WaPo: McCain Slights Spanish Prime Minister (updated)

[ProSense]

John McCain

McCain Slights Spanish Prime Minister

The Union Radio interview with John McCain on issues of interest to Hispanics was conducted in English and only later translated into Spanish for listeners. The audio above is of the English-only interview.

Updated 12:38 p.m.
By Glenn Kessler and Ed O'Keefe

Republican presidential nominee John McCain suggested this week that he would continue President Bush's policy of having cool relations with the government of Spain, despite having made starkly contrasting statements to the Spanish press earlier this year saying he looked forward to normalized relations with the NATO ally.

In comments that have caused a kerfuffle in Spain, McCain seemed to lump Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero in the same category as the anti-American leaders of Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba. McCain's remarks came during in an English-language interview with Radio Caracol WSUA 1260AM in Miami, part of the Spanish-language radio group Union Radio, conducted Tuesday.

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Zapatero is a center-left politician, but McCain has suggested that as president he would seek to repair relations that have been badly frayed in Europe during Bush's tenure. In an early-April interview with a reporter from Spanish newspaper El Pais, McCain said, "This is the moment to leave behind discrepancies with Spain."

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So, was McCain purposely trying to diss the Spanish leader? Questions about whether McCain forgot which country Zapatero leads, got confused about Spain's geographic relationship to Latin America, or confused Zapatero with the Zapatista rebels from Mexico have exploded on blogs since reports of the interview first surfaced.

McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Sheunemann said McCain's answer was intentional.

more

Edited to add:

MCCAIN'S PAIN IN SPAIN.... (w/audio and list of other foreign policy incoherencies) -- Updated

McCain's 16 major foreign policy gaffes

Update:

McCain: Not ready to lead

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I can only assume that John McCain, asked about Prime Minister José Luis Rodíguez Zapatero, thought the question was about Mexican Revolutionary General Emiliano Zapata, (1879-1919). Zapata was an ally of Pancho Villa, and later fell in with anarchists, and was killed in an ambush by his former allies. McCain may well remember tales of these events from his childhood.

The Zapatistas in southern Mexico (Chiapas) adopted his name and ideas.

On the other hand, McCain may have been thinking of Lyle Zapato, the author of Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie: Practical Mind Control Protection for Paranoids.

In either event, McCain has no reason to place Spain in Latin America, nor to doubt the Spanish dedication to "humans rights, democracy and freedom." They, at least, don't torture people in Latin American prisons. Can we say the same thing about George Bush and John McCain?

[Algorem]

1. McSpain got some McSplainin to do

The explain on Spain falls mainly on John McCain.

[Eurobabe]

2. McCain't is a bumbling old GAFFE machine

Forget about 3am phone calls, it ain't gonna happen with him. They'll go unanswered or get forwarded to Sarin's voicemail.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Its his way of winning the Spanish speaking voter

by insulting them.

[Eurobabe]

5. Well my Spanish classmate from Salamanca

told me today he loves my Obama button, and he thinks McCrypt is too old and insane. :rofl: This guy's studying to be a doctor, and he's smart.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. Major Gaff by McCain... his campaign are trying to

spin and fix the holes in his foreign policy rubber boat as we speak

[Eurobabe]

7. sounds like the modern day Titantic to me.

I heard Fiorina jumped ship too and she attacked him? LOL.

[SuperTrouper]

9. OMG! Fiorina did a Ferraro and attacked McSame?

:wow:

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. Her ego got in the way of her talking points

She said neither could be a CEO of a major corporation, like her (ha!) but could run this country.

[Eurobabe]

19. Meow! Guess someone was ticked that he pulled in a no-namer

in favor of her. :rofl:

[MindMatter]

23. It is early (or middle) stage Alzheimer's

This guy is not all there mentally.

With McCain, the signs are obvious. He can't understand "Spain" when the interviewer gave him 3 tries. He often loses complete track of questions, falling into a vacant start. He doesn't even try to discuss any facts. His campaign wisely has him dealing from deep in his reptilian brain to come with a steady line of tough guy trash talk. He can still pull that off most of the time, but his brain simply doesn't work anymore for more complicated arguments.

With Reagan, this level of Alzheimer's was evident by his 2nd or 3rd year in office, as he relied heavily on Nancy to prop him up. McCain is 3-4 years farther gone than Reagan was at this point. Not coincidentally, McCain is a couple of years older. Not that Alzheimer's always works on the exact same time-line, but it often does.

There is an elephant in the room that needs some attention.

[grantcart]

4. Mckerfuffle

[Cha]

8. Rec'd! mccain wants to make enemies of the world.. Obama

wants to make friends!

[faithfulcitizen]

10. More like Bush everyday. And more Pit Bull Diplomacy.

[ErinBerin84]

11. here's TPM's roundup of what other reporters are saying on this...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/
(and they also say that the interviewer thinks McCain was "ducking" the question, and didn't "mishear" the question, as Joe Klein thinks...



What They're Saying ...
It seems the Post's Karen DeYoung isn't buying Randy Scheunemann's line that McCain wasn't confused just hardcore (from an online chat this morning) ...

"McCain seemed sort of foggy in the interview, much of which was about U.S. relations with Latin American baddies Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Then interviewer asked about Zapatero and McCain seemed to be winging it, appearing to think that Zapatero was the leader of someplace in Latin America and reciting the same rote answer as for the others about not meeting with leaders who don't support freedom and the U.S."


Meanwhile, Joe Klein thinks it's not such a hot idea to put "a chill in the relationship with one of our NATO allies simply because McCain misheard a question."

Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder gave Randy Scheunemann another bite at the apple after it became clear that McCain said precisely the opposite in April of what Scheunemann says he intended to say yesterday

[SuperTrouper]

13. It is obvious: He is demented and the Aricept had not kicked in yet.

why are we dancing around the subject. John McCain unfortunately suffers from progressive dementia.

[truthisfreedom]

12. He gaffes, then to cover for his gaffe, he says he meant it, and now Spain hates us.

Nice job, jonnie. Real nice. Can't wait to see how you treat the rest of our allies if they manage to fix the election and erect you king.

[faithfulcitizen]

14. "erect you king" ewwwwww.

[yardwork]

15. Not a good time for a U.S. candidate for president to insult the world's 8th largest economy

and a NATO ally.

Just sayin.

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. He did say, to be fair, that he would talk to Generalissimo Francisco Franco

http://graphics.boston.com:80/images/bostondirtdogs//Headline_Archives/GFF_12.23.jpg

[Indenturedebtor]

18. Man the stupid on this guy... I don't know if he's demented but hes definately STUPID! n/t

[SDJay]

20. Someone should just start

a blog and call it "The Daily Debacle" the way these two fumble asses are going. One's making an absolute mess of and pissing off Spain, the other is happy to be in Michigan - when she's in Iowa. These two dumbshits would fuck up a one-car funeral.

[DFW]

21. Instead of digging themselves deeper and deeper into the hole

All they had to do was to say that McCain thought he heard "Zapata" instead of Zapatero, and
that as a non-Hispanic, he had trouble with his interviewer's accent, and that of course he knew
who Zapatero was. End of incident.

But, no, they had to wiggle and squirm and try to figure out a way to say that the emperor
did, too, have clothes on. It's a good thing McCain's campaign staff isn't related to Pinocchio,
because they'd all need pall bearers to carry their noses in front of them by now.

[MindMatter]

24. They are terrified of the conversation changing to the elephant in the room

Everybody around McCain at this point surely recognizes he is not all there mentally and declining before our eyes. How bad does it have to get when they are willing to threaten a good NATO ally in order to avoid having people ask questions about McCain's failing brain?

Hell, they could have blamed it on a poor telephone line or background noise. Most people would have let that go.

So now we have McCain threatening Iran and Spain, and Palin threatening Russia. How many more countries will they threaten in the next 6 weeks?

[mcg]

22. General Emiliano Zapata is still dead.

Despite 'Viva Zapata!' being John McCain's favorite movie, despite McCain's apparent confusion between Zapata and Zapatero, and despite McCain's superpowers, I am sad to announce that General Emiliano Zapata is still dead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Zapata

[DFW]

25. So is Ronald Reagan, much to their horror

So they are running the closest thing they have--in compos mentis (or lack thereof) as well as age.

[mcg]

27. I'd say lack thereof, a nincompoop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nincompoop

[grantcart]

26. "No one ever expected the Spanish Prime Minister"

[Rosa Luxemburg]

28. I guess they all look the same to him?