Originally Posted By: whomod
McCain has his facts wrong about Iraq (again). We're talking very basic facts. McCain said in Wisconsin that the surge is over, all the troops are home. ("I can look you in the eye and tell you... We have drawn down to pre-surge levels.") In fact, 2/3 of the surge troops are still in Iraq (we added 30,000 troops and have removed 10,000, leaving 20,000 still in Iraq). According to Ben Smith at Politico.com, the McCain's campaign response to the criticism of McCain's mistake is to not only invoke "verb tense," but to charge that we're "nitpicking." Wow. 20,000 troops are "nit-picking.


He's lost his mind. McCain's now trying to claim that he didn't tell voters yesterday that we have drawn down to pre-surge troop levels in Iraq. He's now trying to claim that he said we're DRAWING down, i.e., still in the process, not there yet. But of course, that's not what he said. It's on film. Everyone has seen it. ThinkProgress walks you through it again. It's just downright bizarre that McCain keeps denying that he said what he said. We have video. Bush and Cheney and company tried this for years, and got away with it. They constantly lied about the facts and figured no one would be the wiser. But people finally wisened up. And they don't accept blatant lies any longer. We have not gotten down to pre-surge troops levels - we're not even close. And now McCain is arguing "verb tenses" as an excuse - my, Grandpa, what Clintonian teeth you have. Whether McCain is lying or simply doesn't understand the facts in Iraq, for him to now deny that he said what he said, well, when we have the video, it's just kind of creepy and sad.




I sure hope McCain doesn't blow a gasket over this, otherwise he might try to choke another 90 year old man. Here is what Obama just said about McCain's latest weird statements about Iraq:

 Quote:
He's been proposing a joint trip to Iraq that's nothing more than a political stunt. He's even been using it to raise a few dollars for his campaign. But it seems like Senator McCain's a lot more interested in my travel plans than the facts, because yesterday – in his continued effort to put the best light on a failed policy – he stood up in Wisconsin and said, "We have drawn down to pre-surge levels" in Iraq.

"That's not true, and anyone running for Commander-in-Chief should know better. As the saying goes, you're entitled to your own view, but not your own facts. We've got around 150,000 troops in Iraq – 20,000 more than we had before the surge. We have plans to get down to around 140,000 later this summer – that's still more troops than we had in Iraq before the surge. And today, Senator McCain refused to correct his mistake. Just like George Bush, when he was presented with the truth, he just dug in and refused to admit his mistake. His campaign said it amounts to "nitpicking."

"Well I don't think tens of thousands of American troops amounts to nitpicking. Tell that to the young men and women who are serving bravely and brilliantly under our flag. Tell that to the families who have seen their loved ones fight tour after tour after tour of duty in a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged.

"It's time for a debate that's based on the truth, and I can't think of anything more important than how many Americans are in harm's way. It's time for a debate that's based on how we're going to end this war – not a debate that's based on raising a few dollars for John McCain's campaign.


Well, Wonder Boy, even your hero Pat Buchanan said on TV the other day that all of McCain's almost weekly Iraq gaffes suggest not so much ignorance of foreign policy as they suggest his mental state on account of his advanced age.

This was no liberal Democrat. This was Pat Buchanan saying this. HE found it disturbing