Are you telling me that there is a country in EUROPE that speaks Spanish?  Cause, I mean seriously, the Mexicans speak Spanish.  Spain is part of Mexico, right?

of the world.

be qualified to be Vice President if he has a very detailed map!

and same goes for Palin, who seems to think she can see right into Russia (her house would have to be at the tip of an island in the Bering Sea to manage that, and I doubt she's been to that remote part of her state, and even if she had, what would she learn about Russia and Putin from peeking over the horizon?).

I guess we can add geography to the economy about which McCain knows not enough. Gee, I wonder if he could even find Iran to bomb it? Might confuse it with another country that begins with "I" like Italy. Or India.

Credit where it's due, McCain seems to have (mostly) fended off deep mental deterioration decades longer than his soulmate Dubya.

is he confused Zapatero with the Zapatistas. Or something.

Shia/Sunni, al Qaeda (lite)/extremists, Zapatero/Zapatista. I mean, come on, these are just details. The important thing is, we'll drop bombs on all of them.  

It was as clear as could be.  Just as it's very clear what the difference is between Shi'ites and Sunnis, if you've been paying any attention to world affairs the past, oh, 30 years (since the Iranian revolution).

he wants to respect Spain's status as a Constitutional Monarchy and meet with the Head of State, which is King Juan Carlos I?  Maybe he thinks Spain is still ruled by Franco?  Or maybe he really doesn't want to meet with a man who supports same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption?  

Of those three, the cynical side of me says that the last one might explain this.  I mean he chose Sarah Palin to placate the religious conservatives.  Why would he meet with a leader who supports an issue that is anathema to most Republicans?  

Though if we adhere to Occam's Razor, then the simplest explanation is that he just didn't know who the president of Spain was and whether Spain was in fact our ally or friend, as he would say.  

At the beginning of this clip, the host asks McCain about Venezuela and McCain gives the same, tired fluff bite about "I will not meet with an enemy and I will support democracy in every way."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain Chavez was elected in a democratic election and that most of his support comes from the "reformers" of Venezuela. Am I right? I know Chavez was a former military commander and attempted a take over in the past, but I thought he ran as a populist and won the election.  

the United States backed an attempted coup to undo the election. And, not only that, but when Chavez put his new authoritarian Constitution up for approval in a referendum, the people turned it down, and he accepted its defeat. Talk about democracy, heh. The U.S. only talks about encouraging democracy, but does not do the walk. Over and over we have found it more convenient to support dictators rather than try to deal with messy democracies, especially now we're in the Long War on Terror.

That's not to say that Chavez is all sweetness and light. He is a bit crazy, egotistical, and power-mad, but he is smart enough to look for friends elsewhere when the US keeps trying to have him assassinated. Who can blame him?

You are correct, Chavez made a failed coup attempt in 92, but was democratically elected in 98 and has been reelected 2 times since, himself surviving a coup in 2002.  While I disagree with his politics he was democratically elected and enjoys broad based support in Venezuela.  

in south Florida undoubtedly liked what he had to say about Cuba, and probably also his comments about Venezuela, Bolivia, and Uribe in Colombia. I suspect the younger generation of Cubans-in-Florida were not that impressed, and then the interviewer had to bring up that trick question about an obscure Hispanic-sounding guy in her accented English. McCain punted, i.e., obfuscated in political-speak fashion.  Poor dear, he did remember to praise the great state of Florida as a final hurrah.

Don't know much about economy;
Also slow on foreign policy;
But I do know she'll take care of me;
And she'll teeellll me what to do!

Repeat until nausea sets in. Then talk to your neighbors about McCain's deteriorating mental state.

The HP is okay among us, but I can't use it when posting about this with conservative people.

If there is another source to this, then this is gold for all of those who lean McCain because of his "foreign affairs" expertise.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com...

great comment from that First Read thread:

This sounds a lot like the conversation I just had with my grandpa. I was asking him how he liked the nurses at the assisted living facility, and he kept talking about the squash he had with dinner last Thursday. And he kept calling me Joey.

John McCain said today, in reaction to his statement on Spain..

"well I've never been to Spain but I kind of like the music".

"Well I never been to Heaven
But I been to Oklahoma
Well they tell me I was born there
But I really don't remember
In Oklahoma, not Arizona
What does it matter
What does it matter"

Oklahoma...Arizona...

Latin America...Spain...

What does it matter?

on a military base.

while his father was stationed there.  

QUESTION: Senator, finally, let's talk about Spain. If you're elected president, would you be willing to invite President Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero to the White House to meet with you?

MCCAIN: I would be willing meet, uh, with those leaders who our friends [sic] and want to work with us in a cooperative fashion, and by the way, President Calderon of Mexico is fighting a very very tough fight against the drug cartels. I'm glad we are now working in cooperation with the Mexican government on the Merida plan. I intend to move forward with relations, and invite as many of them as I can, those leaders, to the White House.

QUESTION: Would that invitation be extended to the Zapatero government, to the president itself?

MCCAIN: I don't, you know, honestly I have to look at relations and the situations and the priorities, but I can assure you I will establish closer relations with our friends and I will stand up to those who want to do harm to the United States of America.

QUESTION: So you have to wait and see if he's willing to meet with you, or you'll be able to do it in the White House?

MCCAIN: Well again I don't, all I can tell you is that I have a clear record of working with leaders in the hemisphere that are friends with us, and standing up to those who are not, and that's judged on the basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America, and the entire region.

QUESTION: Okay... what about Europe I'm talking about the President of Spain?

MCCAIN: What about me what?

QUESTION: Okay... are you willing to meet with him if you are elected president?

MCCAIN: I am willing to meet with any leader who is dedicated to the same principles and philosophy that we are for human rights, democracy and freedom, and I will stand up to those that do not.

We should all be concerned for the health of Senator McCain, it is clear he is no longer playing with a full deck.

The statement made by his campaign is pure bull-feathers; it simply does not fly, and is the umpteenth millionth campaign lie issued, only this time McCain is damaging relations with an ally.

His status as a candidate should be withdrawn.

Palin can step right up without having to go through the trouble of being V-P candidate for even an instant.

We should all flood the Spanish Embassy with letters telling them how if President Zapatero wants to come to America, we would welcome him with open arms.  In fact, he could stay at our house.  It may not be the Lincoln Bedroom, but it's the thought that counts.  

NUKE SPAIN!!!

And you kids, get off my lawn!!!