Lest we forget

McCain compounds al Qaeda gaffe by repeating for a fourth time
Posted March 19th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
When John McCain got confused yesterday about Sunni and Shiite, Iran and al Qaeda, his campaign issued a statement insisting that McCain “misspoke and immediately corrected himself.”
The explanation is far less plausible when McCain makes the same mistake and pushes the same bogus argument four times in two days.
This time, in a statement from his campaign honoring the fifth year anniversary of the war, McCain wrote:
“Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists — with support from external powers such as Iran — are on the run but not defeated.”
For those keeping score at home, McCain 1) made the claim on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show; 2) repeated the claim at a press conference in Jordan; 3) repeated the claim again at the same event (before Joe Lieberman whispered in his hear that he was wrong); and 4) in a written statement. He “misspoke”? Hardly.
Now, readers may wonder whether it’s worth piling on like this, and raising such a fuss about McCain’s confusion regarding Middle East 101. But I’d argue that this is receiving too little attention.
As Ilan Goldenberg explained, “This is a man who thinks it’s OK for us to leave a troop presence in Iraq for 100 years. He thinks that Iraq is the central struggle of our day. He thinks that all of our other interests should be subverted to sticking it out in Iraq. He is running on his foreign policy experience. Yet he doesn’t even understand who we are fighting. Is this the person we want answering the phone at 3 in the morning?”
And as for the media, NBC News’ Chuck Todd conceded this morning, “[H]ad Clinton or Obama done something like this, this would have been played on a loop, over and over

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Posted March 19th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

Before the political world moves on from the controversy surrounding the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Barack Obama’s speech on race in America, it’s worth taking a moment to consider Michael Gerson’s WaPo column today, which I believe is largely representative of the conservative response to the week’s news.
Unlike the cartoonish, knee-jerk responses seen in some (ahem) corners yesterday, Gerson concedes from the outset that Obama made his case “as well as it could be made” yesterday, adding, “It was one of the finest political performances under pressure since John F. Kennedy at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in 1960.”
But Gerson seems to believe that there is literally nothing Obama could do. That Obama forcefully rejected Wright’s most offensive remarks is fine, Gerson argues, but it’s too late for history, context, and explanations.
The problem with Obama’s argument is that Wright is not a symbol of the strengths and weaknesses of African Americans. He is a political extremist, holding views that are shocking to many Americans who wonder how any presidential candidate could be so closely associated with an adviser who refers to the “U.S. of KKK-A” and urges God to “damn” our country.
Obama’s excellent and important speech on race in America did little to address his strange tolerance for the anti-Americanism of his spiritual mentor.
Obama, Gerson concluded, “is not a man who hates — but he chose to walk with a man who does.”
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Wednesday’s campaign round-up
Posted March 19th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

* It looks like the Obama campaign has effectively ruled out the idea of a Michigan revote, making it unlikely the state will host a second primary. In a campaign memo, Obama aides cited legal and organizing difficulties: “Whether the state can achieve its goals here depends on the nature and seriousness of the legal and administrative questions presented by this initiative — questions that, raised after the election, could put at risk the running of the election, undermine acceptance of the results if the election is held, and in both cases effectively deny Michigan voters, a second consecutive time, meaningful participation in the nominating process.”
* Hillary Clinton is still pushing aggressively for a Michigan re-vote, and will visit Detroit today to bring attention to her case. “We will go and make the case for a revote,” said Mo Elleithee, a Clinton spokesman. Phil Singer, a Clinton spokesperson, accused Obama’s campaign of a “passive-aggressive effort to disenfranchise the voters of Michigan and Florida.”
* Hillary Clinton picked up a very helpful endorsement yesterday, when Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) announced his support for the senator. “Sen. Clinton is the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy, and the war in Iraq,” Murtha wrote in a statement about his decision. Murtha is, of course, a superdelegate, in addition to being an influential veteran from Pennsylvania.
* I doubt there will be any major revelations, but the materials will at least be out there: “Over 11,000 pages of Hillary Clinton’s schedule as first lady are set to be released to the public on Wednesday, the National Archives announced…. In a statement Tuesday, the Archives said the documents are from the files of Patti Solis Doyle, the director of Clinton’s scheduling while she was first lady, and later the manager of her presidential campaign…. ‘Arranged chronologically, these records document in detail the activities of the First Lady, including meetings, trips, speaking engagements and social activities for the eight years of the Clinton Administration,’ the statement said.”
* Mark Penn is going to get a little company — the Clinton campaign has finally hired a second pollster.