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Being McCain Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry |
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Imagine if a foreign leader said of rising American obesity rates, “maybe that’s a way of killing them.” It feels absurd even to type these words, but McCain actually cracked a “joke” like this about Iranians, saying of rising U.S. cigarette imports to Iran: “maybe that’s a way of killing them.”
This isn’t diplomatic, it’s not presidential, it’s not even funny. McCain’s friends in the media may lap up this bluster as further evidence of McCain’s supposed bona fides on foreign policy. The reality is that McCain is unpolished and lacks the tact necessary to be a statesman. This is hardly the first time he has said something intemperate, tone-deaf, or just plain stupid when it comes to foreign affairs.
By the way, does McCain think our beef is with Iran’s leaders, or the Iranian people? His painful joke suggests he makes no distinction.
Being undiplomatic is merely saying something reasonable in impolite terms or situations where speaking the reasonable is impolite. Making light of killing civilians in a country that poses no threat to your own is something else entirely: it’s sociopathic.
yep
Chris - Do you have a link for this quote? This should be the sort of think that will sink his campaign - although it will barely get noticed in the mainstream media.
thanks Jim–yeah, I do, and will try to add it to the post
I can’t get the link added in to the story, but it is available (we had some site problems yesterday due to a lot of traffic, which is a good thing, and this prevented me from embedding the link) if you search for McCain, cigarettes, killing Iran, you can find the video–sorry I can’t post it
Thanks Chris - I’ll make sure not to watch it on an empty stomach.
The part that keeps getting lost here is that McCain said that cigarettes kill people.
I’m suddenly feeling much better about our chances in North Carolina and Virginia. . . .