Matthew Yglesias » Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Aug 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

John McCain deems the Georgia-Russia war the “first serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War”:

Satyam notes “the Gulf War, 9/11, and the Iraq War, to name a few” as possible alternatives. But beyond McCain’s seemingly poor memory, the interesting thing is the confusion in terms of high-level concepts. It was just a little while ago that McCain was giving speeches about how “the threat of radical Islamic terrorism” is “transcendent challenge of our time.” Now Russia seems to be the transcendent challenge. Which is the problem with an approach to world affairs characterized by a near-constant hysteria about threat levels and a pathological inability to set priorities.

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25 Responses to “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”

El Cid Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:26 am
How dare you question John McCain’s integritude?
cleek Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:29 am
imagine, just imagine…., the screaming white-hot outrage we’d see if Obama said this.

it would be the only topic discussed on TV for a week. Obama would end up having to apologize to everyone touched by GW I, GW II, 9/11, etc.. it would be clear proof that Obama doesn’t take terrorism seriously, that he puts his campaign before his country, etc..

thankfully, the liberal media knows better than to impugn John 5 AND A HALF YEARS!!! McCain.

sometimes i know what it must be like to be Bob Somerby
Anthony Damiani Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Holy shit.
Is it possible that he actually IS losing it?

I mean, I know he’s out of touch– but I kinda just chalked up most of his gaffes to being sloppy, a little old, a little insulated, and having a habit of making unprepared, off-the-cuff remarks in an environment where every little thing he says gets recorded.

I’m beginning to think it’s worse.
ed Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Good grief, McCain just keeps making ads for Obama.
west coast Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
It’s personality: Arrogance and ignorance punctuated by moments of panic and blame. Out here in Hollywood we see it all the time.
west coast Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
It’s personality: Arrogance and ignorance punctuated by moments of panic and blame. Out here in Hollywood we see it all the time.
stefan Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Well, you could chalk it up to honesty:

GW I and GW II, 9/11 and the Taliban, as well as Irak weren’t actually crises for the US, with small and not very powerful opponents, and not that much downside (what is Iraq actually going to do to us?). Going up against Russia, on the other hand, is serious. Not like invading Iraq or Afghanistan.

A fight with Iraq isn’t an existential threat for the US. A fight with Russia has more potential.
Jared Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hmmm…So how long is it going to take until the emails start going around about how Obama is a secret Russian?
steve duncan Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Damn, I was reading somewhere this morning the transcendent challenge of our times was getting engineers laid.
max Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I am thinking here that the McCain campaign has decided that the best way to win is for McCain to become de facto President and then for him to run a Rose Garden strategy.

He’s not running for Bush’s third term, he IS Bush and he’s running for reelection.

Bush is probably too high to notice.

max
[’I think the new slogan is ‘Nevermind All That Right Now, There’s a Crisis!’.']
David W. Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Serious how? There’s little difference militarily between Russia sending tanks into Chechnya and tanks into Georgia. Sure, politically there’s a difference, but in terms of a threat to the U.S. nothing has changed.
joe from Lowell Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 11:13 am
John McCain is campaigning with an old playbook.

He still thinks that any discussion of foreign or military policy will work to the Republicans’ benefit; and he still thinks he can say anything he wants and the press will go along, because he’s a Republican talking about war-stuff.

He’s made it up to the 21st century, but only to 2002 or so.
cleek Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 11:15 am
He still thinks that any discussion of foreign or military policy will work to the Republicans’ benefit; and he still thinks he can say anything he wants and the press will go along, because he’s a Republican talking about war-stuff.

well, he’s right
Trevor Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Anything his neocon handlers have conniption fits about is the spastic imperative of the day. Tomorrow, if an escaped black panther from the Bronx Zoo tore David Brooks a new one - McCain would have Lieberman by his side announcing that “The transcendent challenge of our time is stopping the barbaric escalation in black anti-semitism.”
toasterhead Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I’ve already explained McCain’s statement in the TP thread. Obviously Mr. Yglesias has never heard of quantum conflict eigenstates.
Rob Mac Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 11:55 am
He still thinks that any discussion of foreign or military policy will work to the Republicans’ benefit; and he still thinks he can say anything he wants and the press will go along, because he’s a Republican talking about war-stuff.

Sadly, he’s not wrong. But someone needs to tell McCain how you pronounce “Abkhazia.”
david Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Maybe he’s planning on picking Bush for VP (and then dying).

max Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I am thinking here that the McCain campaign has decided that the best way to win is for McCain to become de facto President and then for him to run a Rose Garden strategy.

He’s not running for Bush’s third term, he IS Bush and he’s running for reelection.
Retief Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Perhaps McCain meant “the greatest crisis for some time.”

Edmund: Er, yes, right. Gentlemen, right… (reads from Harry’s notes) As you know, today we face the gravest crisis this country has known since the Roman invasion.

(They all make sounds of protest: “Nonsense!”; “Rubbish!”; etc.)

Lord 1: What about the Viking invasion?

Lord 2: …and the Norman invasion?

Angus: …and the Swiss invasion?

Edmund: Er, well, the greatest crisis for some time.
M Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
You should have said that the Cold War as end-point is arbitrary? Was the end of the Cold War a crisis? Or did JMc merely want to link this crisis to the Cold War?

Plus, he said Abskaya, for Abkhazia. A Bushism.
Vivisfugue Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
The end of the Cold War was a crisis-a crisis to Republican and military-industrial self-esteem, and the history of the last 15 years has been the story of their efforts to assuage their terror at having no enemy to justify themselves.
renee Says:
August 16th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I am amused; it only happens in the US, first you elect a drunken idiot now you cheer for a Vietnam traitor with a bad memory.
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