomber in Iraq.” However, according to the Pentagon, only 13 former Guantanamo prisoners participated in some form of terrorist activity since being released. None have been confirmed to have attacked an American target. The Pentagon report went on to state that a handful of these former detainees have attacked “coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 13, were three Chechens who were transferred to Russia, where they were rearrested for terrorist activities.” That’s quite a bit different than what McCain was implying in his statement.

Okay, so let’s not call McCain a liar. Let’s assume these are mistakes that were come by honestly. Frankly, it doesn’t make me feel much better about his being elected president.