Soccer Dad

Make it a hundred

In A Rank Falsehood, (or here) Charles Krauthammer writes:

Asked at a New Hampshire campaign stop about possibly staying in Iraq 50 years, John McCain interrupted -- "Make it a hundred" -- then offered a precise analogy to what he envisioned: "We've been in Japan for 60 years. We've been in South Korea for 50 years or so." Lest anyone think he was talking about prolonged war-fighting rather than maintaining a presence in postwar Iraq, he explained: "That would be fine with me, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed."

And lest anyone persist in thinking he was talking about war-fighting, he told his questioner: "It's fine with me and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintained a presence in a very volatile part of the world."

The soundbite, however, was too good to pass up and the Politico reported: Dems to hammer McCain for ‘100 years’. (via memeorandum)

And indeed they did hammer.

¿ "We are bogged down in a war that John McCain now suggests might go on for another 100 years" (Obama, Feb. 26).

¿ "He's willing to keep this war going for 100 years" (Hillary Clinton, March 17).

¿ "What date between now and the election in November will he drop this promise of a 100-year war in Iraq?" (Chris Matthews, March 4).

Why, even a CNN anchor (Rick Sanchez) buys it: "John McCain is telling us . . . that we need to win even if it takes 100 years" (March 16).

But as Krauthammer, (and Hot Air and Instapundit ) point out, this sentiment was also expressed by Sen. Obama's adviser. Gen. McPeak. (Yes, that McPeak.)

The "Captain" at Hot Air concludes:

Democrats, especially Barack Obama, need to explain the difference between McPeak and McCain. There isn’t any. McPeak even made this argument while opposing the invasion. That’s why Factcheck calls this a “rank falsehood” and a “serious distortion”. Politifact calls Obama’s rhetoric on this “false”.

Unless the Democrats want to argue that we’ve been at war in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, they haven’t got an argument. All they have are stupidity, lies, or a mix of both.

It sure sounds like we're getting "politics as usual" again this year.

john mccain.