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 John McCain at His 'Best' in Town Halls Reason for ConcernFor Immediate Release: Contact: Zandra Rice Hawkins Rochester, New Hampshire – Similar to President Bush’s oft-quoted misstatements and jokes at international events, Senator McCain has a long and questionable history with town halls and public forums. Over the past year, his off-handed comments have shown ill-timing and poor judgment when discussing some of our country’s most concerning problems – and revealed him to be more of the same when it comes to following Bush’s legacy. November 2007: McCain allows colleague Sen. Clinton to be called a ‘bitch’ “How do we beat the bitch?” the woman asked. Mr. McCain was obviously uncomfortable, trying to deflect the vitriol with humor and offering to give a translation. But he did not condemn the questioner, instead calling it an “excellent question.” He then addressed the question without any apparent doubt as to whom it referred. [New York Times, 11/14/08] January 2008: McCain tells anti-war activist that US may be in Iraq for 100 years Earlier at a New Hampshire town hall, McCain told an anti-war voter that the U.S. presence in Iraq could last “100 years.” [Concord Monitor/AP, 7/20/08] April 2008: McCain makes light of bombing Iran At a town hall meeting in South Carolina Wednesday, Arizona Sen. John McCain was asked if there is a plan to attack Iran. McCain began his answer by changing the words to a classic Beach Boys’ song. “You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?” the Republican presidential candidate said. Then, he sang. “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.” [CNN, 4/19/08] May 2008: McCain incorrectly asserts that troops are at pre-surge levels … McCain asserted that “I can tell you that it is succeeding. I can look you in the eye and tell you it’s succeeding. We have drawn down to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul and now Sadr City are quiet and it’s long and it’s hard and it’s tough and there will be setbacks.” In fact, as the Obama campaign was quick to point out, the troop level in Iraq is at about 155,000 right now, well above the 130,000 that would mark a return to pre-surge levels. [Washington Post, 5/30/08] July 2008: McCain under fire for calling social security system a ‘disgrace’ “‘Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today,’ he said. ‘And that’s a disgrace. It’s an absolute disgrace, and it’s got to be fixed.’” [MSNBC, 7/10/08] July 2008: McCain claims a perfect veteran’s voting record The first question from the audience came from a Vietnam veteran, who challenged McCain’s record of supporting health care for veterans. It was followed by this testy exchange, during which McCain fell back on his endorsements from veteran groups: McCain: “I don’t know what bill you’re referring to…and I’ll be glad to have you refer to it. The reason why I have a perfect voting record from organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion and all the other veterans’ service organizations is because I support them.” Audience Member: “You do not have a perfect voting record with [Disabled American Veterans] and VFW. That’s where these votes are recorded. The votes were for proposals by your colleagues in the Senate to increase health-care funding for the [Veterans Administration] in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. You voted against those proposals. I can give the numbers of those Senate votes right now.” [The Washington Independent, 7/8/08] July 2008: McCain references “Czechoslovakia” For the second time in two days, McCain has made a reference to “Czechoslovakia.” His answers were about contemporary events, not history. McCain did not use the current name Czech Republic, the country formed in January 1993 when Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The first instance was yesterday during a media news availability and the second today during a town hall meeting. [MSNBC, 7/15/08] ### Back to Granite State Progress  |