McCain Says U.S. Lives 'Wasted' in Iraq

[sabra]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/01/politics/p074811S21.DTL&type=politics

McCain Says U.S. Lives 'Wasted' in Iraq

Republican presidential contender John McCain, a staunch backer of the Iraq war but critic of how President Bush has waged it, said U.S. lives had been "wasted" in the four-year-old conflict. Democrats demand the Arizona senator apologize for the comment as Sen. Barack Obama did when the Democratic White House hopeful recently made the same observation.

"Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be," McCain said Wednesday on CBS'"Late Show With David Letterman.""We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives."

McCain, who repeated his assertion that U.S. troops must remain in Iraq rather than withdrawing early, made the "wasted" remark after confirming to Letterman what has been clear for at least a year or more — that he's in the running for the 2008 Republican nomination.

...

Hours after the taped appearance aired, the Democratic National Committee called on McCain to take back the "wasted" lives remark.

"Senator McCain should apologize immediately for his callous comments," said Karen Finney, a DNC spokeswoman. "How is it that John McCain now believes American lives are being wasted, yet he so stubbornly supports the president's plan to escalate the war in Iraq and put more American lives in harms way?"

[Hav]

1. .

Lol, wasn't Obama attacked for making a similar comment?
I'm waiting for the outrage after McCain's comment, now ;).

[rurallib]

4. Outrage from Limbaugh, Hannity, all of Fox etc.

Go after his scalp boys (that includes you Anne) - new meat to chew on.

[MsKandice01]

2. Demanding an apology?

Good grief. Just save it in your little file and use it against him in the elections. I just think this "I demand that you say you're sorry" business makes us look like whiny kids.

[yurbud]

8. I agree. The only reason to ask for it is to show unbalanced coverage and

how right wing attack tactics work.

[BlueManDude]

3. Imagine if John Kerry said this?

[gratuitous]

5. Or Barack Obama?

Instead, all the sage pundits will merely nod and say they know exactly what McCain meant, and that really, there's no need to delve into this too deeply; it was just a live appearance on a late night comedy show.

Then they'll go back to puzzling over just who Hillary Clinton was referring to when she said that she has some experience dealing with very bad men. Must be her husband, right?

[karynnj]

37. Also note that Senator Kerry has not taken to the airways

calling McCsin thoughtless. Some people have more class than others.

[treestar]

6. Watch the media make as much of this as they did on Sen. Obama's comment

:sarcasm:

[yurbud]

9. sometimes sarcasm can't drip enough

[BOSSHOG]

7. Don't say WE mccain

bush wanted this war, had to have it. It is GEORGE BUSH'S WAR ALONG WITH HIS BASE OF IGNORANT TRASH GARBAGE. And being a conservative you revel in warfare and bloodshed. Our kids are dying because of the continued failure of conservative "leadership."

With all due respect mccain, this veteran who had his patriotism questioned because I dare suggested in 02 and 03 that we did not need to go into Iraq strongly objects to your use of "WE." And there is no greater supporter of our troops or the military then me.

[EVDebs]

10. To the tune of "Oh, won't you stay, just a little bit longer...."

""When asked this week on CNN how long the U.S. military is likely to remain in Iraq, Senator John McCain replied "probably" 10 or 20 years. "That's not so bad...""

http://spectrumz.com/z/fair_use/2004/09_04.html

Document reveals Nixon plan to seize Arab oil fields
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/02/MNG8G427D61.DTL

Just substitute "Iraq" when you see Saudi Arabia and you'll see the DoD has had this plan in from Day One. Now, go rent Three Days of The Condor and fast forward to the final minutes of the film paying close attention to Robert Redford's and Cliff Robertson's dialogue. The NYTimes didn't print !

[donkeyotay]

20. That's an interesting document on Nixon and Arab oil

It's one of our little inconsistencies that official policy is that we will invade as needed and take "our" oil. Now, if we were truly capitalists as we claim, and not imperialists, we would say that Saudia Arabia has the right to sell its resources to whomever it pleases at whatever price the market will bear. If we don't like it, our free markets, with all their vigor and creativity, will create alternatives. We must adapt, compete. A good example of why all this free market capitalism is bull.

[EVDebs]

30. Agreed, Read Kevin Phillip's Wealth and Democracy and Tom Frank's One Market Under God nt

[Sapere aude]

11. Why apologize? It is the truth no matter who says it.

[rocktivity]

13. McCain should apologize only because Kerry and Obama were expected to

Let's see how long the outrage takes.

What wrong with sucking up to everybody, John? You suck IN nobody, that's what.

:headbang:
rocknation

[KoKo]

12. McCain was on Imus early this week...and he made no sense ...

he doesn't seem to be able to keep his stories straight and I kept thinking that he's really having some mental stress or he's the "Manchurian Candidate" that some have wondered.

Making this comment after Obama was trashed by the Right and forced to apologize sure sounds like he's not quite in command of his thought processes. :eyes:

[ryanmuegge]

24. Well, how old is that fossil anyway? No wonder he didn't make any sense.

Senility is surely setting in. Dude's like 700 years old. He should be turning into oil soon; at least he'd be worth something then...as is, he's a waste of sperm.

[fooj]

28. Imus is PISSED at McCain...

I heard him myself this am.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Weathervane McCain is cooked. Adios, John.

Have as nice retirement.

[mzmolly]

15. He must be looking at Obama's poll numbers?

:P

[enki23]

16. it's looking more and more like it's going to be giuliani

.

[liberal N proud]

17. McCain is for wasting more America lives?

He said earlier that bu$h's escalation/surge is not enough that they need more than that but now he says those who have died died in vein. That correlates into him wanting more wasted deaths.

[rodeodance]

18. oh my my my!!

[rodeodance]

19. Obama said he was sorry 3-4 times that I know of before it disappeared

from the media (well, at least hour by hour coverage of it)

[rodeodance]

21. A message seeking comment was left with McCain's campaign.

A message seeking comment was left with McCain's campaign.

In February, Obama described the lives of troops in Iraq as having been "wasted," but then later said he regretted the comment.

"We ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized, and should have never been waged, and on which we've now spent $400 billion, and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted," Obama, D-Ill., said at a rally in Ames, Iowa.

Later, in an interview with a newspaper reporter, Obama said: "I was actually upset with myself when I said that, because I never use that term."

"Their sacrifices are never wasted," he said.

[freethought]

22. What is this guy doing!!???

First, guys like Falwell and Robertson were "agents of intolerance". Now, McCain is grovelling at there feet like some sycophant.

He backed the war but now makes comments on American lives being "wasted".
John McCain is all over the place.
In a way this is saddening, for I used to respect McCain for his independent spirit. This is now totally gone!

Looks as if it is going to Giuliani after all!

[Norquist Nemesis]

26. Guiliani's going to pick up a few points after that remark

And McCain has only his Con buddies to thank for it.

[ryanmuegge]

27. And the religious right sees right through it, too.

I love watching this guy flip-flop and self-destruct politically. It does make you wonder, though, why the internal Republican media machine (and Robertson, Falwell) is so threatened by him that they want to take him down (maybe opposing those tax cuts in 2001 REALLY pissed some corporate feudal lords off). Even after he has repeatedly tried to reach out to the religious right and flex his proverbial taliban muscles, it appears the public, the corporate right, and their religious ideologues still aren't buying it.

Either way, the guy's fun to watch. He's so uncomfortable and incoherent. When I'm taking a break from studying on the weekends and I see this guy on C-Span, the remote stops.

[leQ]

23. more from the flip-flop flim-flam man - god he makes me sick (eom)

[truthisfreedom]

25. The thugs really don't have a good candidate, do they? It's like they're conceding already.

McCain is addled, apparently.

[zbdent]

29. Isn't this the waste that he supports wasting 20K more lives on?

[Martin Eden]

31. How many rethugs & RW pundits have demanded McCain apologize?

just askin ...

[IA_Seth]

32. Fuck apologizing...

It was right when Obama said it, it's right now that McCain says it. Why justify their bogus outrage?

[David Zephyr]

33. What a double standard exists in the U.S. corporate media.

Obama is crucified for saying the same thing and McCain skates away.

[Generator]

34. I subjected myself to a McCain love fest on the "View"

this morning. Not just the rightie twitie blondie-but Rosie too. About how eloquent a speech he gave at a Vet's hospital. At how much he understands and has suffered. How he is the only one to be trusted on Iraq-from Elizabeth AND Rosie.

Not too much brain power there. If the lives are being wasted, if the war is pointless, if Rumsfeld was the worst we've ever had-where the FUCK has McCain been? Oh yes..not saying a fucking word about Rumsfeld until he's been gone FOR MONTHS even, approving of the surge, approving of everything Bush does and for what-oh yes, he admits it-for NOTHING.

Wasted lives.

I don't think I even need to bring up Mr. "I've been tortured for years so I understand just how bad torture is-and our soldiers are at risk" but I'll vote for the MCA act that allows ONE fucking man-ONE-the president-to decide what torture is. That ignores the Geneva Conventions.


And we have to discuss all fucking week how AL GORE is a hypocrite??????

GOD help us. This country lives in some propagandistic revisionist history.

Rosie needs to get some facts. And ANYONE that worships this man needs to look at what he's actually done, not just the fact that he suffered in Vietnam. His experience makes his support of this president and this war four billion times worse than it does some greenhorn lockstep Republican.

McCain knows BETTER!

[Zhade]

35. They HAVE been wasted - not that McCain really gives a damn.

NT!

[KoKo]

36. kick........