By Robert Schlesinger
Ooops, McCain did it again.
If you don’t regularly watch Keith Olbermann, I commend to you this evening’s top story, catching John McCain in a rewrite of Iraq/surge history.
The short story: CBS’s Katie Couric interviewed McCain and asked about Barack Obama’s assertion that the surge is not the sole reason that security conditions in Iraq have improved. McCain answered with a — not surprisingly — bungled version of the surge’s history.
Here’s McCain’s answer:
I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane (phonetic) was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history. Thanks to General Petraeus, our leadership, and the sacrifice of brave young Americans. I mean, to deny that their sacrifice didn’t make possible the success of the surge in Iraq, I think, does a great disservice to young men and women who are serving and have sacrificed.
(Emphasis mine.)
Unfortunately, as Olbermann notes, the awakening preceded the surge.
Here’s the Olbermann video:
<iframe height=”339″ width=”425″ src=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25805843#25805843″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>
Two questions to ponder:
- Did CBS knowingly or inadvertently leave the damning quote out of their interview? I’m guessing it’s not pro-McCain media bias but simply ignorance of whoever put together the package mixed with deadline pressures.
- Will the dreaded MSM notice?
Hello? Anyone?
