July 19, 2008 / by bmaz

 

McCain: Is He Addled And Confused Or A Dishonorable Man?

It is becoming increasingly clear that it is really one or the other; either John McCain is addled and confused in the face of trying to keep up with all that he must as a candidate for the most powerful position in the world, or he is a dishonorable cad that will blithely pass out confidential information and place important people’s lives in danger to serve his own vain powerlust.

The last time there was an insinuation made that McCain was confused and couldn’t keep things straight, there was much consternation and soiling of undergarments by the McCain camp and across the board covering of his butt by the mainstream media. (See here and here). But these are not occasional incidents with McCain. Sunni or Shia? Sudan or Somalia? He is for immigration reform or against it? Does Czechoslovakia still exist or not (Um, no Senator, it ceased existence over 15 years ago, and you’ve been there since then more than once). And then there is this painful example of cognitive dysfunction.

Yesterday John McCain went all in with his chips of mental incompetence. From Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate John McCain commented on Friday on the unannounced timing of a high-security trip by Barack Obama to Iraq, saying he believed his Democratic rival was going this weekend.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow — and I’m not privy to his schedule — Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain said at a Republican fund-raiser.

John McCain must have a far different definition of "high security" and "Senatorial courtesy" than has been known and understood throughout the history of this country. Apparently McCain not only doesn’t care about Obama’s safety, but has a similar disregard for the health and well being for the other fellow Congressional members with Obama on the trip, their staffers and the secret service personnel that have to protect all of them. As Teddy Partridge noted, this isn’t quite on the level of outing a covert CIA spy, but it is sure in the ballpark. For a comparison, consider how when Bush travels to Iraq they often don’t even tell the press, much less publicize the specific dates he will be going; pretty much the same for even lesser Bush Administration officials. McCain’s trips are kept secret as to most details for security reasons.

So just exactly how did McCain come to know the day schedule of Obama’s trip anyway? All that had been discussed prior to McCain’s shameful leak was that Obama would be traveling in the Middle East and might go to Iraq and Afghanistan. Who was foolish enough to tell McCain in the first place? Bush or Cheney? Administration underlings? Brown nosing members of McCain’s base, the press corps? Karl Rove?

We know that George Bush, Dick Cheney and their Administration consider the Presidency to be nothing more than their own personal permanent campaign tool, their own officials admit that. We also know that Bush and his Administration political bagmen and henchmen have been abusing their governmental power and privilege to affect the presidential election by leaning on the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to deny Obama his previously planned appearance and speech in front of the Brandenberg Gate.

So, is the Bush Administration using their power of office to play more political mischief and endanger Obama and his traveling companions? It should be noted that, in addition to the political advantage to McCain that they are desperate for, the Bush Administration has other reasons for wanting to squelch Obama’s trip to Iraq. It turns out that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agrees wholeheartedly with Obama’s proposed 16 month troop withdrawal timeline and is effectively endorsing Obama in the process. That is not a slap in the face to Bush and McCain, the permanent warmongers, it is a bash in the head with a Louisville Slugger.

Irrespective of McCain’s motivation for callously leaking the details of Obama’s trip into the war zone, or the leaking source of his information, it was a foolish, ignorant and pathetically selfish act. Is McCain such an addled septuagenarian that he can’t help but make these fundamental errors? Does McCain not have the mental faculties remaining after all these years to keep even the most basic things straight? Perhaps he is just no longer up to the task.

Because it is either that or he is such a dishonorable vindictive cad that he did this intentionally. Which one is it Senator McCain, the citizens of this country deserve an answer once and for all. Either way, he is patently unfit for the job he is applying for, President of the United States.

UPDATE: – From Marc Armbinder at The Atlantic, further evidence of just how catastrophic Nuri al-Maliki’s crystal clear adoption of Obama’s 16 month withdrawal timeline, and concurrent ratification of Obama’s military and foreign policy bonafides, really is.

This could be one of those unexpected events that forever changes the way the world perceives an issue. Iraq’s Prime Minister agrees with Obama, and there’s no wiggle room or fudge factor. This puts John McCain in an extremely precarious spot: what’s left to argue? to argue against Maliki would be to predicate that Iraqi sovereignty at this point means nothing. Obviously, our national interests aren’t equivalent to Iraq’s, but… Malik isn’t listening to the generals on the ground…but the "hasn’t been to Iraq" line doesn’t work here.

So how will the McCain campaign respond?

Boy, no kidding, how will McCain, that juggernaut of serious security and foreign policy experience and action, respond? Well, we don’t know yet, but Armbinder does provide a quote from a well known Republican strategist and part time McCain advisor:

"We’re fucked."

Indeed. This sure could explain why McCain would be compelled to abandon (and McCain is a professional at abandoning all pretext of honor; just consider his abandonment of his critically injured first wife after she had spent years waiting for him while he was injured and captive in Vietnam) any remnant of honor and duty that he had left in his tired and old body.

The only thing McCain has ever had, as weak as it is, is his bleating false claim to superiority on Iraq and foreign policy. That was a concept that was frail and hanging by a thread to start with. A thread that has now been incinerated completely by Nuri al-Maliki. Just the kind of thing that would cause an angry and addled dishonorable man to lash out. This is the Real McCain. The John McCain that Native Arizonans have seen since the moment he plopped his carpetbag down here. The John McCain that cares more about himself than anything else in the world; and he will do anything and say anything to advance that interest including, clearly, jeopardizing other people’s lives.

Copyright © 2008 emptywheel. All rights reserved.
Originally Posted @ https://www.emptywheel.net/2008/07/19/mccain-is-he-addled-and-confused-or-a-dishonorable-man/