McCain: Joke'em if you've got'em
Posted: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 9:12 AM by Mark Murray
The Washington Post writes, “Sen. John McCain hasn't had good luck joking about Iran. But he tried it again Tuesday. Responding to a question about a survey that shows increased exports to Iran, mainly from cigarettes, McCain said, ‘Maybe that’s a way of killing them.’ He quickly caught himself, saying ‘I meant that as a joke’ as his wife, Cindy, poked him in the back. Last time, it was also Iran. His singing about bombing Iran to the theme of the Beach Boy's ‘Barbara Ann’ drew derision from many quarters but a ‘lighten up’ response from McCain.”
The AP adds, “Cindy McCain's jab to her husband's back came a second too late Tuesday to keep him from making a wisecrack about the health impact of Iran's main import from the United States: cigarettes.”
Mike Murphy put an end to the speculation he'd join the campaign by telling the New York Times that he'll be joining NBC News and MSNBC as an analyst.
“McCain yesterday slammed Bill Clinton for suggesting that POWs could explode at any moment with anger over war experiences. ‘I don't know where he gets his expertise,’ McCain, a former POW, told Fox News Channel.”
“He was a pilot in World War II, bombing targets in Europe to stop Hitler. But former senator and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern says that didn't qualify him to run the country - and the same goes for GOP presumptive nominee John McCain. ‘I don't have any regrets about that,’ the antiwar Democratic stalwart said in a brief interview yesterday on Capitol Hill, per the Boston Globe. ‘While bombing is a terrible thing, we smashed Hitler's oil refineries all over Europe. But I don't recall ever saying that experience as a bomber pilot equipped me to be very strong on how to run a war, how to command the armed forces.’
On Wes Clark’s statements: "I think General Clark was misunderstood," McGovern said. "He wasn't belittling [McCain] at all."
“McCain intends to talk about how teachers are paid and tutoring for poor kids when he goes before the NAACP convention next week. The likely Republican presidential nominee wasn't expected to roll out an education platform until the end of the summer, but his remarks July 16 to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People annual meeting in Cincinnati were expected to touch on his support for expanding merit-pay programs for teachers who improve their students' academic performance. ... McCain supports changes but not a scrapping of President Bush's signature No Child Left Behind education law.”
NASCAR voter watch: Star NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson believes McCain will win over most NASCAR fans.
