The Issue No One's Talking About Yet

John McCain's age. Yesterday's repeated misstatements of the relationship between Al Qaeda and Iran looked less like statements of ignorance and more like the statements of someone slightly senile.

Comments

[Wally]

Speaking, six months ago, to a wealthy friend who is a dependable Republican contributor I asked why he wasn't backing McCain, the only Bush-like candidate running. He said that he and many of the faithful had met often with McCain during the early days of his announcement and they were all amazed to find that he was just "out of it."

[Jessica]

Yeah...it's an issue. My decision to support him or not will definitely weigh heavily on his VP pick.

I like the guy..

[Pursuit]

My goodness. Talk about predictable, we get you posting the standard "McCain is old" claptrap. Sully has been working this hard, and Letterman is on it virtually every night. Can't you come up with something original.

My favorite bit about this supposed outrage over McCain getting this bit wrong is how Sully and others laugh with their supposed superiority noting how Iran, a Shite country, would never support Al Qaeda, a Sunni group and instead are supporting the insurgents. Of course, in making this point, they fail to remember that the insurgents are, in fact, Sunnis!

Further, we know that American intelligence (ok dubious source, but possibly where McCain is getting tripped up) believes that Al Qaeda has leadership meetings in eastern Iran, and that some Iranians have worked with the Sunnis. The idea that some form of Islamic sect purity would prevent Sunnis from working with Shites and vice versa, is simply a Democratic anti-war masturbatory fantasy.

But hey, when Pelosi is all you've got....well more power to ya brother!

[Squidley]

Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum had this to say about John McCain, with whom he served 12 years in the Senate:

"Almost on every domestic issue, he was not only against us, but leading the charge on the other side.... He claims to be a social conservative, but ... on a whole host of conservative issues, more often than not, he was with the moderates saying, 'No no, we can't have this, this is too divisive,' and this tells me what kind of president he would be."

As we all know, he will turn 72 in August; if he wins in November, he would be the oldest man ever to be elected president.

As for his health, he was treated for skin cancer in 1993 and in 2000; the second time required a 9-hour operation. He cannot raise his hands above his shoulders, thanks to torture and no medical treatment at the hands of his brutal Vietnamese captors.

Though inquiries into his health--and mental soundness--are legitimate questions (liberals would call them "ageist" if McCain were officially a Democrat), they're academic. McCain has transmogrified into a doormat, with all the will and spunk that implies, just as GHWB did in '92 and Dole did in '96. He should do about as well as those two did.

[Frank]

I have to admit that having listened to a few interviews with McCain over the last week or so that I'm starting to remember why I voted for him back in the 80s. I still don't agree with him on a whole host of issues, but he's a fighter, and I like that.

I'm going to be keeping a close watch on his V.P. choice as well. I'll most likely still vote for him over whichever socialist.. I mean Democrat.. wins the nomination, but it's not going to be the deciding factor for me. Although I'm expecting a "Seriously? You picked him?" moment when the veep choice is announced.

[Squidley]

I cannot vote for any of the execrably bad candidates in good faith, so I will leave the "vote for president" line blank. Even so, I hope Hillary wins. She and her policies will be awful, but Republicans will recognize her as the enemy and behave accordingly. Amazingly, she's the least offensive, least insane, and most conservative(!) candidate.

On the other hand, if McCain wins, Republicans will do the same old "defend our man at any cost" song-and-dance they've been doing with W. President McCain would finish the job that W has been doing--the destruction of conservatism from the inside. The conservative movement would be dead for a generation.

On the outside chance that the inhuman Obama gets the nod, we'll be treated to four years of angry, resentful blacks, railing against us for our supposed responsibility for their failures. Obama may end up "healing the rift" between the races--by making whites see how mistaken it was to have gotten on the Affirmative Action bus, the racial grievance bus, and the "black anger" bus. We will get a lesson in racial reality we will remember for generations.

[Wally]

I can see the possibility of Squidley's predictions coming true. Welcome, sir. We hope you enjoy your visit to the reality based universe. I don't like any of those predictions but politicians tend to circle the wagons. Obama, whom I support, says he won't, that he will work with the opposition. We'll see..