Ready to Lead?

McCain in 2002.

AMERICAblog:

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In January of 2002, John McCain was also speaking out. McCain was warmongering to attack Iraq ten months before he voted for the war. McCain already wanted another war before the first one was finished:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) visited the Roosevelt yesterday and shouted, "Next up: Baghdad!" from the carrier's bridge.

McCain has been pushing the administration to make Iraq and its dictator, Saddam Hussein, the next targets in the war on terrorism.

Pentagon officials and Powell have cautioned against focusing on Baghdad, but McCain said yesterday that Iraq poses "a clear and present danger" to the U.S.

"I think Iraq is going to have to be considered," he said.

McCain couldn't wait to start the next war.

And now...

AMERICAblog:

Using the vernacular of the GOP, I believe that this is called a "flip-flop":

After months of saying additional troops were not needed in Afghanistan, McCain changed position Tuesday and called for an additional three brigades -- or roughly 15,000 troops -- to be sent to the country. It was unclear if those troops would be redeployed from Iraq or come from NATO forces.

In other words, McCain is not only flip-flopping. He's not even sure how far he's actually flopped. Clearly, McCain's hand has been forced because of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. But, that situation has been deteriorating for years. Where's he been?

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Huh?


Crooks and Liars has more.

While talking about the war in Afghanistan yesterday, John McCain predictably went after Barack Obama, saying Obama “has no strategy.” It was an odd attack, given the fact that McCain had just flip-flopped on his Afghanistan policy, and embraced Obama’s strategy as his own.

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The key quote, of course, was pretty straightforward: “[O]ur commanders on the ground in Afghanistan say that they need at least three additional brigades. Thanks to the success of the surge, these forces are becoming available, and our commanders in Afghanistan must get them.”

What’s important to realize, though, is that while Obama has been arguing for a year that he wants to send additional troops to Afghanistan, McCain has always held the opposite position, opposing the deployment of more U.S. troops, and arguing that any additional troops come from NATO.

Yesterday, however, McCain reversed course, change his position, and embraced Obama’s policy as his own. As Josh Marshall explained, “So let’s all say it out loud: McCain is now copying Obama’s position on Afghanistan. And with troops that he doesn’t have since he’s against pulling any out of Iraq.”

But it gets worse. McCain has actually held multiple positions on Afghanistan in the last seven days.

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So McCain is all over the place and making bad arguments for how to move policy and the armed forces.On to Baghdad indeed. A bit of that old bomb bomb Iran gusto. Is this guy ready to lead?

McCain's hard work on the trouble in Afghanistan

Crooks and Liars:

ABC reports tonight that McCain is 0-for-6 when it comes to Afghanistan...

It turns out that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, has attended even fewer Afghanistan-related Senate hearings over the past two years than Obama’s one. Which is a nice way of saying, McCain, R-Ariz., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, has attended zero of his committee’s six hearings on Afghanistan over the last two years.

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The fact that ABC even bothered to question McCain's claims here surprises me. But then again, I doubt there will be any followup or further coverage from other networks.

But where is McCain? Chatting with the press instead of in the meetings.