Setting the record straight on McCain and Rumsfeld
By Steve Benen Thursday Mar 06, 2008 1:59pm 
One of the more outlandish claims John McCain routinely makes on the campaign trail is his boast that he called for Donald Rumsfeld’s ouster before he resigned. Part of the problem with the bogus claim is that major media personalities believe the claim, and keep passing it on to national audiences as if it were true.
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Download | play (h/t Heather)
On the March 5 edition of CNN’s The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer asked about Sen. John McCain: “[C]an he disassociate himself … distance himself from the president?” After CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said it would be “[t]otally impossible,” CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger responded: “[B]ut on the war, McCain has said over and over again, you know, ‘I would have fired [former Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld.’ ” When Toobin interrupted, asking: “Did he call for Rumsfeld to be fired?” Blitzer said “Yes” and Borger agreed, saying: “He did. He did.”
Despite Toobin’s further protestations, Borger said of McCain’s purported call for Rumsfeld to be fired: “[H]e called for him to be fired while — in the Senate,” “Yeah. Oh, absolutely,” “No, he did,” and “[H]e said I think Rumsfeld ought to be fired, you know, a long time ago. Yeah.”
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that Blitzer and Borger have heard McCain make the claim, and they assume he’s telling the truth. Of course, if Blitzer and Borger were better journalists, they’d actually check to see if McCain’s claim was accurate before repeating the lie for a national television audience, but my hunch is, they both think, “McCain wouldn’t just make something like that up. He keeps saying it, so it must be true.”
It’s part of the larger problem of McCain’s media adulation — there’s simply no skepticism. They accept his “straight-talking” persona, which they’ve helped manufacture, at face value.
With this in mind, it’s worth setting the record straight. Every time McCain claims credit for calling for Rumsfeld’s ouster, he’s not telling the truth.
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IMPEACH
CHENEY
FIRST!!!
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Darn, in Bushie/McSame world, facts always get in the way.
Whether or not they believe McCain is telling the truth - I know that the truth doesn't actually matter.
If they knew he was lying they would STILL say he was telling the truth. This is their way - the re-PIG-lic war machine is gearing up. You can hear it and feel it all across the country.
And let's not kid ourselves. The job of any responsible journalist goes beyond bobbing your head and saying yes for the sake of kissing Re-PIG ass - you need to be able to back claims like this up.
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Damn Liberal Media...
Can't vet their facts one bit, can they Gloria?
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the brain dead media once again
supporting the gop's lies without fact checking
so, what's new? the media also supports the destruction of
the constitution. they should be careful the fascists will
come for them one of these days.
If Empty-suit Romney and 9iu11ian1 were good politicians, they would have called him on this in the debates. Did they? (Feels good to get one more jab in at those two goons.)
The corporate media is a problem, of course (particularly Borger, who is a Repubican apologist, big time). But the bigger problem is the Democratic candidates, and even members of the party as a whole, don't shout BS on this type of outright lie from every forum that's available to them.
I suspect (and certainly hope) that Howard Dean, at least, would confront McCain's fabrications in a direct, no nonsense way. Lately, he's been a bulldog in the interviews I've seen.
Why, oh why can't the Democrats get it together to mount a
swift and unequivocal attack on such blatant lies as this?
Off-topic, but Vanity Fair has an article about how the Bush administration set off the current Gaza violence. Add it to the list of Bushie's ME disasters.
I called for Rumsfeld's ouster long before McBullshit did. Where was the media then?
miss_kitty Hussein @ 9:
His outer what? :)
Dana Milbank on Countdown the other day said something which I found amazing. He told Keith that the Democrats' attempts to tie McCain to Bush will fail because of his maverick image. Of course, he didn't mention that the fact that McCain is attached hip and thigh to Bush by his votes and words and so much else and that his maverick image is nothing but a media manufactured myth. Also, he didn't say that that image was created by the media and that the media could demolish it if they wanted to. Instead, he pretended that the media had nothing to do with the image. As always, the media never takes responsibility for what it does- everything is somebody else's fault, never the media's. What a fucking hack.
Yellow Elephant Safari (Hussein) @ 10:
His outer bullshit. His inner bullshit as well.
McCain = Bush. McCain has made a deal with Bush and Cheney. Vote for McCain is a vote for the same. McCain will continue the same failed policies of the Bush administration.
Howard Dean had better have a plan to keep McShame's BS in the spotlight because the "media" will be working overtime to sweep it under the rug.
I do recall McCain avoiding a reporter's question about Dumbsfeld actually resigning, but McCain did say that he had no confidence in him and this was well before Rummy bailed.
I think Dumsfeld left because the military commanders were just not on his side. They realized early on that his idiotic comments and complete incompetency were costing American's their lives.
McCain was not a 'straight talker' enough to call for his resignation because that would not be being loyal to the GOP and we all know they can't have any of that.
This may be an example, a symptom of what's wrong with media coverage. But, beyond that, it is hardly noteworthy. He tore the guy a new one publicly in the Senate on numerous occasions. He clearly thought Rumsfeld was incompetent and had screwed up war management.
The real story is the failure to question, which should be of concern on other matters, like, where's the follow-up on those letters to the FCC? Where's the follow-up on all his little jaunts on corporate private jets?
Librarian @ 11:
See: Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media - Noam Chomsky and Edward S Herman
Wow...what a buncha non-reportin' asshats!
Let's be clear. It is obvious that 'talking points' and unanimity are what have been dictated as the media pattern since 2000 probably earlier. There is no journalistic principle applied at all by the media, especially the big guns. We need to stop pretending that they occasionally deviate from journalism and state quite clearly that they are all pretty much HACKS in the employ of their government-contract-sucking masters.
Will Hillary Run as An Independent as Joe Lieberman Did, Because She's Doing the Work of the Republicans: “I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington. “I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said. Calling McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee a good friend and a “distinguished man with a great history of service to our country,” Clinton said, “Both of us will be on that stage having crossed that threshold. That is a critical criterion for the next Democratic nominee to deal with.” After that statement, she should withdraw as a candidate for the Democratic Nomination and Run with John, if she can nudge Joe L. aside. 3/8
But, but, St. McCain is a hero. Maybe even a super hero. And everybody knows that superheros are good guys. So McCain is a good guy. And good guys don't lie.
Now do you see? It's logic.
(Snark off)
You know, we tell them and tell them...but do they listen?
For some reason, I am unable to download or view the WMV version. (File not found)
“[B]ut on the war, McCain has said over and over again, you know, ‘I would have fired [former Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld. Unless, that is, I become the GOP Presidential candidate."
Best political team ? CNN telling lies since 1980.
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M c C l i n t o n
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOytXkCw0NY
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Thursday’s contributions to the McAKAlist, in ‘high’ definition:
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McKiss-Ass – there’s a drunk monkey in the White Housed with hickeys all over his butt.
McFoot-in-mouth – the toejob artist.
McClapon/Clapoff – Cindybarbi’s activate/deactivate switch is handy around the house, but kinda disconcerting on the trail when the applause sign is flashing.
McRib – what to feed sycophantic reporters when yer on a limited budget.
Mcflip ‘n’ Mcflop –
Johnny ‘n’Mitt,
hittin’ the trail,
a-flippin and a-floppin
and a changin’ their tales.
McBS - “My friends…I hope you enjoy your shit sandwiches” - Reporter, “this is my third one!”
McZzzzz – last in excitement, the polls, the alphabet – well everything, really. But he’ll be the first to go…soon…just follow the smoke, Johnny…
McBush-clone – vegetative propagation in all its inbredglory.
McYuk – the barfy kind, or the funny kind? Both.
McShame – being something without having any of it – it’s a nez(anti-zen) thing, practiced by backasswards lying egocentric narcissistic sociopaths the world over.
McKaineTheInsane,
....Endorsed by NoBrain.
........No matter how nutty,
..............AP’ll say they’re buddies.
Keep McPileing on C&L'ers! The current McList numbers 495 and the entire list and/or links will be posted on McDamnthisisgettingtobeareallllyfuckinglonglistalmostlikeafulltimejob and/or Open threads Sunday, and the previous day’s contributions the rest of the week, John permitting.
“Shorter lists are funnier” generally holds true, and very well may re the McList. C&L’ers are diverse and eclectic, and I’ve enjoyed many lols, LOLs, LOL!s and Ha ha’s here. I’m reluctant to exclude any McEntry, ’cause they’re all funny/pointed/cathartic to varying degrees, and the sheer length of the entire list has a humorous quality of its own.
We are also generating denigrating McMemes, some of which may be useful, in a memie sort of way. The thuglicontards are very aware of the usefulness of denigrating memes, and it won’t hurt to put out a few of our own.
That being said, a Top 11, Dirty Dozen, etc. are considerations, for those (myself included, usually) who like things condensed to essentials.
Will update at my convenience or tolerable inconvenience on pertinent threads.
8-D
B-b-b-but hasn't the corporate media said it's not its job to fact check?
Gloria Borger is useless......
McCain is a liar as well as a dick.
Leave reality in the coat room before you enter the Situation Room.
Part of the problem, I suspect, is that Blitzer and Borger have heard McCain make the claim, and they assume he’s telling the truth. Of course, if Blitzer and Borger were better journalists, they’d actually check to see if McCain’s claim was accurate before repeating the lie for a national television audience...
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That's something which seems to have become all too common among mainstream media journalists today -- a reluctance to investigate the claims which politicians and other public figures make about themselves and to confront them with the evidence and hard questions when those claims are found to be false. If they simply go along with whatever the person in question chooses to say without really making much effort to challenge it, they're not really journalists anymore because simply helping someone to promote themselves is not a journalist's job -- and if that's all they're willing to do, they might as well cut to the chase and quit journalism for public relations.
McPathologicalLiar says, "I was for Rumsfeld before I was against him." I guess Iraq would be in great shape right now, if it hadn't been for the way Baron von Rumsfeld chose to occupy it?
If nothing-headed Obama is handed the nomination - we'd better run for the hills.
The same nutty press that built him up into Jesus will renew their infantile love affair with insane McCain.
They will kiss McCain and start to write about what they are beginning to notice about Obama - the famously
empty suit.
It is not the abscess in their craniums so much as the metastasizing growth in their wallets, which impairs those media puppets’ fact-checking faculties, I suspect.
This fits right in with his statement that he welcomes John Hagee's endorsement, while not agreeing with his beliefs.
I assume we can expect a retraction from Blitzer and company?
It doesn't matter who you vote for..All the candidates are owned by corporate greed and are hand picked. Managed trade will be the end of us. READ THIS:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10712.cfm
Since we have no choice and are being made so dependent on our system..we should at least not cut off our own nose to spite our faces..we are going to need socialist "hand outs" in these changing times, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans to do that.
Hard times are coming and McCain will offer little to help put food on our tables.
WTF??? How about this: Blitzer and Borger were both active journalists for the last 8 years; if they can't remember the facts they were reporting then why are they journalists?
Honestly, if these guys aren't fabricating facts then why can't they remember somthing this important? Or at least google it for fucks sake!
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