Is McCain's Age Showing? Tongues Wag Over Flubs »
Posted By ybdogsct 11 months, 2 weeks ago in News
He has been making a series of verbal slips -- invariably described as "gaffes" -- that are starting to ricochet from liberal blogs to the mainstream media. And fairly or not, some critics are suggesting the 71-year-old Republican candidate is showing his age.
Read Full Story at washingtonpost.com »
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ybdogsct11 months, 2 weeks ago
1) McCain referred to the "Iraq-Pakistan border."
2) He has twice referred to Czechoslovakia, a country that ceased to exist in 1993.
3) He mixed up Sunnis and Shiites.
4) He claimed Shiite Iran was training Sunni al-Qaida.
5) He even identified Vladimir Putin as president of Germany.'If Obama had said the things McCain has said, the media would be all over that as an example of his inexperience: "He doesn't even know that Iraq and Pakistan don't share a border. He doesn't even know that Czechoslavakia hasn't been a country for 15 years." When John McCain says it, it's "Oh, that's just John McCain." The media have decided that McCain is a knowledgeable foreign policy expert, and anything that doesn't fit into that paradigm is just ignored."
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Beau789011 months, 2 weeks ago
It'd completely surprise me if McCain dropped out. He, the Republican Party, and the media don't really care whether he's senile or not. He's their man, and they'll stand by him.
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lfergie81211 months, 2 weeks ago
I have. He does very well compared to McCain and Bush. McCain gets his facts wrong and Bush stutters and stumbles over his words. LOL
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Dionys11 months, 2 weeks ago
"Has anyone listened to Obama speak without reading it?"
Yes. It's a true delight to listen to someone who can not only form a complete sentence in American English but who speaks above the fourth-grade level of the American media.
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BB6411 months, 2 weeks ago
Oh, come on. Just because Barack he's been to all 57 states or that he's spent the last few days in the Middle East is an expert on everything..... Especially race relations and his church.
This is your typical anti-Republican attack piece. Get used to it. Last night I was think about Barack and his lack of experience. A few years ago the press attacked a candidate who served in the army reserve and made Master Sgt. Went to school, became a lawyer. Served in the House and the Senate. All on his own. Family money really didn't help. The press attacked him because he was too young and inexperienced. That was Dan Quayle. Barack hasn't done 25% of Mr. Quayle yet the media is selling their souls for him. Talk about double standards. It's an inexperienced and even more liberal Jimmy Carter all over again. Paul Ryan 2012!!!
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BB6411 months, 2 weeks ago
Barack claimed to have visited all 57 states. Sounds like a little acid....
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Charlson11 months, 2 weeks ago
I have little concern about the gaffes of McBush but I do have reservations about his continuation of Bush's policies. And McBush's campaigning seems to focus on complaining about Obama getting more press or attention when it was his challenge for Obama to visit Iraq and the Middle East that prompted the press' interest in the first place.
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cushi11 months, 2 weeks ago
So true! Be careful what you wish for, McInsane. You kept pushing the button and now you're beeyotching because the grenade blew up in your face. Tough!
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nikkibabe11 months, 2 weeks ago
THIS OLD HYPOCRITE RAT HAS MEMORY LOSS THINKING US TO STRONGLY BELIEVE HE IS IN EARLY STAGES OF ALZHIMERS. IT WILL BE A TRAGEDY TO SEE THIS "EXCUSE" FOR A HUMAN BEING AT THIS STAGE KICKED IN TO THE OVAL OFFICE.
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libsRfunny11 months, 2 weeks ago
Obama cited Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman as presidents who met with enemies. They didn't.
Obama cites John Kennedy meeting Nikita Khrushchev as another example of what he wants to emulate. That Vienna summit of a young, inexperienced, untested American president was disastrous...in Selma, Alabama, he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: “There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.” Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965.
“Then, there’s the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don’t exist."
Explaining why he was trailing Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama botched basic geography: “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas.
“In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll: 12.
Obama]declared that by Soviet standards Iran and others "don't pose a serious threat to us." The next day in Billings, Mont.: "I've made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave."
Obama showed off his knowledge of the war in Afghanistan by honing in on a lack of translators: “We only have a certain number of them and if they are all in Iraq, then it’s harder for us to use them in Afghanistan.” Iraqis speak Arabic or Kurdish. The Afghanis speak non-Arabic languages.
Not to mention his claim of U.S. forces liberating Poland.
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willottica11 months, 2 weeks ago
Libs: Explaining why he was trailing Hillary Clinton in Kentucky, Obama botched basic geography: “Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas."
That's not botching basic geography. Kentucky and Arkansas are kitty-corner to one another (okay, the corners are about 30 miles apart). Your own quote doesn't claim "bordering," it claims nearby, which the 2 clearly are.
For languages:
- The most common languages spoken in Afghanistan are Persian (Dari dialects) and Pashto. Both are Indo-European languages from the Iranian languages sub-family...Other languages spoken include Turkic languages... - Wikipedia
- Iraq: "Arabic and Kurdish are official languages... Armenian and Persian are also spoken but to a lesser extent." - Wikipedia
So in Iraq they speak Kurdish and Persian, in Afghanistan they speak Persian and Turkish, nah, the same translators wouldn't be useful.My suggestion: if you want to argue against Obama effectively, give up the false arguments, because if people can poke holes in any of them, most will assume that all of your arguments are as flimsy.
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dwemm11 months, 2 weeks ago
Libs, Roosevelt met with Stalin, who before WWII broke out was an enemy, became an ally, then an enemy again. If you want an example of a US prez meeting with enemies, what about Nixon meeting with Kruschev and Mao?
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libsRfunny11 months, 2 weeks ago
Obama gaffes:
U.S. troops liberating Poland.
Claiming Iraq is keeping the Arab translators out of Afghanistan, which doesn't speak Arabic.
Saying Iran is no threat one day, then the next claiming he always said otherwise.
Claiming a tornado killed 10,000 in Kansas when it was 12.
Saying Life Magazine pictures of a black man scarred from attempts to whiten his skin made him aware of racial divides. Life never ran such **** or stories.
Claiming Truman and Roosevelt met with the enemies of the U.S.
Claiming he was conceived when his parents met during the civil rights march in Selma Alabama. Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march was in 1965,
Claiming Arkansas borders Kentucky.
Claiming he had visited 57 states with more to go.
Saying he supported the DC gun ban, then saying the Supreme Court was right to strike it down.
Lies and flips all around. Pay attention. More to come from Dumbo.
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CRYMTYPHON11 months, 2 weeks ago
If anyone is bothering to wonder about the above:
No, Obama didn't claim US troops liberated Poland. He confused Aushwitz with a concentration camp in Poland, while telling an anecdote about his uncle in WWII.
Both Truman and Roosevelet met with Stalin. Who was our enemy before he became our ally, and then our enemy again.
When Obama said he was 'conveived during the civil rights march in Selma in 1961, he meant his parents first had the idea of him. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Arkansas borders Kentucky as far as most Americans are concerned, as they can not identify either on an unlabeled map. Obama is quite properly lumping them together as the states that sit like a stack of unwashed plates on the sink-edge of the American Consciousness'.
More to come? Nah, why bother.
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willottica11 months, 2 weeks ago
Ah libs,
I'm particularly amused by your insistence that Life Magazine never ran pictures of a black man scarred from attempts to whiten his skin.... I assure you that it did. Many times. Michael Jackson was his name.
He claimed to visit 57 states? Sortof, it's quite plausible that this was a misstatement based on doing some quick mental math while tired. "I visited all 50 (no wait, I missed 3, so take a way 3 from 50)... 7 states." Seriously, give up on this talking point. To the informed, it makes you look desperate.
The Selma speech is odd. His timeline is totally bogus - saying his father came over on one of Kennedy's scholarship tickets (which weren't announced until May 1961) is clearly false. Maybe he was already here and was able to benefit from it. I think there was a little 'speechmaking' going on. No, I don't excuse this, but he's definitely not the only one doing it. (Hillary landing under sniper fire -- McCain inflating his life vest WHILE UNDERWATER and floating to the surface as a result.) People tend to fudge facts and remember things differently than they really happened. He should have checked.
I'm curious about the Arab/Afghani translator issue. If Iraq and Afghanistan speak completely different languages, how could Iraq possibly have had any involvement with Al Qaeda? Unless people can learn to speak another language and thus communicate across borders like this. I wonder if the Army has "Middle-Eastern language specialists" rather than just Arab speakers vs. whatever-they-speak-in-afghanistan speakers. BTW, if you're so sure that they speak a non-arabic language in Afghanistan, what is it? Or didn't the talking points memo include that detail?
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Beau789011 months, 2 weeks ago
libsR:
None of those Obama gaffes will actually make a difference in policies he'd implement as president. McCain's would.
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nikkibabe11 months, 2 weeks ago
John McCain, the self proclaimed "expert" on Iraq said that "Iraq shares its border with Pakistan". Surprisingly, the PIG from CT who usually stands behind McCain stinking A44 all the time was also present. That makes it two idiots.
This in itself is enough to disqualify this old age "wonder" from being a candidate for the President.
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bruhaha11 months, 2 weeks ago
He also claimed in an interview on CBS that the Sunni Rising (I think that's what they call it) took place after the surge, which it didn't. CBS then edited it out of the interview. Obama may get all the attention from the media, as the con whiners here like to say, but McCain can make an assertion that at best, he is confused about the timing, at worst, he's lying through his teeth and the media will cover it up for him. Maybe it's better for McCain that he not get the media coverage that Obama gets. They can't cover everything up and then people might realize that McCain isn't the foreign policy expert that so many seem to think he is.
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spkguy11 months, 2 weeks ago
bruhaha
"He also claimed in an interview on CBS that the Sunni Rising (I think that's what they call it) took place after the surge, which it didn't. CBS then edited it out of the interview."
Correct, they edited the question/answers in such away, that it raises many questions! They took question #14 to McCain and used his #15 answer, whats up with that? When CBS was called on it they said: "They were very disappointed but mistakes do happen." How lame is that! Oh that evil liberal media!
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RickyDawkins11 months, 2 weeks ago
"During a CBS interview on Tuesday, John McCain made a stone cold error on a subject about which he claims expert knowledge: the "surge" strategy in Iraq. In an interview with anchor Katie Couric, the Arizona Republican said, inaccurately, that the surge strategy was responsible for the much-touted "Anbar Awakening," in which Sunni sheiks turned against Al Qaeda, helping in turn to reduce violence in the country.
The fact remains, however, that the military official cited by McCain, then-Colonel Sean MacFarland, described the Anbar Awakening in September 2006 -- four months before the "surge" was even announced -- noting that tribal leaders were "stepping forward and cooperating with the Iraqi security forces against Al Qaeda." Moreover, a military review written by MacFarland notes that his unit actually left Anbar before most of the surge troops arrived; his success in the region came between June 2006 and February 2007."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/22/mccain-gets-history-of-th_n_114419.html
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Dionys11 months, 2 weeks ago
Nope. McCain's "gaffes" indicate that he's the one suffering from early symptoms of Alzheimers. That you're blind to it only furthers everyones' understanding that you'd do anything to push your own political doctrine down the throats of anyone you can using whatever means (often lacking morals) possible.
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Locky1211 months, 2 weeks ago
Then what exactly qualifies Obama? He must have been some "community organizer" because when he got to the state Senate, he ran for the U.S. house, when he got there, he started running for Senate. And he was really busy running because all he knew how to do was vote "present". As soon as he won the senate he's now running for prez-- and no surprise here-- he's lying his a$$ off about his accomplishments.
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He grew up in the midwest which formed him.
LIE- He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia.
He was on committees that passed important legislation.
LIE- He was never there to be on any committee or even vote on some of the mentioned legislation.
Now Obama is much younger than McCain. Could Obama be the one with Alzheimers? -
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nikkibabe11 months, 2 weeks ago
Obama brings change that is badly needed after 8 years of scandals, denials, invasions, occupations, tortures, kidnappings, corruption, lawless administration.
We don't need another white neo conservative Republican, no matter what his qualifications. Fortunately, the old hypocrite rat , the other alternative has early signs of ALZEIHMERS.
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AntiNeoCon11 months, 2 weeks ago
Well when you are 71 things start happening to your mind and body, most isn't good.
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doppich11 months, 2 weeks ago
His "age" is showing? I've seen younger people say silly things as well. The other candidate, for instance.
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Odd and disturbing campaign year. Racism is properly "off the table," but sexism and ageism are not merely tolerated but are quite pervasive. -
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cushi11 months, 2 weeks ago
I see: If you an old, white, trigger-happy, shell-shocked vet with loose screws and memory loss, and if you graduated third from the bottom a class of nearly 900, your gaffes are perfectly understandable and excusable! BUT, if you are a young, skinny, bi-racial man who graduated magna *** laude from Harvard and whose every word is put under a microscope 24/7 since you became a presidential candidate, your gaffes are unacceptable, inexcusable, and make you stupid and inexperienced!
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GOT IT! -
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ecotourusa11 months, 2 weeks ago
McCain needs to be replaced by Dr. Ron Paul. this would cause Obama followers to think for once in their Stepford Wife lives...
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willottica11 months, 2 weeks ago
I guess I should comment on the story. McCain makes mistakes. Obama makes mistakes too. It's probably fairly even. Both are under a huge amount of pressure, have been for the better part of a year, and that pressure won't ease up at all until one of them wins the election. (Or the Supreme Court chooses one :( )
Will McCain's flubs become more and more? It seems likely given his advanced age. Or maybe, like my grandfather before his passing, bouts of narcolepsy will become more frequent. I can picture it now..."People of America! I come before you today to...zzzzzzzzz"
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"Mr. President, wake up!"
"What?"
"Mr. President, you fell asleep"
"No, I didn't."
"Of course not sir"
"Where was I?"
"I come before you today to..."
"Oh right, I come before you today to tell of a great ... zzzzz" -
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willottica11 months, 2 weeks ago
Right. Heaven forbid the President of the Harvard Law Review, a Magna *** laude graduate who studied constitutional law, should get into a position of power.
You're afraid of him. Why? Has he actually done ANYTHING to make you afraid, apart from having family ties to Africa and Islam (not to mention brown skin)?
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not2needy11 months, 2 weeks ago
Just what America needs at this critical time in our history, a president who can't keep yesterday, today and 10 years ago separate in his mind. Haven't we been there and done that? Do republicans never learn? Do they want the beer goddess running the country, like we had Nancy Reagan doing, making the China Pattern for the White House the most important thing in the nation????
Simply Amazing that intelligent conservatives would resort to this rather than admit that they have chosen the worst possible person to represent them.
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