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You are here: Home / Politics / We Dodged a Bullet

We Dodged a Bullet

by John Cole|  June 16, 20095:54 pm| 36 Comments

This post is in: Politics, Clown Shoes

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Joe Klein:

For two years now, John McCain has been entirely consistent on Iran: every last statement he’s made–at least, those that I’ve seen–has been (a) fabulously uninformed and (b) dangerously bellicose. He’s still at it, apparently. There is no question that President Obama’s more prudent path is the correct one right now. There is also no question that the neoconservatives are trying to gin up this situation into an excuse for not engaging with the Iranian government in the near future–and also as a rationale for their dearest, looniest dream, war with Iran.

***

The point is, neoconservatives like McCain and Wehner just can’t seem to quit their dangerous habit of making broad, extreme statements based on ideology rather than detailed knowledge of the situation in Iran and elsewhere. This was always the main problem with McCain’s candidacy–he would have been a trigger-happy President, just as Wehner’s old boss, George W. Bush, was. We are well out of that.

You really do have to read McCain’s twitters to get a sense of how rambling and incoherent his line of thought is on the current Iranian situation, and we really dodged a bullet with the last election. If he and the Wasilla wingnut were in office right now, the US strategery would continue to be formulated by former Weekly Standard interns, McCain would be making all sorts of foolish bellicose statements and probably would be moving troops in Iraq to the Iranian border, all while Palin would be issuing vague statements about being able to see Tehran from her house while praising the Iranian focus on abstinence-only education.

*** Update ***

See also. Consensus view is we dodged a bullet.

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Reader Interactions

36Comments

  1. 1.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 16, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    That wasn’t a bullet. It was more like an intercontinental ballistic missile. And – first!

    Go Pens!

  2. 2.

    REN

    June 16, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Vice President Palin. Makes my blood run cold.

  3. 3.

    TenguPhule

    June 16, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    If he and the Wasilla wingnut were in office right now, the US strategery would continue to be formulated by former Weekly Standard interns Canada would have invaded in the name of common decency to stop the Wasilla wingnut from nuking the Middle East

    Fixed.

  4. 4.

    JL

    June 16, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Chris Matthews is making sense! Laura’s boyfriend is convinced that McCain would not be spewing about bombing Iran if he were president. Yeah right.

  5. 5.

    TenguPhule

    June 16, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    Vice President Palin. Makes my blood run cold.

    Fixed.

    Let’s be honest, McCain wouldn’t have been allowed to live past the opening oaths.

  6. 6.

    Roger Moore

    June 16, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    If he and the Wasilla wingnut were in office right now, the US strategery tactics would continue to be formulated by former Weekly Standard interns,

    If McAngry were in charge, there would be no strategy, only tactics. And most of those tactics would be to do the first thing that popped into the President’s head without bothering to think about any consequences, even short term ones.

  7. 7.

    HyperIon

    June 16, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    You really do have to read McCain’s twitters to get a sense of how rambling and incoherent his line of thought is on the current Iranian situation

    No, I don’t think I have to read them to get that sense. I followed the campaign pretty closely last summer. Batshit insane then. Zero reason to assume he is no longer batshit insane.

  8. 8.

    linda

    June 16, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    the dude is amazing … obama swatting flies:

    http://gawker.com/5293031/barack-obama-fly+killing-badass?autoplay=true

  9. 9.

    MattF

    June 16, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    In electing Obama, we dodged a hail of bullets– and it’s a fact that one of them was named John McCain. McCain has always (always!) shown that combination of privilege and recklessness. Acceptable, I guess, in a Senator– but fatal for a President.

  10. 10.

    Comrade Stuck

    June 16, 2009 at 6:14 pm

    Tweet for the Apocalypse.

    new Neocon slogan.

  11. 11.

    Scott

    June 16, 2009 at 6:16 pm

    I get the impression that McCain would’ve nuked Iran in his first week, Iraq (including US troops) in his second, Georgia in his third, and Paul Krugman in his fourth.

    After that, Palin would get her shot at the button.

  12. 12.

    robertdsc

    June 16, 2009 at 6:22 pm

    Vice President Palin. Makes my blood run cold.

    Even my starburstism can’t overcome my agreement with you.

  13. 13.

    Joshua Norton

    June 16, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    We may have dodged that bullet, but the wingnut crazies obviously have a lot more left in their belt.

  14. 14.

    SGEW

    June 16, 2009 at 6:28 pm

    @linda: That video adds even more evidence that Obama is a cyborg from the future sent back to kill us all. Open your eyes sheeples!

  15. 15.

    Mister Papercut

    June 16, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    @linda:

    http://gawker.com/5293031/barack-obama-fly+killing-badass?autoplay=true

    You beginner luck. Hmph.

  16. 16.

    jayackroyd

    June 16, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Funny. I don’t think so. McCain has the advantage of being powerless. I doubt (not sure, because of batshit crazy Bush) that McCain would have taken this kind of line if he were president.

    It IS appalling, so appalling that treason comes to mind, that he would deal out this counterproductive nonsense. But as prez I doubt even he would have been able to buck the career people on this.

  17. 17.

    Chuck Butcher

    June 16, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    And Republicans are supposed to be strong on national security and foreign policy?

  18. 18.

    slag

    June 16, 2009 at 6:46 pm

    Iran…Iran…isn’t that about where the Iraq/Pakistan border is?

  19. 19.

    Hob

    June 16, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    @jayackroyd: But “not sure because of batshit crazy Bush” is enough to refute your whole point. Plenty of people knew in 2000 that Bush was at best incredibly ignorant, but they figured he’d be surrounded by competent “career people” who would do his job for him. Among those were Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. McCain, during his campaign, surrounded himself with advisors who made Cheney and Rumsfeld look smart.

  20. 20.

    jake 4 that 1

    June 16, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    That was no bullet, that was an A-4 Skyhawk.

  21. 21.

    Keith G

    June 16, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    You really do have to read McCain’s twitters to get a sense of how….

    I’m guessing that it will not be long before Congressional chiefs of staff take control of their boss’s Titter accounts.

    Not a good idea to have these idjits permanently “on the record”.

  22. 22.

    geg6

    June 16, 2009 at 7:02 pm

    Anyone who assumes that McCain would have been stopped from bombing Iran, exactly as he stated he would during the campaign, by some sort of careerists in the Pentagon or DoD or State must have been in a cave or was not paying attention over the last 8 years.

  23. 23.

    Tsulagi

    June 16, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    I dunno, I thought if McCain had become prez he would have dialed back the base crowd pleasing loony every Pub candidate now has to dance to to get past the primaries. But on Iraq and Iran he has long been in the tard pool.

    Single bullet? If McCain/Palin had won I’m thinking that weapon would more likely be on burst. And if McCain face planted in office, shit, we’d be doing Neo impersonations trying to dodge all the bullets.

  24. 24.

    Tonal Crow

    June 16, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    McCain (shaking): “Uhhh, I’m not ssss-sure about this stttu-fff. It tttt-tastes ffff-funny.”

    Palin (smiling her most oily): “Now John, drink your tea. Dr. Frist said it’s just what you need. Why, you’re looking sooooo much better since he prescribed it.”

    McCain: “I’m soooo cccc-confused.”

    Palin: “Oh, that’s too bad.”

    McCain: “I tttt-think you’ll hhhh-have to tttt-tttt-tttt-take over, hhhh-hotlips.”

    Palin: “I got the papers all ready. Now finish your tea, and we’ll take care of bidness. You betcha, honey.”

  25. 25.

    DZ

    June 16, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    @linda

    Bug squashing is the preferred term. LOL

  26. 26.

    chopper

    June 16, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    @linda:

    that’s rad, but what a fucking slow news day.

  27. 27.

    gbear

    June 16, 2009 at 8:16 pm

    dodged a bullet

    Maybe better not to use that phrase when talking about the current presidency. Just sayin…

    @linda:
    Great clip, but I don’t even want to think about where the neanderthals are going to go with that.

  28. 28.

    Slugger

    June 16, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    Message for Sen. McCain:

    Shut up, the grownups are talking!

  29. 29.

    DeadlyShoe

    June 16, 2009 at 8:50 pm

    what the hell happened to joe klein

    did he have a stroke or something

    he’s written a number of sensible, responsible things in the past year

    maybe he’s been replaced by a doppleganger

  30. 30.

    HY

    June 16, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    Actually, there was an article on the public radio program The World a year or two back about how progressive the Iranians are in terms of public education of women, especially, about condom use. They recruit religious women (so people can’t criticize the program as encouraging immorality) who hold gathering demonstrating on–something, I guess–how to use one. The idea is to reduce the spread of HIV, which has been rising because of shared needles. Also, birth control is acceptable in Islam so there’s not that objection.

  31. 31.

    malraux

    June 17, 2009 at 12:23 am

    @jayackroyd: Since I started following politics and heard that McCain was the moderate reasonable republican, I’ve noticed 2 basic tendencies. To either vote against legislation for some reason (not focused enough, too many riders, too much spending, etc) unless there were two competing pieces of legislation in which case he’d always pick the cheaper plan, regardless of effectiveness. Second, to always vote and advocate for a more bellicose approach to international relations, specifically focusing on escalating military engagement. I don’t see why he’d change his mind in the WH.

  32. 32.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    June 17, 2009 at 2:51 am

    Someone explain to the Republicans that the US has already had its war with Iran. It went on through most of the 1980s, and used your man Saddam Hussein as a proxy. You lost; get over it.

  33. 33.

    Chuck Butcher

    June 17, 2009 at 2:55 am

    @malraux:

    McCain was the moderate reasonable republican,

    Aaahahahahaha, lots of people tell lies, believing them in absence of fact is another thing altogether.

  34. 34.

    bob h

    June 17, 2009 at 6:17 am

    And imagine where we would be on the economy, which now seems to be starting to recover. McCain would have fired Christopher Cox, and not much else. Another bullet.

  35. 35.

    Richard Stanczak

    June 17, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    In the link to Andrew Olmsted’s blog, he is using the fact that the Iranians were;

    and claiming a tally for millions of paper ballots within a mere three hours of polls closing, etc.

    As proof that the election was rigged. Here in Canada our elections are all by paper ballot. They all report in within a couple hours of the polls closing. All you need is a large number of polling stations and a large number of counters. I have actually done it before. It was amazing to me how quickly we were finished. That included time in arguing over some spoiled ballots too.

    Look, most all advanced democracies do not need seven months [and counting] to decide a simple election. Maybe you guys should ask the Iranians for some help.

  36. 36.

    Richard Stanczak

    June 17, 2009 at 3:45 pm

    In the link to Andrew Olmsted’s blog, he is using the fact that the Iranians were;

    and claiming a tally for millions of paper ballots within a mere three hours of polls closing, etc.

    As proof that the election was rigged. Here in Canada our elections are all by paper ballot. They all report in within a couple hours of the polls closing. All you need is a large number of polling stations and a large number of counters. I have actually done it before. It was amazing to me how quickly we were finished. That included time in arguing over some spoiled ballots too.

    Look, most all advanced democracies do not need seven months [and counting] to decide a simple election. Maybe you guys should ask the Iranians for some help.

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