A while back, John McCain criticized Barack Obama for not visiting Iraq and Afghanistan recently. So, Obama set up a trip there, and also to Jordan, Israel, and Europe. In the process, he had his policy of phased withdrawal over sixteen months endorsed by the Iraqi Prime Minister, called for a renewed commitment to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and got a standing "O" from US forces there, went to Jordan and Israel and basically said it was time to move past finger-pointing and get the job of peace done, and wound up with a speech before 200,000 in Berlin.
McCain, meanwhile, spoke in New Hampshire, and ate at a German restaurant in Columbus, OH, after canceling a campaign trip to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico due to a hurricane.
Years ago, this is the kind of thing that made the pundits barely hide their glee at the ineptitude of the Democratic Party. Except, of course, now it's the Republicans who look like they are piling out of a clown car during rush hour. McCain gets his timeline wrong on the role of the surge and an enhanced security situation in Anbar Province? Obviously, he's right and all he has to do is change the meaning of words and reverse the course of time to show it. McCain says that he would rather give speeches in foreign countries as President? Well, never mind that little trip to Colombia earlier this summer, or the campaign speech he gave in Canada recently. They don't count.
The Republicans can and have run far better campaigns than this. The only thing in their favor right now is they may be bottoming out before the convention, so they can only do better. This has been a very bad summer for John McCain.
So, obviously, it has been a good summer for John McCain. I'm quite sure we'll hear about that real soon.
Virtual Tin Cup
