McCain causes diplomatic incident, American press not reporting yet?

[kpete]

By Josh Marshall

Well, it doesn't appear to have registered in the American press yet. But the story keeps bubbling in the Spanish press about McCain's bizarre gaffe about the Spanish Prime Minister. Here's the front page cut out from the Spanish news channel that did the interview. They've talked to the interviewer now. Her take? McCain didn't know who Zapatero was ...


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/217710.php

El Cid! (More on Mccain's Liberation of Spain)
09.17.08 -- 8:35PM
By Josh Marshall

We wanted to give you an update on the post below where we described Sen. McCain's latest gaffe in which he seemed to suggest that he might not be willing to meet with Spanish Prime Minster Zapatero because he is among those world leaders who want to harm America.

The story is already getting picked up pretty quickly in the Spanish press. And the way it's being interpreted in the Spanish press is that McCain got confused about the fact that Spain is a country in Europe, rather than a rogue state in Latin America.

Our review of the audio suggests the same conclusion. In the interview, McCain is asked about Hugo Chavez, the situation in Bolivia and then about Raul Castro. He responds to each of these with expected answers about standing up to America's enemies, etc. Then the interviewer switches gears and asks about Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister. And McCain replies -- very loose translation -- that he'll establish close relations with our friends and stand up to those who want to do us harm. The interviewer has a double take and seems to think McCain might be confused. So she asks it again. But McCain sticks to the same evasive answer.

This is obviously a story that's difficult to get a handle on because of multiple layers of translation and retranslation. So I would ask that those of you who are speak Spanish fluently to review this article in El Pais and the audio in the post below, and let us know any other information you find.

more at:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/217702.php
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/17/233047/795/762/602329

[Patsy Stone]

1. Oopsie

That's not so good.

[sudopod]

24. Cut him some slack

He was a Spanish-American War vet, after all.

Deep wounds take time to heal, man.

[SeattleGirl]

27. :snerk:

:spray:

[drmeow]

41. Wasn't he a Spanish-American war

POW?

[Bluebear]

2. El Kicko para El Stupido

[napi21]

4. I don't know more than 1/2 dozen words of spanish, but I know what

El stupido means! HA HA HA!

[cui bono]

13. LMAO!!!

[whistle]

3. McCain needs to point out the British and the Dutch Royals as well

[stillcool]

5. Who cares about Spain?

He either didn't know who the leader of Spain was, or he doesn't know where Spain is. Should I be laughing or crying?

[reggie the dog]

46. Spain must be an enemy of the USA because of cannabis

you can grow all the weed you want and circulate with 50 grams of it in your pocket and the cops cannot do anything. Spain must be like Peru, an enemy in the war on drugs.

[DearAbby]

6. Oh Jesus,

Palin wants to have a war with RUSSIA, and McCain is seeing Boogermen in Spain...:eyes:

[Ghost Dog]

40. Send in the Maine!

And where's Hearst got to, just when we need him? :freak:

[NorthwestNut]

7. LOL, I read some of the comments on the article..

This one made me laugh:

"Si McCain no conoce al presidente del gobierno que dió con la puerta en las narices a Estados Unidos con la retirada de las tropas españolas en Irak es una demostración de la ignorancia de este candidato y nada más."

Basically this means,
"That McCain doesn't know the president of the government that closed the door in the noses of United States with the retirement of the Spanish troops in Iraq is a demonstration of the ignorance of this candidate and nothing else."

:rofl:

[lutherj]

8. McCain must be confusing Zapatero with Emiliano Zapata - the hero

of the Mexican revolution.

:rofl:

[Bluebear]

9. I think you're right! And McCain remembers hearing the Zapata name in his youth!

:rofl:

[lutherj]

14. Exactly, and he's associating it all with the Zapatista movement in

Chiapas. It's all just a big blur in his mind. I'm convinced that what he's thinking.

[cui bono]

15. which is why he quickly looked down to see if his shoes were untied.

:)

[Virginia Dare]

51. LOL!!!!...n/t

[NCDem60]

12. Understandable....they went to the same daycare.

[cui bono]

10. I don't speak fluent Spanish but the phrase that red arrow is pointing to says:

(I don't know the first word) the sensation that McCain doesn't know who he's talking about.

Dumbass. I guess he's not good with world leaders, Iraqi sects and middle east borders because you can't see any foreign countries from Arizona or D.C.

[EFerrari]

21. "I sensed that McCain didn't know who he was talking about."

Dumbass.

lol

I'm so tired of being humiliated by these people.

[magellan]

11. This comment on DailyKos from SanJoseLady sums it up

"Amazing...he isn't any good on the economy, and he fails in foreign policy. What the hell does he expect to do as President?"

Hm. Well, there's always the presidential nap and the pretzel play hour.

[cui bono]

16. The pretzel just might be the only thing he doesn't choke on. n/t

[EFerrari]

17. Oh, PLEASE not another four years of an ignorant dumbass.

:rofl:

[lpbk2713]

18. It's just like Shit-for-Brains is running for a third term.

This clown is incredibly stupid. And I'm saying stupid. I don't think it has a lot to do with his age. I really think he never has been terribly bright. He finished almost dead last in his Annapolis graduating class of over 800 Midshipmen. This fool is just pathetic.

[global1]

28. McCain Is Exactly What The Neocons Want So They Could Tell Him What To.....

say and do. Just like Reagan and Bush Jr.

[RagAss]

19. It's the Senility, Stupid !!!!

[whistler162]

20. McCain probably forgot Franco was no longer in power

and didn't want to meet with a Mational Socialist!

[Shiver]

50. This just in:

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

[WarbirdForObama]

22. Well Send Ms Half Baked Alaska

I'm sure she's had Spanish Rice at one of these fundraising gaggles. That alone would make her an expert on relations with Spain.

God, where is that white rabbit with the watch.....

[ColbertWatcher]

23. But, she can't see Mexico from her house! n/t

[beac]

26. Yeah, but I get the sense that The First Dude drinks a lot of tequila,

so she's probably pretty familiar with the Jose Cuervo Doctrine.

[anakie]

44. but she has been there on holidays! n/t

[Just-plain-Kathy]

25. Funny, funny reply...Welcome the the DU. :) ..n/t

[kitkat65]

29. Donde esta la biblioteca, por favor?

[EFerrari]

30. Albondigas, no te dije!

From now on, I'm calling him Candidate Meatballs.

lol

[SoCalDem]

34. Yo tengo un lapiz amarillo

:rofl:

[Caliman73]

31. Scary!!!

My wife and I listened to the audio interview. This guy is out to lunch!! It wasn't a double take, it was 3 times that the reporter asked if McCain would meet with the President of Spain. They had clearly finished talking about Latin America where McCain had put forth the same tired Regan mantra of promoting "free trade" and "democracy" in the region, not talking to Chavez, and supporting President Uribe in Columbia. The reporter clearly shifted the focus saying, "Finally, let's talk about Spain. Would you invite the President Zapatero to the White House?" He gave some spaced out answer. She asked again for clarification. He gave the same vague answer. The reporter actually said, "Wait, we aren't talking about Latin America, we are talking about Europe...." and asked one more time. To which McCain basically said, " Well, we'll have to see...." OMG it's a combination of the Regan ideology and the Bush stupidity. We are in big trouble if this guy get's voted in!!


Edit To Add. There is a poll on the Spanish website asking the people if they think McCain would meet with the Spanish government to "Normalize" relationships or continue the same Bush policies. Apparently they feel like Bush/America has given Spain the cold shoulder, which we have I suppose, due to the Spanish pullout from Iraq. I voted "yes" he would, just to see the result and 66% of the 2538 people who responded believe that McCain will continue to snub Spain and allow relations to remain cold. So apparently some Spanish people believe the our government has ill will towards them.

[nichomachus]

32. I don't think it's a diplomatic incident

It's more a case of he's a doddering old man -- which we know. From what I'm reading in the Spanish media, they're just confused as hell. They're not used to a doddering, senile old man being one of the two top contenders for running the country. They really don't know what to make of it. They're not angry -- just mystified.

In trying to make sense out of his nonsense, the interpretation they're putting on it, if anything, is that he was cleverly dodging the question -- which is believable, if you don't realize he's more addled than Ronnie Raygun:

From the Barcelona paper.....

El candidato republicano a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, John McCain, evitó ayer responder si estaría dispuesto a reunirse con el jefe del Gobierno español, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, en el caso de ganar finalmente la carrera a la Casa Blanca.

En una entrevista con las emisoras de Unión Radio -- grupo al que pertenece la SER--, la periodista Yoli Cuello planteó la pregunta en cuatro ocasiones, pero McCain evitó dar una repuesta concreta. "Me reuniré con aquellos líderes que son nuestros amigos y que quieran trabajar con nosotros", aseguró en la primera ocasión.
Ante la insistencia de la informadora, McCain afirmó: "Le puedo asegurar que estableceré relaciones más estrechas con nuestros amigos y plantaré cara a quienes quieran dañar a EEUU. Tendré que hacer ambas cosas".

En una tercera ocasión, McCain se refirió a la importancia de las relaciones de EEUU con Latinoamérica. Al recordarle la entrevistadora que estaban hablando de Europa, el candidato concluyó: "Me reuniré con cualquier líder que tenga los mismos principios y filosofía que nosotros, derechos humanos, democracia y libertad, y me enfrentaré a los que no".
Zapatero calificó de "lógica" la "prudencia" de McCain, pero aseguró: "El Gobierno que presido trabajará con la próxima Administración norteamericana, tenga el color que tenga, con voluntad constructiva y con lealtad, como corresponde a dos países que se tienen por socios".

[glinda]

33. Could we possibly wear any bigger sign that says:

Come invade us because we "have a senile President and a complete idiot" running the Country. This of course, heaven forbid, they win.

[Caliman73]

36. Actually...

They called him a "Militar Politico" several times which literally means someone who was in the military who is now a politician but could also be read as a "Hawk". The announcers stated several times that he stuck to the same script and evaded questions. They actually sounded somewhat worried that relations between Spain and the US would continue to be aloof.

[nichomachus]

48. Again, they reading into it

as if McCain knew what he were doing. They're trying to make sense out of nonsense.

It is usually assumed that world leaders know what they're doing and when they say something strange that they're trying to "send a message" or are speaking in diplomatic-talk. They don't start from the premise that the speaker doesn't even know where he is.

[roody]

52. Maybe they will give us health care, hurricane

evacuation, and ice! Maybe they will back off the teachers and let them teach!

[illuminaughty]

35. Yep, senility

My mom is 85, is very intelligent and has traveled the world. But now she floats in and out of dementia. My favorite lately is when she says "How can that woman be vice-president when she isn't even a citizen?" She hates Palin but doesn't' think Alaska is a State. Says they didn't teach her that in school...hell, she's been to Alaska twice and can't remember that either. I certainly wouldn't want her anywhere near a nuke button and she's the most pacifistic person I know.

If he isn't on the edge of dementia, he would be by the end of a four year term. I can just see him confusing the nuke button for the remote on his Craftmatic bed.

[Ghost Dog]

43. Translation of that last sentence:

Zapatero's assessment was that McCain's "prudence" was "to be expected", but said that, certainly: "The Government of which I am the President will work with the next Administration of the United States, of whichever color, constructively and loyally, as two countries which consider themselves partners should."

I don't know which Barcelona paper this is said to be from (La Vanguardia doesn't seem to have this story); El País is a Madrid-based newspaper (and the full quote is not in the linked article).

[nichomachus]

47. It's from El Periódico de Catalunya n/t

[SweetieD]

37. lol I agree I too get a feeling McCain doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.

[ColbertWatcher]

38. I cannot wait to hear Esteban Colberto's take on this whole thing ...

[Ghost Dog]

39. Yeah, after listening to the audio, it's clear McInsane was mentally lost, there.

He first associates the name Zapatero with Mexico, and talks about Mexican President Calderón.

He then perhaps realises that he is confused, and brings out the defensive formula - work with friends, face down enemies - and refers again to Latin America. Even when reminded (as is said at the beginning - Spain, Zapatero) that the question is about Spain, in Europe, he sticks to the catch-all formula.

Diplomatic incident? Huh, don't know but I'd doubt it: Spain is very used to it (Jeb Bush, on a visit to Spain, clearly thought Spain is a Republic and Mr. Aznar its President back in 2003, when he famously promised Aznar a lucrative reward for his support of the illegal invasion of Iraq). Many US-educated people appear to have no sense of geography, or much else either outside their own country. Ammo against the evidently senile McInsane, sure.

More seriously disgusting is listening to McInsane's soundbites against "undemocratic" Venezuela, Bolivia and elsewhere in Latin America where, as we all here know, what is going on are some very popular movements using thoroughly democratic processes to finally wrench some legitimate power out of the hands of tiny elites representing small upper-middle classes in those countries.

Thanks for the heads-up, kpete. :hi:

[BurtWorm]

42. Maybe he thought they were talking about Zapata.

[Ghost Dog]

45. That seems to be the direction in which the poor sod's neuron fired, yeah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Army_of_the_South

[SaintLouisBlues]

49. He could see Latin America from the Canal Zone

Doesn't that make him an expert?