05 May 2008

McCain/The real reason we went to war

Did you catch the McCain blunder??

From ABC News:

“And I just want to promise you this: My friends, I will have an energy policy, that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East,” McCain said. “That will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

After landing in Phoenix later in the day, McCain told reporters that he was not saying that the conflict is about oil.

“We went to Iraq because we believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and he was going to use them,” McCain said, reiterating what he has said before on numerous occasions.

He said that he was actually referring to the first Gulf War when he talked about how a new energy policy would allow the Untied States never to have to “send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.”

“I was talking about that we had fought the first Gulf War for several reasons,” McCain said, noting primarily that Iraq had invaded its neighbor Kuwait.

“But also we didn’t want them to have control over the oil, and that part of the world is critical to us because of our dependency on foreign oil. And it’s more important than in any other part of the world.”

But he did not mention the first Gulf War during his town hall meeting in Denver. His comments then came in the context of a conversation about the latest Iraq struggle, and how his plans for Iraq differ from that of his Democratic opponents, who want to begin withdrawing troops quickly from Iraq.

We know what you meant, John. No need to explain further. It's like a Homer Simpson moment when he mistakenly says what he's thinking out loud instead of keeping it just in his head.

No matter how many times W says it, it's not about "spreading democracy" and it never was.

But why go there? Was it just a "Doh!" moment? Unlike Homer, you're a bright man, John.

Who are you playing to?

Not the conservative base that wants a strong hawk, will see this as a blunder and already thinks you're too liberal in many ways.

Not the liberals who never believed the W rhetoric and won't go for the warmonger image you've put forward up until now.

Are you going for the independent vote? Hoping people will believe that you know the truth and, given the opportunity, will say it without retracting it?

...but you retracted it. Or is it retracted with a wink to the jury a la "When did you stop beating your wife?" "Objection!" "I retract the question."*wink*

2 comments:

SciWonk said...

Everyone knows that this subject is the elephant in the room. Why do politicians think that the American pubic is stupid enough not to see it?

lacochran's evil twin said...

If we admit it then we have to own it. We don't want to own it. It makes the French look right, and we can't have that.