Editorial

John McCain was at a forum in New Hampshire on Thursday and had a discussion of sorts with an anti-war advocate. I say “of sorts” because we have all seen how these public appearances go. In-depth discussion is forbidden and the candidate only allows just enough interplay to let him get in a stinger or two, and then he moves on to the next target.

At any rate, McCain said that he would be fine with having troops in Iraq for “a hundred years.” He took it a step further and made the “million years” remark after the forum was over and a reporter from Mother Jones asked him about it.

What is it about John McCain’s psychological constitution that leads him to think of war as a marketing ploy? I think it is obvious to anyone who studies human nature that the man is acting. When he speaks of Iraq or mentions buzzwords like “war”, “terrorists”, or “the troops” you can practically see the little strings tugging at his eyebrow, cocking his head, pulling the crook of his mouth into that carefully calculated grimace.

The man is playing a part and he’s playing it well. The question I would ask is, “Who is pulling the strings?” Special interests? His naivete? Greed? His ego?

I’m really not certain, but what I do know is that anyone who would say excitedly that he would be fine with keeping troops in a foreign country for a million years should not be seriously considered to lead any government on Earth.

MotherJones.com:

After the event ended, I asked McCain about his “hundred years” comment, and he reaffirmed the remark, excitedly declaring that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for “a thousand years” or “a million years,” as far as he was concerned. The key matter, he explained, was whether they were being killed or not: “It’s not American presence; it’s American casualties.” U.S. troops, he continued, are stationed in South Korea, Japan, Europe, Bosnia, and elsewhere as part of a “generally accepted policy of America’s multilateralism.” There’s nothing wrong with Iraq being part of that policy, providing the government in Baghdad does not object.

*Update:  Here is the video.