John McCain is having a rough week. Not only was he panned for trying to steal Barack Obama's thunder by lifelessly reading a teleprompter in front of the big green monster, but he's introduced a few gaffes along the way. Thankfully, we have the modern miracle of Youtube, so you can enjoy these priceless slip ups again and again. Try to keep up.
Let Them Drink Hot Water
During his New Orleans speech, McCain promised to deliver 'hot water' to dehydrated infants. A quick look at the prepared speech shows that McCain actually inserted the word "hot" on the fly.
The prepared version: "We should be able to deliver bottled water to dehydrated babies and rescue the infirm from a hospital with no electricity."
McCain's War On Beer
Perhaps thinking of his wife's family fortune, McCain accidentally promised to veto all earmark-filled beers. Actually, I'd support that policy.
A Google
Bush taught us how to use "the Google." Now we have the McCain version, which explains his VP vetting process:
"We're going through a process where you get a whole bunch of names, and ya ... Well, basically, it's a Google," McCain said. "You just, you know, what you can find out now on the Internet. It's remarkable, you know."
The Non-Denial Denial Denial
So, first McCain gently chides the press for their treatment of Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary, saying "The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans." No big deal there, until a reporter from Newsweek asks McCain about the statement, which he then flatly denied making:
"I did not [say that] -- that was in prepared remarks, and I did not [say it] -- I'm not in the business of commenting on the press and their coverage or not coverage."
The McCain camp, realizing their candidate had created an elaborate story that hinged on a blatant falsehood, came up with a brilliant explanation: he didn't say, even though we admit that he said it:
Presented with video showing that the GOP nominee did in fact read the remarks as they were prepared, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said Newsweek's account of McCain's answer is "paraphrased and unclear."
Rogers said he was not questioning the magazine's transcription, but pointing out that they included brackets.
But, given that he was responding to a direct question about a portion of the speech, it's unclear what else McCain could have been alluding to when noting twice that he "did not." That he also pointed out that the same section had been "in the prepared remarks" only clarifies that he was referring to the passage in question.
Newsweek's Bailey said the McCain quote as included in their Q & A posted online was verbatim.