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McCain worried about nonexistent countries
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Groucho
Extraordinary
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:30 pm
Posts: 12096
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
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 McCain worried about nonexistent countries This is the guy who claims he doesn't know much about the economy, but foreign policy is his strong point: Here's his quote and some commentary from the Huffington Post ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/1 ... 12650.html): "I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia. Apparently that is in reaction to the Czech's agreement with us concerning missile defense, and again some of the Russian now announcement they are now retargeting new targets, something they abandoned at the end of the Cold War, is also a concern."
Czechoslovakia, of course, split into two separate countries in 1993.
It isn't the first time McCain has made this mistake, as TPM's Greg Sargent points out:
Around three months ago, McCain told Don Imus that he would "work closely with Czechoslovakia and Poland and other countries" to install the European Missile Defense System in Poland, according to the Democratic National Committee. (The slip-up was referenced elsewhere, too.)
And during a GOP debate in October 2007, McCain said: "The first thing I would do is make sure that we have a missile defense system in place in Czechoslovakia and Poland, and I don't care what his objections are to it."
There are more: in 1994, McCain suggested NATO be expanded to include Czechoslovakia. At a dinner in 1999, he "twice thanked the ambassador from 'Czechoslovakia' for his efforts," according to the Washington Post.
In fact, George Bush himself dinged McCain for this blunder back in the 2000 primary. Steve Clemons writes:
Second, before Republicans condemn Dems for being picky on this, let's not forget that in the 2000 campaign, when McCain also screwed up Czechoslovakia, it was none other than George W. Bush who said it deserved to be a campaign issue: "A guy gets up and quizzes me [on world leaders] ... but John McCain says something about the 'ambassador to Czechoslovakia.' Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia [there's a Czech Republic and a Slovakia], but yet it didn't make the nightly national news."
This longstanding confusion persists despite McCain's numerous visits to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia (he described his 2001 meeting with Czech President Vaclav Havel as "an experience . . . I can tell my Grandchildren about.") In fact, the former U.S. ambassador to Slovakia endorsed McCain's candidacy for president. Maybe he should offer the candidate some geography lessons too. _________________Buy my books! http://michaelaventrella.com
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| Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:29 pm |
 
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Beeblebrox
All Star Poster
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:40 pm
Posts: 4679
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries I look forward to the establishment of relations with Sumeria and emperor Augustus of Rome. Said Augustus in the year 10 AD, "Keep an eye out for that John McCain, but a teenager, still his aspirations are great."  I mean, the dude is old. But seriously, folks, if this was a gaffe, then it's not a big deal. No one really believes that the elections are in January, as McCain once stated, or that there are 57 states, as Obama did. But if McCain keeps believing that there is still a Czechoslovakia, then obviously that's a problem. It's not much of a stretch to say that McCain's worldview is still stuck in the late 1970's and early 80's.
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| Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:45 pm |
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Timayd
The 5th B-Sharp
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:48 am
Posts: 1506
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries I liked Michael Ian Black's take on Countdown tonight, "he might as well say he's worried about Russia reducing energy supplies to Narnia"
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| Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:41 pm |
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Groucho
Extraordinary
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:30 pm
Posts: 12096
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries _________________Buy my books! http://michaelaventrella.com
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| Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:08 pm |
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Tyler
Powered By Hate
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:55 pm
Posts: 7578
Location: Torrington, CT
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries The facepalm he does is hilarious.
_________________
It's my lucky crack pipe.
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| Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:16 pm |
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Jim Halpert
Stanley Cup
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 1:52 pm
Posts: 6981
Location: Hockey Town
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries Quote: Czechoslovakia gets star treatment for third day in a row
Posted: 04:02 PM ET
From CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand
Nunn brought Czechoslovakia back to center stage.
Nunn brought Czechoslovakia back to center stage.
(CNN) – A lot of countries haven’t gotten a share of the spotlight at any of this week’s foreign policy-themed presidential campaign events, or shown up in any of the new national security-focused ads: most of the United States’ hemispheric neighbors, for instance, or just about any nation on the African continent.
Rating no fewer than three references in three days: the non-existent state of Czechoslovakia.
That country – which ceased to exist in 1993, when it split into two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – has now been referred to as a present-day area of concern by two of the most respected current and former Senate foreign policy experts in the space of less than a week. On Monday and Tuesday, it was presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, who said he was worried about recent Russian moves to reduce energy supplies to “Czechoslovakia.â€Â
On Wednesday it was the Democrats’ turn, as Republicans quickly circulated a clip of former Georgia senator and current VP prospect Sam Nunn making the same slip at a mid-day national security summit, flanked by his party’s presumptive nominee Barack Obama.
“…We in this country are about to, under this government, under the Bush administration, deploy [a] missile defense system in Poland and Czechoslovakia,†Nunn said at the Indiana event Wednesday.
So far this week, Persia, Yugoslavia and Siam have yet to come up for discussion.
Not just McCain anymore.
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| Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:49 pm |
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Groucho
Extraordinary
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:30 pm
Posts: 12096
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries Yep, others have made the same mistake. Fortunately for us, they aren't running for Commander-in-Chief, where the standard should be a bit higher. Everyone is waiting for Obama to make a gaffe on his trip this week. Instead, McCain does it for him: As Barack Obama began his trip to the Middle East and Europe, the media was already speculating about the possibility of a gaffe. Obama's travel "carries political risk," the New York Times reported, "particularly if Mr. Obama makes a mistake."
But the only foreign policy error made in the last few days came this morning on ABC's Good Morning America, when John McCain made ANOTHER geography gaffe while trying to criticize Obama's visit to Iraq. (Just last week, McCain repeatedly referred to Czechoslovakia, a country that hasn't existed since 1993.)
Asked by Diane Sawyer whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded: "I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border."
But as ABC's Rick Klein noted: "Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/2 ... 14013.html_________________Buy my books! http://michaelaventrella.com
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| Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:28 am |
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Snrub
Vagina Qwertyuiop
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:14 pm
Posts: 8767
Location: Great Living Standards
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries I can't help but think that this is starting to become a conscious "error" on the part of McCain. After all, if Bush taught us anything, it's that people love a ill-educated, grass-roots goof come election time.
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| Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:12 pm |
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Jedi Master Carr
Extraordinary
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 9:51 pm
Posts: 11637
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries You would think they would want someone smarter after we had a moron for 8 years.
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| Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:27 pm |
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misutaa
je vois l'avenir
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2005 3:33 pm
Posts: 3841
Location: Hollywood/Berkeley, CA
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Re: McCain worried about nonexistent countries He is sooo old and careless...even my uneducated Grandpa knows that Czechoslovakia has split.
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| Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:46 am |
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