May
16
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admin
5/16/2008 12:36 PM
Yesterday, almost lost in the furor over President Bush calling Obama an appeaser, John McCain gazed into his crystal ball (or was it a wishing well?) and decided the outcome of his presidency. And guess what? According to McCain, it was a tremendous success! In fact, his term -- again, accoridng to McCain -- was one of spectacular achievements in about every area progressives and moderates care most about. From affordable healthcare to quality teachers, beginning to curb climate change to instituting worker retraining programs, 2013 sounds just great! (Pay no attention to the vast amounts of reporting done on how his initiatives and proposals mainly benefit corporate interests and will likely have none of the affects he desires.)
I'd like to focus on just one topic of his speech: Iraq. It was probably the most perplexing area of the speech. McCain claimed troops in Iraq would mostly be home at the end of his first term. Just four little years of a McCain presidency and we’ll have won in Iraq!
With all due respect, it is absurd and McCain must know it. If you want to look forward, sometimes it actually helps to look backward. McCain has been spouting predictions since before we invaded and occupied Iraq. On Meet the Press just days after the war started, McCain told Tim Russert, “I believe that this conflict is still going to be relatively short.” A few days later, on Good Morning America, McCain said, “It’s clear the end is very much in sight.” This was in 2003. Fast-forward 2 years, and in 2005 he claimed on Hardball, “We’re going to be there for four or five years.” 2006 brought the end goal much closer; while McCain was on Meet The Press, he claimed, “We’re either going to lose this thing or win this thing within the next several months.” Of course, much has been made of his comments during a town hall in New Hampshire where he told the crowd our nation could stay in Iraq for “maybe a hundred” years.
All of this points to McCain having absolutely no credibility on how or when our troops will return and we can start the process of rebuilding our military and our international reputation. His vision of 2013 might have come from a crystal ball, but since he doesn’t have the magic wand that can make it happen, we’ll all need to start throwing pennies into a wishing well.
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