Oct 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
McCain and Eisenhower
During the debates, John McCain told a story that underscored the need for accountability in public officials. Before the Normandy invasion, he said, Dwight Eisenhower wrote two letters. One praising the troops for their success, and the other a letter of resignation from the Army taking responsibility for the failure. In fact, neither of Ike’s letters mentioned resignation. A small error, but a telling one for a campaign that misstates a lot of things. The error was widely noted, and you would think McCain would stop repeating the false story. But no! Here he was this morning on Morning Joe:
Why do this? An accurate recounting of the story still makes the point about responsibility.
30 Responses to “McCain and Eisenhower”
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October 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Facts are SOOOOOOOO elitist! Look, over there, a pointy head!
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Maybe, but it wouldn’t be as truthy.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
like the old saying goes: you can’t teach an old douchebag new facts.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 am
Like my younger brother, he’s a serial exaggerator. Only my brother stopped when he was 15.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
From interview with Des Moines Register
POW
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:42 am
If McCain were not a serial liar, I’d chalk this up to being one of those “print the legend” stories. But he is, so I won’t.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
The resignation story has been around for awhile, because I know I’ve heard it before. It may have been from my high school history teacher (circa 1969). Another one of those history legends that turn out to be not quite true.
But McCain obviously needs some better fact checkers. Or maybe he doesn’t care.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:52 am
Lies and misstatements are common in politics – I don’t know why this is surprising to anyone. More remarkable, in my estimation, is why McCain keeps identifying himself with Eisenhower. He’s got the vote of “America’s greatest generation” (witness my sarcasm) locked in, regardless of what he says at this point. Why he’s not trying to win over more swing voters, middle age or younger voters who are on the edge and who have no memory of Eisenhower, is beyond me.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:54 am
Don’t you see? This would be even better for McCain. He can take responsibility for whatever, but also continue on to win the presidency. Eisenhower knew that the best course for the war was with him in charge. McCain knows something similar. It reinforces his beliefs even more.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Possibly a deliberate lie, but to be more charitable: McCain simply does not have a nimble brain. It’s sluggish to adjust when confronted with information that conflicts what he’s previously decided is true.
He’s old. There’s no getting around it. He’s like my grandfather who, when he hears a joke, only ‘gets’ it five minutes after the punch line.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 am
I, for one, find that anecdote terrifying. If he screws up, he’s going to resign and stick us with Palin? WTF?
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
I think Susan’s point is dead on – “We need more leaders like Dwight David Eisenhower” – leaving 80% of listeners wondering whether Barack Obama or Sarah Palin is more like Ike.
Further, what’s the obsession with resignation after failure? Like calling for Chris Cox’s resignation? Would it really be good to have a headless SEC right now? Or a leadership vacuum in the military after losing a major invasion? Is that leadership, or just another form of cowardice? I know I’m supposed to try my hardest to make things better whenever anything goes wrong, and even though I may get fired eventually, quitting as soon as possible doesn’t help my investors, co-workers, etc.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
Sounds to me like McCain is a messenger-killer. He hates bad news. Just watch the tape of him with the Des Moines Register.
No one his staff is suicidal enough to tell him he pulled a gaffe, even a minor one.
Wait until Palin tells him she’s had enough of national politics and wants to go back to Alaska!
)
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
Someone should remind McCain that Eisenhower was more liberal than Bill Clinton. His warnings about the military-industrial complex are not exactly what you hear from today’s standard Republican.
He was also the last American President to come down heavily on Israel, when it invaded Egypt in 1956. Contrast his handling of the Hungarian revolt (also in 1956) with Bush-Cheney’s handling of the Georgian crisis.
In my view, it would not be a bad idea for the GOP to return to the Republicanism of Eisenhower (very much a forgotten and underrated President).
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:23 am
McCain was almost right. One letter praised the troops, one letter announced his resignation, one letter cautioned about the Military-Industrial Complex, and the last warned us to never, ever elect a brainwashed former POW.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 am
Yep, say what you will about Biden’s historical slip-up, but at least he didn’t keep repeating it.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
Because it’s a followup to his grandstanding about how SEC Chairman Cox should resign.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
McCain is absolutely right – we *do* need more leaders like Dwight David Eisenhower! McCain, however, is in no way a leader like Dwight David Eisenhower.
I am not sure McCain is deliberately lying, I think it is more a matter of him just having a fondness for old war stories. Those tend to be embellished over time, and McCain certainly dwells in an embellished state of entitlement.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I think we all remember how proud we were when Senator McCain bravely took responsibility for his role in the “Keating Five” scandal and resigned from the Senate.
Or maybe I’m misremembering my history, better look it up!
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I disagree. I think saying he wrote a letter in which he took full responsibility for the failure of the invasion is much, much weaker then saying Eisenhower wrote a letter in which he offered his resignation if the invasion failed. The first is just meaningless words. The s4econd is backing up your words with actions.
I’m pretty sure McCain, and his campaign people, know this. They figure the press, for the most part, won’t call them on this, and even if a few people do McCain can just say they are mistaken and he is always truthful and it just becomes a he said she said issue. Unless the majority of the press starts reporting on McCain’s lying problem there’s really no downside for the McCain campaign in doing this and a huge upside.
Of course, that begs the question of why the press still isn’t doing it’s job, but that’s a whole different issue from whether it makes sense for McCain to continue this lie, which I think it does (barring some actual, y’know, ethical standards).
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Reality has a liberal bias. Really!:http://www.conservapedia.com/Reality
Myself, I thought McCain was going for the old joke about the new CEO who walks into his office to find three sealed envelopes on his desk labeled “Open me at the first crisis,” “Open me a the second crisis”, and “Open me at the third crisis.”
But that’s not the direction he went.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
He’s on a roll.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Maybe McCain is telling the truth and Ike is lying.
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