John McCain has the "I can't remember what I said' disease
John McCain can't seem to remember that he said he'd be willing to tear down the lower 9th ward in NOLA after only three days. I mean, give me a break. Is that Presidential material? I ask you, is it? Media, hello, are you there? (h/t Bill Sher)
I like the way the WSJ's Elizabeth Holmes says Hillary Clinton is trying to turn his visit to NOLA against him. Since Holmes wrote the article that has McCain saying this:
McCain said he didn’t know what his plans would be. “That’s why we need to go back,” he said, “to have a conversation about what to do about it. Rebuild it? Tear it down? Ya know, whatever it is.”
I would have to say that he turned his visit against himself. And what do we know, another member of McCain's Media has jumped in to defend his honor. I give you TIME's Michael Scherer:
Three days later, a writer for CBS News who was not traveling with the campaign, used this quote in a blog post. This was interpreted by Clinton and ACORN as a smoking gun--proof that McCain would not fund efforts to help the people of New Orleans recover. Now I was not on the bus when McCain said that quote, but I was traveling with McCain during this time. And all available evidence suggests that McCain meant something far narrower--not that he wanted to tear down the Ninth Ward, but that he wanted to speak with the people of the Ninth Ward about how they want to move forward. Why do I say this?
He was not on the Bus either (Michael must have missed some tasty doughnuts too) so instead becomes McCain's interpreter. He writes"All the available evidence suggests that McCain meant something narrower." Then he proceeds to write a huge post in McCain's defense, sort of like one of those 60 or so lobbyists McCain uses on his campaign would have penned. OK, Michael, did he say "Tear it down?" Yes or no? It's a simple question. He doesn't answer that question at all in his column and that was where the criticism comes from. It's unbelievable.
Has anyone ever seen a defense of a Democratic politician like this before from any of the Kool Kidz?
Frist
how could he not be on the bus, when his head was buried up mcains ass.
someone has to explain the love affair the press has with mcbamboozler
no presidential candidate has ever gotten this type of hands off treatment
He's and old guy so please give him some slack. Besides he's likely to be our next President, especially if Barry the Glass Jawed One in 'our' nominee, so please...
Be a little circumspect with your attacks. The detention centers are complete and just waiting for
citizensbig-mouths like you to fill them up.And McSame?
He'd love to put you there.
Barry probably would too but he'd apologize first for having to be 'tough on terrorism' by 'reaching out' to the wingnuts.
Citizen Combs speaks for me also.
Ok. I'm a former resident of NOLA who was displaced due to Katrina and was lucky enough to go back to KS for grad school. If memory serves me right, this fucking moron was busy eating cake as the city drowned. He's there for a photo-op. It's been 3 fucking years, and he still does not have a plan? Have a conversation? With who? Whats he gonna do about FEMA? Does he have an alternate plan for a disaster of this proportion? He's not sure whether he wants to tear down the 9'th ward....I'm all for it...do it....but replace it with something better, and ensure that the people affected can get back. They deserve a break..but seeing this guy's reaction to the Mortgage crisis, I doubt he gives a damn. Bush and Jackson Sq anyone...
like hunter s. thompson on his worst acid trip, plus a gunshot to the head, without the benefit of dying.
THAT'S how i hope every neocon in america feels today.
John,
I am absolutely shocked and disgusted that you would ask these questions about McCain. Don't you realize he holds barbecues for the press? Barbecues! That's major. Perhaps if you were invited to these you would be more compassionate and able to ignore these tiny little non-issues such as McCain's total senility, inability to comprehend the economy, wild temper and passion for elective wars.
I expect an apology from you now, John Amato. And if you apologize within the next half hour, you may have a second helping of potato salad.
John McCain doesn't care about black people.
It's not a disease, it's a feature!
Hey this has been one of the GOP lunatics fringes best court defense arguements over their crimes.
From I Lewis (Scooter) Libby-" inmate #28301-016 " to Buz and Cookie over Blackwater.
It goes back to Reagan :
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/03/24/open-thread-758/#comments
I don't remember ? And some lie soooo much that it is highly reasonable to assume they don't remember. That doesn't legalize the crime. Nor condone or approve it.
It does however, in a Right activist judges mind and authority, To grant legal obstruction.
The MSM has the same wide eyed, misplaced admiration with McNasty that they had with Raygun. Hard to fathom. Are they all looking for their long lost father figure? WTF!
why doesn't mccain propose his own economic stimulus plan
for new orleans residents.
shopkeepers in bagdad, where the men of the household
and travel to and make tons of money
in the safety and security of a mid-west like town...
and they can send all their earnings back to their family
in NO.
“I can’t remember what I said"
Which is a short step to: "I can't recall"
McGonzo, McFredo, take your pick.
He will have a lot to not remember. Fortunately the dangerous codger has cover. He is a lovable wife-abusing senile hothead. Everybody loves crusty wife abusers dont they?
McCain didn't mention any good deals on rug purchases in N.O.
So he figures the economy is not worth a stimulist package in the state of LA.
If anyone looks at the economy in Iraq and how its Gov't is set up.
You will see America after 4 years of " Mc-Conomics "........................
and if you think my comment @ 7 was disturbing, blame steven spielberg and george lucas.
they taught me "raiders of the lost ark" at the age of 9.
I don't think this is entirely about John McCain's memory or lack there of. This is about John McCain's inability to defend what he stated in the past. Because he can not apparently recall it he has no choice but to be reliant upon the media to make excuses for what he said. The media however, can only go so far before things get totally out of hand. If anyone needs an example just look at that Bush Administration and how they have been polling for a long while now.
Whenever someone confronts McCain head on with a video or audio clip of him making a contradictory statement regarding an issue he stutters and stammers in a vein attempt to cover himself. Just this alone should give voters pause. This man, that some want to be President of the United States is probably the least capable of the three mentally in making wise decisions based on past experience or policies. To make those wise decisions, one must first be able to recall those experiences and policies, remember which worked and which didn't and then apply them if needed. McCain simply can not do that.
It's called senility. That's one of the major reasons why he is not electable.
What has gotten me concerned is that McCain has shown this pattern over and over again on a whole host of issues and many times after he has been corrected. I've seen this before with the early stages of dementia. Now, I'm not saying McCain has dementia but it could be the early stages of it though.
Old and feeble-minded, he has a terrible temper and he's a blood-thirsty war-mongerer. Yet somehow he's managed to fool everyone in the press.
Even the LA Times thinks he's good for America.
Contrarian McCain
John McCain's "Time for Action" tour of small and hard-hit towns played a bit like an extended campaign commercial, but with an important difference. Yes, there were the photo ops of the candidate in locales usually bypassed by Republicans seeking the White House, including an African American quilting hotbed in rural Alabama, a shuttered factory in a struggling Ohio town and an impoverished Appalachian community in eastern Kentucky. But instead of promising truckloads of aid if he's elected, McCain talked up his vision of a government that helps more by doing less.
....
Standing outside the Ohio factory Tuesday, in a state where Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton pandered to protectionists, McCain actually stood up for the North American Free Trade Agreement and free trade.
....
But by making a point of saying things his audiences might not want to hear, he gave voters a better feel for who he is and how he thinks. As Obama and Clinton focused on exposing each other's weaknesses, it was nice to see one candidate reveal more about himself.
=====================================================
How does a guy who's rapidly losing his mental faculties fool so many?
Straight talk vs. pandering and petty bickering and dirty politics. Even the LA Times notices the difference. That they are willing to admit it is a revelation.
I find it puzzling that Hillbots didn't say that the sky was about to fall 4 years ago when Kerry was running for President. We just let him run, he lost, just like that and nobody was making a big fuss about that, especially not the Clintons and her supporters. Now as we have Barack Obama about to be nominated, they have woken up and find HIM unelectable, possible disaster and not right for the job? Give me a f******g break. I address it mainly to the judgmental Florida democrats who whine so much even though they voted AGAINST Kerry in 2004. All you deserve is a reverse math status on the democratic score sheet up until Denver - "minus" whatever Clinton's imaginary numbers are. You don't count and John Kerry should personally tell you why.
I love Scherer's implication that the journalist is questionable because she isn't one of McCain's prized embedded salad-tossers. Like, "It's my whole career to follow this fossil around and kiss his ass, so this must be some hack hit job by an outsider. HISSSSSSSSSssssssssssss!!"
Somebody should ask McInsane (on camera) if he approved of CIA and similar raping and torturing women and children at Abugarib
dennis @ 21:
I don't think its McCain that is fooling anyone and he may not be attempting to. However, the media itself is covering for McCain's numerous flip-flops and that is clearly apparent. So if that is the case then why are they doing it? If McCain has all of his mental faculties in order then why would the media need to cover for him at all when he could obviously do it himself? I can only surmise that he can not recall his past decisions or statements and needs the media's help.
I think the American people really need to take into consideration McCain's obvious lack of memory. This hasn't been a one time issue. This has been going on for a very long time with McCain and everyone notices it. The very last thing we need is a President that can not remember a war that he started or that he is even the President at all. If McCain is displaying the early stages of some mental disease such a dementia then that needs to be taken into account for the betterment of the nation. I've seen people with advanced dementia for example suddenly walk away from their job for months simply because they forgot they worked there.
Actually, it's called CRS disease. Can't Remember Shit. What he can't remember he has classified. Like the statements he made while a POW.
I fail to see a "story" here. Just mentioning McShame's "tear it down" statement is hardly fair. In same sentence he said.."Rebuild.... or whatever.". So to it is one of
those instances when a sole quote is taken out of content, it can be misleading.
Let's move on to something of importance. How about giving a thread to the Bill
Moyer's interview of Rev. Wright last night on PBS...much more interesting and colorful
than this "non-story."
dennis @ 21:
Since McCain fulfills the LA Times' owner's wet dream in all things good for Sam Zell, it's not surprising, dennis.
Check your source before you offer it as proof. The LA Times has no cred in this matter.
It's ok, McCain you'll get elected by the poor so long as you put out a
strong Religious Right message (you know, anti-gay, anti-abortion,
anti-muslim, anti-science etc etc etc).
If somebody will hook a generator up to Edward R. Murrow's grave I believe the spinning going on re: today's state of "journalism" will be sufficient to power the eastern seaboard.
mcAncient is a complete buffoon. He represents his repug/neocon constituents well.
Are we a nation of morons?
Different Anonymous @ 31:
Aint it the truth...and I used to only be strongly critical of Faux Noise...now ALL of the
MSM is in the same category...giving us "their views/opinions" with spinning that makes
me dizzy. Irrehensible. Like "our" Congress, all reports/political pundits need to be
replaced.
Being present at a scene you are reporting on is SO pre--9/11.
bullfrog @ 17:
hey dont you ever sleep?
McCain should run with Obama.
Two stinkers who deserve each other.
Joe O. @ 26:
Really, Joe. Google 'I don't recall and Hillary Clinton'. How many instances of selective memory would you need to see that she's just as bad if not worse in the memory category. Tuzla? What, that wasn't a memory issue, she was just making stuff up, so it's not really so bad after all?
Barack Obama doesn't remember or doesn't recall having been in the church when Reverend Wright made most of his controversial comments. Or his memory lapses with Tony Rezko- how much money he raised for him being grossly underestimated along with Rezko's testimony that directly contradicted Obama's memory of having never met Iraqi-born billionaire, Nadhmi Auchi. Or his convenient memory of his anti-war stance, as if he never ever waivered on it even once.
Any early signs of dementia there that needs to be taken into account for the betterment of the nation???
I hope all the Hillarybots enjoy voting for McSame. Starting to think you deserve him.
dennis @ 37:
Not for certain Dennis, but I believe that maybe/perhaps Joe was giving us some
"tongue in cheek" observations. Tho at age 72, it is much more likely that early signs
of dementia appears more so than "just conveniently" failing to recall specifics that
occured many years ago, over a longer period of time. Neither you nor I were in attendance at the Rev. Wright's sermons, so it is pure speculation as to how many
Obama attended when the Rev. Wrong made his outlandish and undefensable comments.
miss_kitty @ 29:
Didn't really offer it as proof, but don't blame the LA Times sudden veer to slightly more balanced reporting on Sam Zell. Liberal newspapers are finding biased reporting doesn't sell newspapers any more, as their subscribers have other places to go now. And the reporting on this is just stating the obvious; that Hillary and Obama are doing an awful lot of pandering and sniping while McCain has been venturing into economically hard-hit areas and telling them the truth instead of telling them bigger government will solve their problems. It's merely common sense reporting.
But I must admit everyone here expressing concerns about McCain's mental health is nevertheless very touching.
Repuklics seem to like Presidents and presidential candidates who exhibit strong tendencies toward being brain dead. One in a life time is more than enough. McSame is cooking his own goose, but the Repuklics will vote for him anyway. How sad!
Doggiebobo @ 39:
It's just as much speculation to make a diagnosis on McCain's mental health, too, doggiebobo. More so, IMHO.
It's implausible to think even if he didn't attend the sermons where the statements were made that he wouldn't have somehow heard about them. Even if those statements were pereceived as mainstream for Rev. Wright that no one would even give it even mention to Barack Obama, arguably the second most-prominent member of the church save for Oprah Winfrey (who left the church), it still defies plausibility. Especially when you see the whole congregation erupt in applause when Wright yells, God-D America, riiiidin' durrty, or chickens coming home to roost- do you really think no one would mention that to Obama? The government spread the AIDs virus to wipe out the black man- word never got to him on that?
I think Wright is correct on one thing though- Obama is just being a politician and saying the things he needs to say to his supporters.
I think y'all are making way too big a deal about this. First of all, John McCain says a lot of stuff, because he's campaigning. It's a bit much to expect him to remember everything he's said. Some of my 20-year-old friends can't remember verbatim what happened in a conversation 20 minutes ago.
Secondly, I get the impression that the original quote was McCain inartfully saying that he didn't yet have a plan, but that as he formed one he would include input from people who lived there. Furthermore, it's possible that tearing it down is the first step to rebuilding. I haven't been to New Orleans, but presumably there houses that were damaged beyond repair. It's also possible that, given that New Orleans' current population is substantially lower than pre-Katrina, the lower ninth ward isn't needed as housing anymore, and everyone could move closer to the downtown core. I just don't think that this comment is particularly newsworthy.
I disagree with McCain on a lot of things, but I think that we can make the case against him without resorting to these sorts of tactics.
Ira @ 43:
Also known as 'CSR'-'Can't Remember Shit'
dennis @ 40:
Well what then? Why was it on offer?
Greg @ 19:
As many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.
As usual, Glenn Greenwald provides wonderful clarity to weighty matters.
Behold the continuing vapid SPUTTERANCES of McMad Hatter.
If this guy gets into the White House we will have a problem even worse than we do now. I know that is hard to comprehend.
It is horrifying.
miss_kitty @ 45:
me too. 'CRS'
d'oh!
Doesn't it remind you of Reagan after Iran-Contra: "I don't recall." And Grumpy Grandpa McCain isn't even president yet. He needs to go back to Arizona and run his beer company. Or go have a permenant barbeque for reporters at his ranch.
We can complain all we want about the love affair between McCain the press and all the praise and free passes they bestow on him, but the only way we are going to make any difference is to devise a strategy where it becomes in the presses best interest to cover this guy critically. They have to made to look foolish and completely biased in the eyes of their viewers. There has to be a strategy that makes it bad for them to continue to give him an undeserved pass. Make them look anti-American, uncaring, sloppy, Bush-like, arrogant; whatever turns the public against them. As long as they can get away with the love fest, it will continue. They like nothing better than to make Democrats looks ineffectual. We need to find a way to turn it onto them.
xargaw @ 51:
Perhaps we can start a rumor that his barbecue grill is broken.
MCCAIN........ THE REPUBLICANS WANTED A PRESIDENT LIKE REAGAN.... AND HERE HE IS....
-----WELCOME TO THE ALZHEIMERS YEARS.... GO SEE IF YOU CAN FIND YOUR JELLYBEANS
Just another 'McCain Moment' for the Old Fart.
miss_kitty @ 46:
That isn't it just amazing that no one in the media seems to notice that McCain has early-onset Alzheimer's, including the very liberal LA Times, (ok, formerly very liberal, now just moderately liberal) but you guys do. He seems to have done a very effective snowjob for the media for an old coot who can't remember what it is he just said.
dennis @ 55:
Is there a mention of Alzheimer's- early-onset or not- in the OP?
No, dennis, this is something else. Call it Republicanitis. For the epidemiology see the DoJ hearings. Or Stupor Mundi denying all of the reasoning he made for the invasion of Iraq.
McPapen sounds about as smart on New Orleans as Andrew Jackson was on the Eastern Indian tribes....
General_Rennenkampf @ 57:
Forgot the obligatory sarcasm, people!
i think that we as voters deserve some clear 'straight-talk' from the alleged 'straight-talking' J McCain. if he can't be clear the first time on what he means when he's saying it, then why is he running for president? no sir, you presume to be the big cheese running the whole country, so its not too much for us out here in the electorate to expect that you will be clear, always, about what you say. lapdogs are rejected as they arent you. YOU and only YOU can tell us what you mean. is that CLEAR? get with it.
While age does not need to disqualify a candidate, in McCain's case, something is interfering with his ability to grasp details. While he has been an ardent supporter of the Iraq war for years, he doesn't know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. He acknowledges he doesn't have a grasp for details on the economy. In the case of Iraq, he's apparently is going to rely on the same neocons that got us into this quagmire. On the economy, he's going to continue borrow and spend, which has caused the dollar to be devalued.
McCain = 4 more years of Bush
Cheney, on the other hand, does know the difference between a Sunni and Shiite. So, when he says we have to stay in Iraq so al-Qaeda doesn't control Iraq's oil, he is deliberately lying, as he knows that the Shiite majority would never let the Sunni al-Qaeda group control Iraq's oil. Cheney's real concern is that he doesn't want anyone other than America controlling Iraq's oil. I think Cheney is characterizing Muqtada al-Sadr as the "al Qaeda" threat, as al-Sadr wants the occupiers out and not running Iraq's oil.
Cheney is pandering to a base who also pays no attention to the details and doesn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. There is a large percentage of other Americans who don't know the difference either, who then buy into the al-Qaeda argument. They'll vote for who they would drink a beer with. It is these voters who give McCain hope.
Here is the real problem with McCain. He talks about 'helping', but he is a liar. ON EVERY SINGLE ISSUE.
On the war.
On Katrina.
On the economy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlnMjB6LNGA&feature=related
The most authoritarian man running, worse than Bush. Voted with Bush 99% of the time. Crossed the isle 3 times in his 20 some years. BFD. He would be a disaster for the nation. Yea, the corporate media has some GD explaining to do. We need to give the Dem candidate enough money to overcome his reliance on the 'free' press. He gets a pass in the media for a plate of bar-b-que and a Bud bought wholesale. feh
I just left a comment on Mr. Scherer's blog. Looks like lots of other folks did likewise, and most were critical of his defense of McCain.
It's been three years now for the people of New Orleans, Senator McCain, and you still don't know any real idea of what should be done? That doesn't say leadership to me. Of course, if it's up to the Republicans they will continue to do nothing. There's no incentive for them to bring back the poor and largely Democratic voting population of the city back to an otherwise Republican state.
I do give McCain some small credit for actually traveling to NOLA and bringing up the issue.
.
McMemory anyone?
.
It is inevitable that narrow minds mean something narrower than intended- something worse than tearing it down.
I just commented about the press in John Amato's diary. The fawning, the interpretations to help him out, the positive attributes particularly honesty, integrity and independence are not going to stop. Michael Scherer is ridiculous because obviously he is a mind reader and seer. Actually, he's more than ridiculous, he's disgusting.
Cindy McCain (by way of her father) is connected to abortion terrorists.
Deceased journalist Don Bolles' bombed out car on display at Newseum.
How's that for interrupting your Sunday?
John McCain's Ties to Terrorists
Matt Welch
Hotel reclaims name in effort to memorialize journalist's death
Sen. McCain Wants To Be President
NoBuddy @ 60:
That something is very likely that ticking time bomb of his captivity...
dennis @ 55:
I have also suggested that McCain's lack of memory and comprehension of the details that might be expected to employ foreign policy were linked to the early onset of Alzheimer's.
For some reason someone at the huffpo found that offensive and I have been banned from comments. Go figure..
As usual the MSM is complicit in reporting the frailties of McCain if not guilty of manipulating the facts to show favoritism in the interest of the parent companies and how they choose to support a delusional warmonger. McCain's alliance with Lieberman is very telling and the way the two of them have aligned themselves with John "Welcome the Rapture" Hagee is even more disturbing.
John McCain scares the hell out of me. If the phone rang at 3AM I'm pretty sure he would have no idea where to find it. If at rang at 3PM he'd be napping. Please go away.
Oh, dennis, dennis. No need for you to expend all this effort defending McCain. You and I know he'll be elected, and why.
I have to respectfully disagree with this post. The way I read this statement is that McCain meant that he would want to have a 'conversation' about OPTIONS for NOLA. Whether the people of NOLA wanted to rebuild it or tear it down would be the subject of that conversation. I know we want to take McCain apart, and I like nothing better than seeing blatant inconsistencies in this statements, but focusing on one of the options McCain suggested while ignoring the other (i.e. rebuild the 9th Ward), seems a bit much.
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