The military operation to dispose the Iraqi government was a huge success. The Diplomatic process to replace the Iraqi government was a huge failure.

The sucess of the surge was based on the performance of the troops, but more importantly, the game plan of one General Petraous, who has stressed getting into the Iraqi communities and engaging the population. At very best, the surge by its self did nothing more than stabilize areas that American forces were "occupying", the true success came about through the "diplomatic" efforts of the American Military, right down to the lowest enlisted man engaging the Iraqi people to take charge of their own situation and get involved.

In my humble opinion, the belief that Iraq requires a military solution, is narrow minded and inept, headed for failure, the constant proclaimation that al Qaeda is a major threat in Iraq is equal to crying the sky is falling the sky is falling. While we shall have some military forces in Iraq for quit awhile, the solution to the problems in Iraq are diplomatic and political, and General Petraous , not our political leaders, has taken the first steps forward in activity engaging the Iraqi's in the security and the rule of their nation. It is something that could have been done within days of the collaspe of the Iraqi government, had our administration known what it was doing.

Looks like Grandpa McCain got caught "stretching" the facts just a bit again. What next - the "surge" that he supported ended the Cuban Missile Crisis or that the "surge" help end the Cold War?
Seems that the "surge" will eventually help to end poverty and world hunger if Grandpa McCain can figure out a way to spin it that way.

Well they all do make mistakes. Campaigning as long as they have and his age has something to do with it as well.

The old man is losing it!!!!!!! People wake up and smell the Old folks home….CNN once again your "MODERAITOR" is closing comments about McShame way before it should be closed. Last article only had 44 comments and it was closed already. Have you Karl Rove on your staff now?

Not the first time he miss fires. It has been a trend.
He confused Al -qaeda with the Iranian supported shia miliias
He confused somalia with sudan
He confused Iraqi borders with afghanstain
He doesn't remember what he had vote for before
He still talks about a country that doesn't exist since 1993
And now……? you can fill in the blanks

This old fool doesnt know what he is talking about. zzzzz

I wish my comment will be published this time.

MCCAIN IS OUTDATED,SOMEBODY SHOULD REMIND ME THE RETIREMENT AGE IN AMERICA.

AMERICA SHOULD TELL MACCAIN THAT WE ARE IN 21ST CENTURY ,WHEN WISDOM IS FAR MORE VALUED AND IMPORTANT THAN OUTDATED EXPERIENCE. After all many Kings are born not made out of baised exprience.

Come November 5th 2008,the sun will rise from the east,and Obama will be pronounced new preident elect of America. And the blind will not see it but here the rousing jubilation from far and wide.

AMERICA OPEN YOUR EYES.

perhaps his handlers should allow only scripted interviews the way they did with W in the beginning until mccain grows into the job. he is not doing well with eastern europe either, nor does he seem to know much about birth control issues.

This is no suprise Mccain has consistantly made gaffes and some he repeated on different occasions. Mccains camp likes to talk about the media coverage Mccain isn't getting aa much of but doesn't mind the media being more critical of an Obama gaffe than Mccains. If Mccain had more coverage he would just makes gaffe after gaffe. Thats why the media followed Obama on the tour not because he's a great guy but the story of a gaffe abroad. If the media was looking for gaffes all they had to do is stay here and cover Mccain he's made 2 om just a week. Mccain is proving on a daily basis that he would be a worst president as Bush and he doesn't understand the challenges were facing in the 21 century or have the policies counter them.

McConfused didn't graduate 894 out of 899 from the Naval Academy for nothing.

McConfused doesn't have the intellectual capacity or mental stability to be president.

Gramm may be back in McCain's campaign.

McCain just needs to pack it up. He's lost

And to think he is considered a Foreign Policy expert. With all these gaffes, I am not sure he what he knows.

McCain has another senior moment and they try to deflect it back onto the Democrats. Unbelievable. We are awake, Gas and Oil Party. And we won't be fooled again.

Are you going to at least move this story back up to the top to show McCain's and CBS's responses?

Even my conservative/Republican friends are starting to have doubts about John McCain as president … although they certainly won't go and vote for the other guy.

… and that was before this gaffe by Candidate McCain.

Perhaps instead of replacing the campaign staff; the campaign staff should replace McCain as candidate.

Is anyone else finding McCain laughable? The man speaks then sends his campaign people go scrambling to try to re-define what he "really meant". He clearly has no idea about what is really happening in some of the most dangerous countries in the world. He can't keep the basic facts straight, let alone deal with the complex issues that these centuries old societies present. Yet he is willing to continue to put our brave men and woman at risk.

When I think of that, then his comments are no longer laughable.

You would think if McCain was going to blast Obama, he would at least have his facts straight, but then again, maybe facts don't really matter. Straight talk, come on. McCain will say and infer anything to get elected. Egads, its dejavu all over again…

"If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat," he added.

Getting a bit strident aren't we?

Not to mention al Qaeda wouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place if Obama had had his way.

The Sunni's awakened to the fact their militia was going to be killed by overwhelming American force if they didn't go along with the agenda.

It's not diplomacy that redirected/restricted Sadir's forces–it was reduced supply chain from Iraq and Syria (courtesy U.S. forces) and the fear of ultimate death!

You can't negotiate with people whose prime aim is to kill YOU.

don't believe he is lying
It is an age issue and most of us will make similar mistakes at age 72

McCain needs to consult with his Geriatrician before he talks

I don't believe he is lying
It is an age issue and most of us will make similar mistakes

McCain needs to consult with his Geriatrician before he talks

You mean McCain made ANOTHER Iraq gaffe. I'm shocked.

McCain confusing the truth again? NO! Surely not McDementia.

Grandpa Simpson is going senile!

Mis speak Mc Cain that is what you are good at tell the truth that your bearing are loosing grip. Senior moments I don't know about you this is scarery for the position he is looking for. We can nor afford a presedent who mis speak 70% of all his statements a day.

How many mistakes related to foreign afffairs does McClueless have to make before we accept the fact that He is OUT OF TOUCH and dangerously ingnorant. He doesn't grasp past or future realities in the foreign affairs arena.

Does anyone else get annoyed at McCain's whistling through his teeth (dentures?) while speaking. If he hadn't been a Senator for the last 25 years he'd already be sitting on a bus bench in Sun City, AZ waiting for 4:00 pm to come around so he could drive his golf cart over to the Red Robin for the Early Bird Special.

If, it (the Surge) is working; I really don't cares to know the "why", "how" ,and the "who" of it………..it's working! Period………

The Double-Talk Express! He got his facts wrong, and now has to rely on his staff to distort his blatant disregard for history into half-truths.

—MCSENILE THINKING, OR LACK THERE OF.

"PUTIN PRESIDENT OF GERMANY" PER MCBUSH SPEECH, 2X.

CONFUSED SUNNIS & SHIITES.

CONFUSED GREEN BAY PACKERS for PITTSBURGH STEELERS.

CONFUSED ABOUT THE FORMER ( 16 years ago)

—-CZECHOSLOVAKIA in NOVEMBER,

—-THEN TWICE THIS MONTH. couldn't figure it out for 8 months???

CONFUSED ABOUT THE SURGE & THE "AWAKENING", WHICH

ACTUALLY HAPPENED MONTHS BEFORE SURGE.

WAKE UP AMERICA,safe to say mcsame is OUT of his MIND.

He he, you said "gaffe"…he he, he he.

Alzheimer's '08

Hey CNN, how about some unbiased headlines for a change:

Obama Incorrect on Surge; Refuses to Admit Mistake

Obama's Election Racketeering Plan

Obama Contradicts Himself Yet Again

etc.

By the way, check out his website on the second one. He's recruiting lawyers to "work the election" in an official group called Counsel for Obama. Remember how he won in Chicago? Yeah its that bad.

Another goof in the white house will just destroy America's reputation. Look at whats happened this past decade first with Clintons impeachment and now with Bush's incompetence. Can you imagine our credibility if we elect another stumbling and bumbling idiot.

another one or the same Iraq/Pakistan one..if it is another one- then- what the hell is going on with McCain..does he or does he not want to be the PRESIDENT

Why does McCain take his direction from Osama Bin Laden? Why does McCain put US troops where Bin Laden tells him too?
If Osama Bin Laden said "The central front in the war on terror" was Antarctica would McCain agree and surge troops there too and leave Osama Bin Laden to plan another attack?

Maybe the surge reduced violence in the Iraqi civil war, but I am still with Obama that those 20,000 troops would have made America safer if they were working to deny Osama Bin Laden and his terrorists a base to make their tapes, laugh at us and plan their next move.

Obama has been consitantly focused on getting Bin Laden and terrorists responsible for 9/11 for 6 years.
Oposing the distraction of the war in Iraq when it really counted, before we got tricked into fighting in what McCain and Bin Laden call "The central front in the war on terror" Iraq.

McCain and Bush let Bin Laden get away with killing 3000 Americans by pulling troops out of Afghanistan.

Judge for yourselves if we would have had a better chance of getting Bin Laden with Obama as President in 2002:
barackobama.com/judgment

I ask my fellow citizens to make your vote based on firsthand information and with clarity.
The one who was right in 2002 should be President in 2008.
God Bless America and God Bless You…

Or, put another way, McCain HAD his way and the sheiks WERE murdered at the hands of al Qaeda. So, what is his point?

Why does McCain take his direction from Osama Bin Laden? Why does McCain put US troops where Bin Laden tells him too?
If Osama Bin Laden said "The central front in the war on terror" was Antarctica would McCain agree and surge troops there too and leave

Osama Bin Laden to plan another attack?
Maybe the surge reduced violence in the Iraqi civil war, but I am still with Obama that those 20,000 troops would have made America safer if they were working to deny Osama Bin Laden and his terrorists a base to make their tapes, laugh at us and plan their next move.

Obama has been consitantly focused on getting Bin Laden and terrorists responsible for 9/11 for 6 years.
Oposing the distraction of the war in Iraq when it really counted, before we got tricked into fighting in what McCain and Bin Laden call "The central front in the war on terror" Iraq.

McCain and Bush let Bin Laden get away with killing 3000 Americans by pulling troops out of Afghanistan.

Judge for yourselves if we would have had a better chance of getting Bin Laden with Obama as President in 2002:
barackobama.com/judgment

I ask my fellow citizens to make your vote based on firsthand information and with clarity.
The one who was right in 2002 should be President in 2008.
God Bless America and God Bless You…

why does this matter….violence is down in Iraq and we are succeeding because of the policy proposed by John Mccaine….I don't see how this matters one bit. Thanks for another BIG STORY Cnn

I am ceaselessly amazed that the media continues to ignore McCain's gaffes. If Obama had said any of the things McCain has said, Obama's campaign would be over.

McCain is handled with kid-gloves, by the media, and i'm sick of it.

Thank you CNN, for at least noting McCain's gaffe.

Wake up America as a 64 year old women believe me I know what age does to you. Why is that every time McSenile makes a gaffe his campaign tries to turn it around on Obama?All McSenile can talk about is the surge what about McSenile voting for the war, if he and his friends had not started the war this would not even be an issue and maybe we would not have the problem with the economy we have now. This is just another example of McSenile looking backward and not forward. I think this pattern of gaffes is something the American people had better take notice of, is it senility or even worse the start of Alzheimer's? Some employers mandate competence test after the age of 70. Connie from Indiana

The McPuppeteers

1. Carl Rove has absolute control of that his head (in person and remotely)
2. George Dubya and cronies are controlling his right arm
3. Rush Limbaugh and the hardcore rightwingers (Hannity, Imus, Bortz etc) are controlling his left arm
4. The lobbyist running his campaignng and driving the "Scare Tactics Express" are controlling the strings for his legs….

Just how many more mishaps will it take for people to realize that he is too old to be given that much power. My grandma who is 82, God bless her, is scared to death that McCain will end up with the presidency, she says she knows how one feels at such age. There is nothing wrong with that and I have the highest respect for our elderly for if it weren't for them and the sacrifices they made, we would not be where we are today. It is just that presidency is a job that can't afford any confused states, any mishaps, misunderstandings and such and some of these things naturally occur when one is as old as McCain is. I will get there one day, but I'd never want to apply for the hightest office in the land. I don't even know why he did!?!

Why is this at the bottom of the ticker? If Sen. Obama had made this level of a mistake, the MSM would've declared his bid for the Whitehouse OVER.

Shame…

The surge provided the security to allow the "awakaning" to mature. Geez, the Obamites and the Obamite Press are so desperate to get the attention off of their candidates idiocy. Obama denied the surge as being central to the progress made in Iraq. He basically spit in the face of the sacrifice those troops made. Obama is an egotistical tool.

Now insert the usual "Mc"-isms and childish rants of the Obamites: 5,4,3,2,1…..

If Obama said this the republicans would use it as "proof" that Obama was not fit to be president. We provided arms to the Sunni's to go after the insurgents before the surge, everyone knows that. We don't even know who much progress would have been made because of this even without the surge. In fact, the surge really only added 16,000 troops to Iraq, from 152,000 before the surge to 168,000 after the surge. (28,000 went in, but 12,000 rotated out).

The surge surely made a difference, but how much of a difference we'll never know. We could have had a very similar result with or without this addition of US troops. The Iraqis standing up for themselves against terrorists is what matters most, it started before the surge and is continuing now after the surge (the surge ended, we are back to pre-surge levels).

The republicans argument that the surge was responsible for all the success is speculation. I'm sure it was helpful, but the major progress might have happened without it. Circumstantially, the timing of the surge coincided with things getting better in Iraq. But we don't know that the surge was the sole cause, in fact, we're pretty sure the Sunni awakening was a big cause.

Before the surge there were only a few sunnis taking part in the sunni awakening against al queda because there was no security. By the summer of 2007 there were 14,000 sunnis taking part in the awakening.

How can McCain claim "experience" as an advantage when he clearly has no understanding of what happened or is happening in Iraq? Wasn't Lieberman there to correct him this time? It is scary how out of touch this man is.

This is not accurate. The story is McCain made a serious misstatement of the truth and CBS edited it out of the video the Couric played on air. She kept the question but inserted McCain responding to a different question!!! Why are you not reporting this?

So McSame is now claiming he "Invented the 'Anbar awakening'"??

Sad old man. Time to put him out to pasture.

This is getting rediculous even for CNN. Common, can we move onto something else…I mean this is a bunch of supposing and stuff. B.O. did give credit where credit was due and that is to the TROOPS. He also gave credit to the other people who were necessary for reducing the violence. McCain…can twist and turn this however he wants but honestly, we the American People don't really give a crap. We want our troops back home or put into better use. Its time to set time tables and withdraw…I see so many falacious McCain arguments. Like withdraw means defeat? Huh…when did it mean that? I know McCain camp is simply trying to twist words but the American people should be smarter than that this time…No McCain..No GOP…No to War…and No to warmongers

When will people see McCain is a bad canidate for the US Presidency? Here's a foreign policy nightmare.

About time, the Media lets the voters know how McWar mis-speaks all the time….thank You

Lets us not forget the millions paid to Iraq citizens in revolt not to shot at American Soldiers. It would appear McCains foreign experience doesn't included understanding time lines, facts and the significant participants in modern day events, at least not as the rest of the world views the same exact occurrences.

This is so expected, I mean can you blame him, he admits to not knowing much about the economy and he clearly can't tell the difference between Shia and Sunnis in Iraq….or Iran and clearly does not know that Pakistan does not border Iraq…….so why is this a gaff, this is John McCain, look, he's old, he's boring, he brings no new ideas, he's old, he's boring, he brings no new ideas and will continue to keep the Bush tax cuts and keep the war going, so what is his change, the fact that he is the oldest person in the world running for President……bless his little heart when he gets rouzed up talking bad about Obama, ya'll see him, he gets pumped….bless his little heart(pacemaker).

McCain, you old age is starting to set in and you are just too old to run for President for the first time. You have no foreign policy experience….being shot down and hel captive does not count as experience……get over than.

Now you are upset that Obama has gone to Iraq and Afghanistan, Isreal, Jorda, England, France and Germany and now you are upset…….didn't expect the media to be all over him did ya……..stupid. Just cause no one wants to follow you cause you are boring and old don't get mad at Obama….hell can your wife hire a crown to follow you around……

This would be news IF this wasnt McCains 4th, 5th, or even 6th time misspeaking. The thing about McCain, he tries to come off like he's so sure about about what he's saying until somebody 60 seconds later realizes he was wrong.

Obama '08.

Yes and if Senator McCain had his way we would have had rewritten history books. Can you imagine what would happen if this guy becomes the president and a huge campaign like Obama's is not there to catch all his lies and misrepresentations. He will just rewrite the history to justify whatever he wants to do. Not that the republicans feel like they need to justify themselves or that the American people deserve an explanation. To them we are just cattle and sheep. Good for sending to wars and working in less than minimum wage jobs without healthcare or education so that they get richer and stay in power. That's all.

Our oil men in the white house seem to have an agenda - this from another article in the news today.

As for the economic arena, crude oil production is below U.S. goals, even though it has "improved for short periods," the GAO report said. Goals for water service are "close to being reached," but the daily electricity supply "met only slightly more than half of demand in early July 2008."

Old Man Yells at Cloud!

Mcsame = MISTAKE

Covers Ears
"blaaaah, blaah blaah blaah blaah!!!!!! I can't hear you!!!!!! Blah blah blahhhhhh, barack obama is wrong vote for me!!!!!!!"

/John McCain

McGaffe to say the least!!

Please make it stop! Apparently the Republicans would vote my dog into office if they are willing to accept this old goat. I can't even keep up with the amount of stupidity surrounding McCain's campaign, and all the Repub's are left with is nitpicking or otherwise ripping on Obama, because God know's their candidate has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO OFFER.
If more then 35% of our society votes for this unfit clown, then we deserve whatever kind of government we end up with. It is like watching the slow death of your own society……..

What is missing in this report is that CBS edited out these false remembrances of history. So much for the contention that the media is in the bag for Obama.

This is not a "gaffe" as McCain's constant rhetoric about the surge has become the centre argument of his campaign. This is just another example of the Republicans attempting to rewrite history.

How would you believe anything this McClueless says all he does is lie to fill the air space he just rambles on and on don;t have a clue about anything / he dont know if the name in iraq is really Sunni,Arizona or Tim-buck-too .
Did his right elbow puppet man Lieberman screw up again?
Mc Lost is like a baby Crow all mouth and — squak squak squak .
He looks worse than 40 miles of torn up highway ,

The surge did not work. Al Qaida merely moved its forces from Iraq to Afghanistan. The are playing a shell game. We need to look at this war against terrorists on a global basis. The surge meant we had less troops in Afghanistan because the additional troops were placed in Iraq. Al Qaida and the Taliban took advantage of this situation by attacking our troops in Afghanistan. If we "win" the war in Iraq but are defeated by the Taliban in Afghanistan, it will have devastating consequences for the United States.

Typical republican strategy: remake history (lie) to fit the current message.

If Obama had his way, the Republicans would not be ordering our military to murder people in an illegal war.

If we would have left Iraq, the Sunnis and Shias would have continued to fight and in a couple of years ended the war. We were and are policing this insanity and spending 12 billion a month to do so. We should have left Iraq when Sadam was overthrown. Mccain is a joke.

lol, mcsame is losing his mind. grandpa should spend time at home.

Does anyone admit anything here? Everything is always so partisan. When looking at timelines and historical events, there is a truth. If someone Will just tell it!

When will people get it? This guy is the reincarnation of Gerald Ford. Iraq/Pakistan border, Czecheslovakia, Czecheslovakia, Al Qeada in Iraq, Misstating the timeline. The guy is a buffoon. WALNUTS!

This is what we will get if he becomes the president. Our nation cannot afford it…

Obama '08

McCain is a moron. He continues time after time to make false statements that are due to either ignorance or are just blatant lies. His latest attack ad says Obama has not supported our troops. Yet McCain has lower grades and rankings than Obama from some of the biggest miliatry veteran groups. McCain is a liar and definately is prooving more and more that he cannot be trusted.

I am so cool, I am so cool, I am so cool. John McCain aint though.

"Sour grapes" on McBush's part!

I'm still waiting for the McCain Awakening when he actually proves he knows something about the Middle East. Doesn't know factions, doesn't know countries, doesn't know borders, doesn't know how many troops are there, doesn't know the timeline. Umm … John … Get a clue and a brain before you decide to run for POTUS! Time for Grampy's Aricept and applesauce.

Did you know that companies in the US have said they would hire a white
man with a felony record and no high school education BEFORE they would
hire a black man with NO criminal record and a 4-year degree?

I REST MY CASE - IS IT A WONDER THAT WE WOULD ELECT MCCAIN OVER OBAMA EVEN WHEN THE THE DIFFERENCE IN THEIR INTELLIGENCE IS LIKE NIGHT AND DAY?

Add this to the ever-growing list of McCain blunders. He should just keep a low profile and hope Obama makes the mistake abroad that the entire GOP is praying for. Unfortunately it's McCain who is beating him to that punch.

-Stevenage

Obama is too naive to be president.. McCain mis-speaks often. Write Hillary Clinton on your ballot in November. I don't want either of these dummies.

This words that are coming out of the McCain camp are down right cruel and harsh. I find it difficult to believe any of our future presidents would want to loose the war and/or see people die for political gain. THIS ARGUEMENT IS PLAIN DUMB!!!!

Looks like the straight talk express is heading south.

Now this bull headed egotist is smarter than the General. How the HELL did he got so smart at such a young and INEXPERIENCED age????? This is getting crazy the way everyone is eating his line of C—ola. I know some bridges that I could sell you. Take the blinders off people.

He's an idiot…. surprised?!? This old man is a joke. He seems even more incompotent than Bush at times. What kind of person would even consider voting for him?!???? All he talks about is War and he's mostly wrong on that, he knows nothing about the economy, health care, education, or any other domestic issue. What qualifies him to be president? McCain is a joke and you are a gluten for punishment if you vote for him.

Obama '08

If statements like this by McCain and his minions aren't indicative of a flailing, desperate campaign I don't know what is. In the warped and absolutist world of conservatives, making a rational examination of all of the numerous factors preceding or following the surge policy that lead to a drop in violence is somehow a treasonous slap in the face to our troops or defeatism. This mentality is very reminiscent of conservatives' steadfast refusal to even acknowledge much less address the potential risks of starting this preemptive war in the first place. While I personally believed at the time that one last surge in troops was warranted, resistance to that policy is entirely understandable given four solid years of gross incompetence and the mounting problems in Afghanistan. Resistance to the surge and a call for drawdown may, in fact, have even been necessary to demonstrate our unwillingness for permanent presence. In any event, McCain's charge that Obama secretely wished for defeat is not only absurd, it's unpresidential.

Good grief…another gaffe? I thought his expertise was Iraq? This is getting scary. In fact, my Dad is close to McCain's age and doesn't have the energy or the intellectual sharpness to run my busy household.

Wake up, America!!! This time….could we please elect a president with some brains?

It seems like at least once a week there is a headline that goes something like "mccain makes blah blah gaffe".

Why is this relegated to a Ticker post. This should be front page/center news about how McCain is either out and out LYING or SENILE.

And the Repugnants claim the Media is bias towards Obama. How many "gaffes" (cute word for major, potential, campaign-busting blunder) can McCain make before he is exposed?

Obama is too nice to expose this old relic for the sham of a man he really is. What a disgrace.

McCain cannot be our next president, he's easily confused, is not familiar with world countries, has a nasty temper and is Bush's twin. The fact that he confused the timeline of this makes me believe if elected he will be the worser president than Dummy Bush!!

Listen, I'd hate for McCain's campaign to be a referendum on his age, but you have to start wondering. He has misspoken so many times, and had so many "gaffes" that it is starting to get a bit worrying. Is this normal for him, or is it because he is getting up there and the memory is fading a bit? I don't know, but it is definitely becoming a campaign issue for him.

While McCain has made many gaffes during this campaign, the biggest gaffe was when he supported the Iraq debacle, costing 4,000 brave soldiers lives, 30,000 wounded soldiers, 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead, 2 million refugees, and 700+ Billion taxpayer dollars wasted.
So much for "judgement and experience".

Wow! When he makes a mistake on facts, which seems to be often, he absolutely won't back down and then to boot, he adds something so extreme and vile as "If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat,"?

Really? Is this man desperate or what?

Once again, the McCrypt campaign tries to blame Obama for the ignorance of the Republican candidate. Just like the Pakistan/Iraq border. One would think, that after 8 trips to the area he would at least REMEMBER that! It is becoming apparant that his campaign cannot keep up with the "senior minutes" or keep his lies sorted out.

So, once again, this is more proof McCrypt is in the early stages of dementia with short term memory loss or is just a flat out liar.

Question: Is the the man you want attempting ANYTHING at 3:00 A.M. that does not involve Viagra?

"If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat," he added.

Can the Obama campaign sue him for Libel? I mean jeesh, what a gross statement. I'm sure Obama really wants a bunch of leaders dead in Iraq.

And not to mention, All Obama did was call McCain out on another misstep - one he shouldn't have made since he used the Anbar Awakening as a reason for the surge! And the spokesman of course plays into fearmongering and the usual GOP Scare tactics.

Nice.

Obama 08′
Hope. Not Fear.

I almost feel sorry for McGaffe:

Every other week produces some silly statement.

I really belive the Rep wish they left Mcain alone and pick Mitt.
He is a POW/War Hero! But that is all he is!
He beat the other Rep because they needed to match him against a Dem. He look Like a Dem in 2000!

But against a real Dem, he is a failure.
He hid in the Sen as a Mavrick trouble maker, but this was he soap role he play. We are now seeing the real Mcain- An old War hero we feel sorry for.

P.S.
He is still good for the media- He staff and him are full of dumb things to say to anyone with a mic.

Does anyone that has followed any of this stupid war really believe with out the surge the Iraq people would been able to avert a blood bath???
We got this mess going now it is our place to make sure they are capable of standing up and defending themselves. To bad it is taking so long for them to get organized but they haven't had any decent leadership. It would be a shame to take the Bull headed non bending attitude like NOBAMA and have to go back in . Lets get it done and done right the first time and then get out. No one seems to realize the amount of time and expense that moving just the equipment in and out. We can't leave it all there or we would have nothing to use anyplace else. All tax payer money. Replacing it is Not feasible.
He should be over here working on trying to get relief for the Americans dealing with this energy mess that our leaders(???) have gotten us into. BOTH parties are SOOOOOO to blame.
This idiot running around over there trying to jump the gun like he is already Pres. just can Not relate with the reality. He is living in a dream world and ignoring the facts.

….and how is it that Al Quada is even IN Iraq, Tucker?

If "Obama had his way" US troops would never have been there.

And NO ONE IS diminishing the surge. Simply pointing out that McCain does not know the timeline.
Add it to the list.

Obama screws up too, but McCain is beating him in the Gaffe War.

Oh my goodness, I cannot beleive the McCain campaign. Are there that many idiots in the US that would listen to this man?

Well if Obama is President I guess we will see whats working and what isn't when he starts taking troops out in 2012.

So basically McCain changed history to make it sound like "the surge is working! the surge is working!"

He may as well say our strategy during WWII or gas prices made the surge work!

Gee there's a surprise..another misspeak.

Must be something like his statement that Iraq borders Pakistan and his reference to Czechoslovakia, a country that no longer exists.

How many times is this man going to "gaffe" before the American politic (and the American media for that matter) realizes that he is just about as mis-informed as the average American when it has to do with this Iraq war. He's not making gaffes he truly doesn't understand what is going on, why we are there and how we are going to get out of there.

I hope that "we" wake up and realize that McCain is incompetent to run this country. Not because of his age but because of his ignorance.

John McCain may have been the Maverick but now he is the Avenger.
John McCain is trying to avenge himself. It's known that John McCain joined the military reluctantly. He disappointed his father and his grandfather in Vietnam. No winner was declared in Vietnam. John McCain scares the hell out of me, he wants to become president so we fight and fight and fight for 100 years or more so he can prove a point to himself. (quote from McCain) " I would rather lose a campaign than lose a war". His message is I WILL BE A WAR VICTOR….I WILL DO WHAT I SET OUT TO DO YEARS AGO…. This unnecessary war has cost us too much in more ways than one. John McCain owns this guilt trip not the rest of us. He's only in this presidential race to make amends for himself.

This goofy old man is one big joke—and he is potentially very dangerous.

So Republicans basically admit they are wrong but won't come out and say it… and said "well, yea… but the surge is working too!"

Time for his nap. He gets it wrong too many times to be trusted as POTUS. This was suppose to be his strength, but clearly the man is not ready to be POTUS, and never will be!

Sadly, CBS fails to air McCain's original response on the day the McCain camp decries media love for Obama. Now McCain wants more media attention? Be careful what you wish for Senator. You have escaped media scrutiny for months. Frankly, I hope the media starts paying attention to McCain as he has said things at his town hall meetings that if were said by Obama, would be recognized and reported. Truly disgraceful and blatant double standard by the media!

I keep hearing, "We won't leave in defeat" from McCain…

But I've yet to find out what constitutes a "Victory"!

Why is this a gaffe, and not a fact confusing or fact distortion???
Why is CNN always treating McCain with gloves???
McCain often seems senile and confuses facts about very fundamental issues. This is quite disqualifying for anyone seeking the presidency!!!

Oh, so now it's a Gaffe?

The Sudan and Somalia Gaffe

The Afghanistan and Iraqi border Gaffe

The Czechoslovakian Gaffe

Well, after much thought……. Gaffe sounds good to me.

"If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat,' he added."

Awesome, Tucker. Don't address the actual mistake- insult Obama. You're so transparent.

This is too funny!!! While McCain and the media are both looking for Obama to make a bad move on his tour, McCain has been constantly "misspeaking." For someone who claims he is experienced in Foreign Affairs, his doesn't act like it. He refers to non-existing countries and borders, and know he's mixing up the events that led to the surge!!! He is definitely loosing his marbles. I see why he isn't talking about his policies. Because everytime he does he makes a gaffe.

ALTERNATE REALITY SHOW

"If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat," he added.

WELL - THAT SEEMS FAIR AND BALANCED.

Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history."

CHECKOSLOVAKIAN HISTORY NO DOUBT

It has been well documented that the “awakening” he referred to got under way in September of 2006, close to four months before the surge policy was implemented. McCain himself used the in-progress Sunni uprising in January of 2007 to advocate the surge policy.

POOR OLD McNUGGET

Some Please tell McCain to get of the soap box, someone could use the wood. He needs more talking points besides iraq. I mean half the time he can't get the facts straight and the other half is so last year. We as a country need to look forward.

"If Barack Obama had had his way, the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda, and US forces would have already left Iraq in defeat," he added."

AND I THOUGHT CARL ROVE SKIPPED THIS CAMPAIGN.

Doesn't he have handlers that are supposed to feed him correct information? Between that and naming countries that haven't been countries for a while I'm surprised he gets anything right.

Dog bites man. They should wait until the McCain campaign goes an entire day without a gaffe, and then that would be big news.

I believe America will be great with Obama as it commander in thief.

So what's new you can pick out multiple McCain gaffs every day just watch the Daily Show or any late night talk show. McCain has replaced Bush as their bread and butter guy.

If Obama made a fundamental misunderstanding in the War such as this the media would be going nuts. McCain clearly is lying here or truely does not understand the Iraq war.

Either way he is in NO WAY qualified to be commander in chief.

It does not matter if the surge is working. I like the majority of most americans want our soldiers home on american soil as soon as possible . Obama offers us this withdrawl and mcwar wants us to stay until our grandchildren are dying in Iraq.

Notice how McCain side steps a simple question about whether he was incorrect in his suggesting a cause and effect relationship between "The Surge" and "The Anbar Awakening" (which began before the surge) to go on the attack about how the democrats want to disparage the troops by not wanting to falsely attribute to the surge an event that began BEFORE the surge. More mind blowing nonsense from the masters of spin and propaganda.

Logically, if you want to credit one event for influencing another event, the event you credit MUST COME BEFORE THE SECOND EVENT.
At least that's how things work in the universe most of us inhabit. Maybe, McCain found a worm hole to travel back in time to revise history.

If Barack Obama had his way, the war in Iraq would have never had happened, and 4000 brave GI's would be alive today. I would not say the surge was a success, because every time MCCain walks around Baghdad he always has a core of troops around to protect, and a few heavy armed helicopters above his head. Once McCain can walk around Iraq with out any military presence, that is when you can say the surge worked.
McCain wants to be in Iraq, not for the best interest of America, but for trying to save the Republicans from history. He is fighting for Bush's mistake in hopes the GOP will not be tied to the biggest mistake in American History.
McCain Is showing more and more each day with his 1970's cold war mentality that he is not really in touch on what is going on with the world. Every one with a brain knows the war on terror had nothing to do with Iraq. So finally violence has gone down a little in Iraq, whoopee! It only took six years in a war against a nation that did nothing to America on 9/11

John is making a lot of mistakes lately, whats next? can he be trusted to run the country given the huge gaffes he has been making? i shutter to think about what will happen to this country and the world given McCain's mental capacity….will we be able to trust McCain will not be confused as President like he has been confused as a candidate?

McCain has been making gaffes for the last three weeks. I think he's very confused and out of touch.

McCain's response includes another gaffe "the Sheiks who started the Awakening would have been murdered at the hands of al Qaeda". Look up Abu Risha, the prime founder of the movement, HE WAS MURDERED AT THE HANDS OF AL QAEDA. Just more proof of how absolutely clueless this guy is on world affairs.

McCain has the inability to process facts and logically convey them. And to think that the anti-Obama crowd is looking forward to McCain debating Obama. I feel sorry for McCain. I hope that McCain gets his wish fulfilled for media coverage. He will have a rude awakening when there are reports not of what he and his campaign propagandize, but his true lack of knowledge.

Watch out what you wish for… now, just one day after nearly begging the press for coverage, the McCain camp is canceling their only press conference of the week! It seems for some reason McCain want's to change the subject.

it's sad that the media completely ignores the moronic things mccain says. he is receiving absolutely no scrutiny when it comes to stuff like this. meanwhile the press is just waiting for obama to screw up.

and people say the media loves obama? no, they just want him to screw up so that they can cover it. and while they are obama watching, mccain can say whatever stupid thing he likes.

McCain…

If the surge really did work… why not bring our troops home????

Perhaps its because if US forces did leave Iraq would fall apart. So the surge in reality DID NOT work. The media never calls you out on that.

Come on CNN, tell the whole story - CBS covered for McWar by not airing the gaffe/mistake. It was found in a transcript posted on their website, but for the low info voters - they were treated to a cleaned up version. After all, the MSM are McWar's base, right.

Can you Immagine in a time of war a commander in thief sigh an executive order giving rights to it'scommanders in the fiels to direct a nuclear attak on an enemy and insted of telling to lunch and distroyed deluma say good jugments can you immagine the seriousness of loosing goods jugments the world will be mourning for a long time I am sure American will preserved and secure good jugment and whom who carry it so that He can not soffer no arm.God Bless America and Obama our future commander in chief and all Americans.

Both candidates can debate this issue ad nauseam as far as the general public is concerned. The surge certainly provided impetus for the current situation, however Iraqi leaders and their "behind the scenes" negotiations had just as much to do with getting to where we are. The fact is Obama is right, regardless of who or how the situation got to where it today, the Iraqi's will ultimately be, and need to now be, responsible for their failure or success. McClueless is a one-trick pony and this is his issue/stage to continue the scare tactics gwb used to so effectively to gain the trust and confidence necessary to win. Fortunately, hopefully we are a little more intelligent today than we were 8 years ago.

McSame is just like a Doctor saying the heart is located in the Abdomen. Is he really a doctor? That's a question the MSM need to point out. Some mistakes are tolerable and some are not.
He is clueless about Irak (does not know who we fighting nor what is the surge about) and I can bet anything that McCain can not name two provinces in Irak. he is clueless about the economy when people are loosing their jobs and gas and food price is rising( I blame him on the economy because he said himself he is clueless). he is clueless about everything. What kinda experience does he have concerning foreign affairs. AMERICA WAKE UP.
McSame just sit in the foreign affairs committee for 35 years and does not know the difference betwen Suni and chia and can't get the purpose or mission of the surge right? Come on don't fool me.

The Iraq situation is supposed to be McCain's strongest area of expertise, yet once again he gets a major fact wrong. The media plays along, calling them "gaffes", but many of his mistakes are more serious than that. A gaffe is mispronouncing the name of a foreign leader or referring to Czechoslovakia, not making fundamental errors. And how "straight talk" was his campaign's response, the non-correction correction? Also, I'm getting very worried about comments like "a transparent effort to minimize the role of our commanders and our troops in defeating the enemy". Only a liar or a fool could claim that pointing out a clear error/falsehood is somehow attacking the troops. Add that to his implication that Obama is specifically out to "lose the war" so he can win the election - i.e borderline treason - McCain is starting to run a campaign so dirty that it threatens the country. Too much more of this, and we may not be able to pull the nation back together, no matter who wins.

THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL FOREIGN POLICY EXPERIENCE??!!??!?:

McCain thinks Pakistan and Iraq and Pakistan share a border.

McCain thinks Czechoslovakia is still a country.

McCain claims we are victorious in Iraq, and then says we need to stay in Iraq to secure victory.

And now this.

Yep Johnny - you're nothing like Bush. You're worse.

if you asked McCain, he'd probably say that the death of Archduke Ferdinand led directly to the Treaty at Versailles.

Of course there was a World War in between there, but hey, who's counting?

To say that the Awakening Councils and the Sadrist Cease Fire had nothing to do with violence dropping in Iraq shows an extreme lack of understanding of the situation. Adding more Soliders probably did help out the situation, but would it have done as much without the other factors? Probably not. Believe me, I was there twice. We cannot be on every street corner babysitting Iraqis, they will have to figure this out themselves. The wrong answer is to simpify everything down to one black and white answer and wave the flag in the face of everyone who disagrees. This from John McCain, someone who claims his strength is foreign policy.

Here is another way to phrase McCain's last statement: "If Barack Obama had had his way…", a lot of good Soldiers would still be alive, the Iraqis might have stepped up to the plate sooner (as they started to in Basra) and we might be well on our way to disengagement from Iraq, which is really what we all want, right?

Gaffe, gaffe, gaffe…is that some kind of old man disease? Time for old men to turn the leadership over to the young men…and women!

Hey McBrainless, yer 70+ years old. Retire already! You ain't got NOTHIN' new to add for our children's and grandchildren's inheritance. Yer buddy W already screwed 'em with the 6 years of war. And you wanna make it 100 years? FYI.

It's not a mere "gaffe" or one of his senior moments (like not knowing that a country in Europe hasn't existed for 15 years), this demonstrates that McCain simply doesn't KNOW something that is basic to what's going on in Iraq today.

What do you expect from a son and grandson of an admiral who barely made it thrrough the Naval Academy with a rank of 894 out of 899? That's nearly the bottom one-tenth of one percent.

We don't need any more failures as president.

How typical McBush, McSTUPID, McLIE to the people of Gramps. Lies won't work, not this time.

Calling you out.

thanks for changing your header from "McCain charged with making Iraq gaffe" to McCain makes Iraq gaffe" because he did make a gaffe.

Proof positive that being a POW does not automatically give him a corner on being an expert on military expertise.

The multi-headed beast has finally regained its equilibrium and has agreed to attack the good Senator Obama with non-stop requests for him to admit that the "surge" is the penultimate reason for "victory" in Iraq. The beast was knocked off balance when all of Barack Obama's foreign policy ideas have been proven to be correct. His trip is already a success even if he does nothing more. The glowing reviews and hope in the eyes of our troops and our foreign allies when seeing Obama have made the beast sick to its stomach and the panic button has been pushed. After goading Sen. Obama into making this trip, the McCain camp is on the verge of total meltdown. Sen. McCain has even gone so far as to accuse the Democratic nominee of treason. Meanwhile the beast has allied itself heart and soul to the McCain campaign and the preservation of a corrupt status quo. At every stop of his tour, a different head of the beast will attack Sen. Obama with "the surge" and continue to miseducate the public about the true description of a Commander-in-chief's duties. The beast can not admit its cowardice in the lead up to this disastrous war for oil and corporate greed because in the last few decades, the beast has become so intermingled that there is no discernible difference. The beast's next attack will be to say that Sen. Obama is attacking and hates our troops because he is not giving the "surge" the 100% credit that it believes it deserves. All other factors must be ignored and marginalized or as Sen. McCain did last night in his interview–lied about. The troops love Sen. Obama and they know that he doesn't want them to be mired in an endless police action of an imperialist colony. I pray everyday that the beast has underestimated the intelligence and goodness of the American people.

Hmmmm…..I just noticed that John McCain is NOT wearing a flag pin in this photo…..does that mean he is NOT patriotic?

So…. for all the talking-in-circles BLATHER at the end of the article…
what still stares McCain and his campaign in the face is that he gaffed yet again… In McCain's own words ; "its a matter of history"

that

It has been well documented that the “awakening” he referred to got under way in September of 2006, close to four months BEFORE the surge policy was implemented.

(SEE… when you take the time to cut thru the dizzying republican spin, you can actually FIND the all important TRUTH).

Leave this Grumpy old-man alone.

Who knows, it may be early signs of Alzheimers.

Get him some drugs for Alzheimers disease, instead of attacking him.

War-mongers for McCain arise !!!
Fear-mongers for McCain arise !!!
NeoCons for McCain arise !!!

your candidate needs help.

McCain is NOT COMPETENT TO BE COMMANDER IN CHIEF - he makes mistake after mistake and this is starting indicate a pattern of not getting facts right.

another day another blunder from McCains staff—its like a comedy of errors from this guy…but no his age has nothing to do with it

tell me again about how iraq and pakistan share a border

Gag!!! What lies thye love to dispense. Who supported the GI Bill of Sen. Webb's? You guys are laighable!

The thing is.. the surge wouldn't have been needed if we hadn't gone to war in Iraq in the first place. Misinformation, lies, and fear brought us to Iraq. Surge or not, we should have never been there to begin with!! It's null to even argue with Obama over the surge.

I am a former United States Army officer that served 2 tours in Iraq. I am also an Academy Graduate (West Point) like McCain. I truly respect John McCains service to this country as a member of the United States Navy and a POW in Vietnam. However, that does not qualify him to be president of the United States. Becoming a president of the United States is not a reward for service but a call for inspirational, intelligent, energetic and sound leadership. McCain does not possess those leadership qualities. He has never possessed those qualities. He, like Senator Obama, has no presidential experience. Neither candidate has been president before, so I don't understand the presidential experience argument. The best example of how they would perform as president is to see how they run their campaigns. In that respect, there is no contest. Obama has run an excellent, well coordinated, financially sound campaign and McCain has not. McCain has fired many of his campaign staff and has been many millions of dollars in the hole prior to rebounding financially. I know many officers that have actually commanded combat units that run rings around McCain from a military strategy and tactics standpoint. He has never held a high level command. So, I don't understand the points that many people are making. He has served in a lower level officer in the military (like I have), served as a POW and has been in the Senate. That is it folks. The experience is a wash. The key questions are can he manage, can he inspire, can he lead, can he make sound decisions, does he have poise, is he respected throughout the world? I would have to say that the answer to the majority of these questions is no.

I fail to see how this is a gaffe. Prior to the surge, we were forced into a strategy of securing a neighborhood, and then withdrawing our troops to cover some other area. That is what happened in Fallujah and why we fought two battles there: we kicked all the insurgents out the first time, but then our troops had to deploy elsewhere and the insurgents came back. Sen. McCain is exactly right: because of the surge, we were able to leave USMC forces in western Anbar to support the sheikhs. Otherwise, our forces were most likely going to be repositioned in the continual cat and mouse game we were in. The surge, even if it came a few months after that initial overture, allowed the Marines to remain in place in most of Anbar while the additional Army combat brigades took care of eastern Anbar and the "mixing bowl" south of Baghdad. The surge did not cause that individual sheikh to approach the Marines, but the surge enabled those efforts to succeed and is a big reason why so many other sheihks joined the Awakening Councils.

John McCain, good sir, either you are lying or you are losing your wits.

So Mr. Bounds are you calling Obama a Murderer with intentions? Let's tone down the debate here, they are getting way to personal. The debate is losing its focus.

And John McCain is supposed to be an expert on the Iraq war. I can't believe the main stream media is allowing these gaffs from Senator McCain to continue without calling him on these vital issues.

It also tells me that the interviewer is not up on their history of the war because they do not challenge Senator McCain when he makes these gaffs. Why are we allowing him to hide? He is NOT an expert on the war and heaven help us if he gets elected.

All you mothers out there, if Senator McCain is elected, prepare your sons to do battle in Iran………….what an awful person, that John McCain!

How has McCain's alchimers progressed? Oh, he made another false comment. It seems that he can't differentiate bettween September and January. That's just sad. And some people acctually think that McCain would be a good leader.

Why is this article so far down?

This is not a gaffe, it was a lie! McCain is suppose to be an expert on the surge and the war yet he gets the facts wrong…..this is what happens when you are too busy attacking and not talking about what you can do.

So Obama is saying that the surge didn't really work at all. I guess he knows because he just visited Iraq and walked around and saw all the attacks happening.

Barack is an ignorant deadbeat. Bring his uncle in who served with the Soviets!

We cannot afford a President who consistently fails to keep important facts straight. McCain is dangerous, and must NOT be elected!

Its obvious that the Republican "lies machine" is in full swing. I'm afraid Americans will buy it as they always do. Keeping it simple and distorting the truth or telling bold face lies works with the American voters. (mostly older and white) This is the same formula that has been used over and over and it works. God gave these people a brain and they are afraid to use it to understand the complexities of the Middle East.

CNN, I was up earlier today, and this was not posted at 8:30 am or it was posted then removed. I did finally see this article posted at the top of the ticker at about 11:15 am then moved back down the list.

If you keep the post up long enough, maybe you would get more responses. Thanks.

Let's look at some real measures of success