Why the media is not shining a bright spotlight on these huge lapses by Sen. John McCain is beyond the belief of this writer.  This person is auditioning to run this country for petes sake!!!!  Sen. John McCain has consistently demonstrated his inability to keep track of world events, names, places, past positions, and past statements.  Just last week, McCain released security information regarding Obama’s Middle East trip!  Such a slip is unprecedented in presidential politics, yet the main stream media continues to ignore or treat such gaffes as insignificant.  The MSM continues to rely on McCain’s lengthy history in the Senate and POW status as proof of his competency for the job of President of the United States of America. Yesterday, the Senator accused Obama of wanting “to lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”  Unprecedented!  No presidential candidate in history has ever accused another candidate of such nefariousness. Once, maybe twice, but McCain’s continuous memory lapses, or confusion, or blatant untruths, or all of the above, are causing serious doubts as to whether he is capable of being the next leader of the free world. 

And the latest is a DOOZY! 

In an interview last night with CBS anchor Katie Couric, John McCain made a huge blunder while claiming that Barack Obama does not understand foreign policy.  The IRONY!!!!!

Couric: Senator McCain, Sen. Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?

McCain: I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane (phonetic) was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. 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. Thanks to General Petraeus, our leadership, and the sacrifice of brave young Americans. I mean, to deny that their sacrifice didn’t make possible the success of the surge in Iraq, I think, does a great disservice to young men and women who are serving and have sacrificed.

They were out there. They were protecting these sheiks. We had the Anbar awakening. We now have a government that’s effective. We have a legal system that’s working, although poorly. And we have progress on all fronts, including an incredible measure of security for the people of Iraq. There will still be attacks. Al Qaeda’s not defeated. But the progress has been immense. And to not recognize that, and why it happened, and how it happened, I think is really quite a commentary.

Senator McCain says that it was the SURGE that BEGAN the Anbar Awakening. Well Senator, the Anbar Awakening BEGAN in 2006 and the SURGE did not happen until 2007.  This is a basic fact that even a congressional page is able to grasp.  Yet McCain is unable to recall this basic timeline to make his faulty point that Obama does not understand the significance of the SURGE.  McCain has been pushing how he was right about the SURGE and it is because of the SURGE that violence in Iraq has decreased.  The problem is….McCain seems to have lost track of when the SURGE began.  Had he recalled the proper order of events he may have realized that his point was built on a faulty premise.  The McCain campaign attempts damage control by claiming that McCain’s explanation is in line with General Petraeus’ explanation.  However, Petraeus said that the Anbar Awakening began in 2006 and that the SURGE may have helped the process when it began in 2007.  Had McCain consulted with Gen. Petraeus, like he accuses Obama of not doing, about how and when the Anbar Awakening began, Petraeus could have explained to him that the Awakening began way before even he, Petraeus, came onto the scene and thus at least six months before the SURGE happened.  Side note to Joe Scarborough: apparently you think that viewers should substitute your judgment for that of  Gen. Petraeus.  Scarborough claimed that like the Invasion of Normandi helped during World War II, the SURGE helped the war in Iraq, and it was only the SURGE that caused conditions on the ground to improve.  Wrong.  Your conclusion is incorrect on its face but lets get to the point.  Mr. Scarborough, that is not what John McCain claimed.  And in your failure to grasp the gaffe, you are attempting to introduce a red herring to the argument.  The gaffe is that McCain said that the SURGE BEGAN the Anbar Awakening, not that it helped.  That my friend is a BLUNDER because the ANBAR Awakening BEGAN a year earlier.  Your smug disengeniousness tells this writer that you are attempting to change the focus in order to change the narrative….cover up?  Nice try.

Lets discuss an even bigger story.  Why did CBS fail to report on such a significant gaffe?  CBS edited out McCain’s original response from the video and replaced it with a different answer given by McCain in response to a completely different question.  However,  CBS neglected to delete the Arizona senator’s original response to the question from the transcript. Why would CBS  not report on such a blunder?  Incompetence? Cover-up? I look forward to hearing the network’s explanation. This is irresponsible and incompetent journalism at best and duplicitous at worst.  Absolutely UNBELIEVABLE! 

Write to CBS to express your outrage and demand an explanation.

CBS Email: evening@cbsnews.com

As for McCain, Sen. McCain goaded Obama for weeks to go to the Middle East in his effort to set a trap for the Illinois senator.  Turns out that thus far the trip has been a boon for Obama and backfired on McCain.  The McCain campaign and the RIGHT has been ”whining” all week about the amount of press coverage Sen. Obama is receiving.  Looks like McCain is the candidate that has been caught up during Obama’s Middle East trip.  This is the person whose alleged grasp of foreign affairs and basic political facts has never been questioned or tested, just ASSUMED.

So the Right and the McCain campaign want more media attention on its candidate, this writer agrees.  John McCain definitely needs more media attention and scrutiny.  Message to the McCain campaign……..be careful about what you wish for.

UPDATE x1:  So, the McCain campaign cancelled its press availability for today without giving a reason.  I wonder what happened (snark)?? Ben Smith from Politico notes possible reasons:

He hasn’t explained what he meant by juggling the timeline on the surge and Awakening (though his staff did the best salvage job possible); whether he meant that Obama was deliberately selling out the country; whether he shares his campaign’s grievance with the press; or what he thinks of his staff’s genocide-themed attack.

UPDATE x2:  Apparently, CBS has decided to imploy the don’t believe your lying eyes defense.  Today the network released the following statement in response to the charge of unethical and deceitful journalism. CBS News Senior Vice President Paul Friedman said:

The report was edited under extreme time constraints and one piece of tape was put in the wrong order. Fortunately, this did not in any way distort what Senator McCain was saying.

To claim that its editing did not in any way distort McCain’s answer is insulting to its viewers.

Roll the tape…….Nuff said.