Obama's Speech to the Muslim World

As usual, the NY Times has an interactive transcript with video.

The White House is making translations of the speech available in 13 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Dari, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish and Urdu.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu weighs in with a statement:

"The government of Israel expresses hope that President Obama's important speech will lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Muslim world, and Israel. We share Obama's hope that the American effort will bring about an end to the conflict and to pan-Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish state.

"Israel is obligated to peace and will do as much as possible to help expand the circle of peace, while taking into consideration our national interests, the foremost of which is security."

Transcript from the White House.

YouTube - President Obama Speaks to the Muslim World from Cairo, Egypt

CONTINUE READING...

Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq

President Obama made an unannounced trip Tuesday to Baghdad, punctuating his week-long overseas trip with a stop to talk to American troops and Iraqi leaders.

Addressing hundreds of troops gathered at a military base here, Mr. Obama said that it was time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country,” winning enthusiastic applause. His praise for the performance of the troops was effusive.

Read more at NYTimes.com.

CONTINUE READING...

Obama: "America Is Not a Christian, Jewish or Muslim Nation"

CONTINUE READING...

Obama's Global Op-Ed: "A Time For Global Action"

Obama's Global Op-Ed: More than 30 papers around the world ran an op-ed today by President Obama arguing for 'the urgent need for global economic cooperation.'

Huff Po reports that the op-ed ran in the following papers:

1. Al Watan (Gulf States)
2. Arab Times (Gulf States)
3. Asharq Al Awsat (Arab-wide paper in Arabic)
4. The Australian (Australia)
5. Baltimore Sun (United States)
6. Bangkok Post (Thailand)
7. Chicago Tribune (United States)
8. Clarin (Argentina)
9. Corriere della Sera (Italy)
10. Die Welt (Germany)
11. El Pais (Madrid)
12. El Mercurio (Chile)
13. Eleftyropiea (Greece)
14. Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazil)
15. Gulf News (Gulf States)
16. The Hindustan Times/ The Hindu (India)
17. International Herald Tribune (London)
18. Kristeligt Dagblad (Denmark)
19. Le Monde (Paris)
20. Lidove Noviny (Czech)
21. Los Angeles Times (United States)
22. The News (Pakistan)
23. NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands)
24. Saudi Gazette (Saudi Arabia)
25. South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
26. Straits Times (Singapore)
27. Sunday Times (South Africa)
28. Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)
29. Syndey Morning Herald (Australia)
30. WProst (Poland)
31. Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)

Read the full text after the jump.

A time for global action
By Barack Obama
Monday, March 23, 2009

WASHINGTON: We are living through a time of global economic challenges that cannot be met by half measures or the isolated efforts of any nation. Now, the leaders of the Group of 20 have a responsibility to take bold, comprehensive and coordinated action that not only jump-starts recovery, but also launches a new era of economic engagement to prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.

No one can deny the urgency of action. A crisis in credit and confidence has swept across borders, with consequences for every corner of the world. For the first time in a generation, the global economy is contracting and trade is shrinking.

Trillions of dollars have been lost, banks have stopped lending, and tens of millions will lose their jobs across the globe. The prosperity of every nation has been endangered, along with the stability of governments and the survival of people in the most vulnerable parts of the world.

Once and for all, we have learned that the success of the American economy is inextricably linked to the global economy. There is no line between action that restores growth within our borders and action that supports it beyond.

If people in other countries cannot spend, markets dry up -- already we've seen the biggest drop in American exports in nearly four decades, which has led directly to American job losses. And if we continue to let financial institutions around the world act recklessly and irresponsibly, we will remain trapped in a cycle of bubble and bust. That is why the upcoming London Summit is directly relevant to our recovery at home.

My message is clear: The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose. Much good work has been done, but much more remains.

Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad. Through our example, the United States can promote a global recovery and build confidence around the world; and if the London Summit helps galvanize collective action, we can forge a secure recovery, and future crises can be averted.

Our efforts must begin with swift action to stimulate growth. Already, the United States has passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- the most dramatic effort to jump-start job creation and lay a foundation for growth in a generation.

Other members of the G-20 have pursued fiscal stimulus as well, and these efforts should be robust and sustained until demand is restored. As we go forward, we should embrace a collective commitment to encourage open trade and investment, while resisting the protectionism that would deepen this crisis.

Second, we must restore the credit that businesses and consumers depend upon. At home, we are working aggressively to stabilize our financial system. This includes an honest assessment of the balance sheets of our major banks, and will lead directly to lending that can help Americans purchase goods, stay in their homes and grow their businesses.

This must continue to be amplified by the actions of our G-20 partners. Together, we can embrace a common framework that insists upon transparency, accountability and a focus on restoring the flow of credit that is the lifeblood of a growing global economy. And the G-20, together with multilateral institutions, can provide trade finance to help lift up exports and create jobs.

Third, we have an economic, security and moral obligation to extend a hand to countries and people who face the greatest risk. If we turn our backs on them, the suffering caused by this crisis will be enlarged, and our own recovery will be delayed because markets for our goods will shrink further and more American jobs will be lost.

The G-20 should quickly deploy resources to stabilize emerging markets, substantially boost the emergency capacity of the International Monetary Fund and help regional development banks accelerate lending. Meanwhile, America will support new and meaningful investments in food security that can help the poorest weather the difficult days that will come.

While these actions can help get us out of crisis, we cannot settle for a return to the status quo. We must put an end to the reckless speculation and spending beyond our means; to the bad credit, over-leveraged banks and absence of oversight that condemns us to bubbles that inevitably bust.

Only coordinated international action can prevent the irresponsible risk-taking that caused this crisis. That is why I am committed to seizing this opportunity to advance comprehensive reforms of our regulatory and supervisory framework.

All of our financial institutions -- on Wall Street and around the globe -- need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering.

Rigorous transparency and accountability must check abuse, and the days of out-of-control compensation must end. Instead of patchwork efforts that enable a race to the bottom, we must provide the clear incentives for good behavior that foster a race to the top.

I know that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face. But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy. That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.

This G-20 meeting provides a forum for a new kind of global economic cooperation. Now is the time to work together to restore the sustained growth that can only come from open and stable markets that harness innovation, support entrepreneurship and advance opportunity.

The nations of the world have a stake in one another. The United States is ready to join a global effort on behalf of new jobs and sustainable growth. Together, we can learn the lessons of this crisis, and forge a prosperity that is enduring and secure for the 21st century.

Barack Obama is president of the United States. A Global Viewpoint article distributed by Tribune Media Services.

CONTINUE READING...

Obama, Peres and Colbert on the Persian New Year - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com

The man is good. Think about how this sort of reference to Persian literature will play in a place that is so steeped in history and with such a rich literary culture.

Notable in Mr. Obama’s message is his reference to the words of Saadi, a revered Persian poet. Near the end of his remarks, Mr. Obama said:

I know that this won’t be reached easily. There are those who insist that we be defined by our differences. But let us remember the words that were written by the poet Saadi, so many years ago: “The children of Adam are limbs to each other, having been created of one essence.”

Mr. Obama was quoting from a translation Saadi’s poem “Bani A’dam.” The full text of the poem has been rendered into English in several varying translations. During the siege of Sarajevo in 1994, Anthony Lewis quoted the poem in full in a column in The Times. Marizeh Ghiasi, a blogger in Canada who was born in Tehran, published this translation, beneath an image of the original Persian script on her blog:

The children of Adam are the limbs of one body
That share an origin in their creation
When one limb passes its days in pain
The other limbs cannot remain easy
You who feel no pain at the suffering of others
It is not fitting for you to be called human

Read more at NYTimes.com's Lede Blog

CONTINUE READING...

Obama Sends Iran Message On Nowruz

Obama speaks in Farsi!

"I want you, the people and leaders of Iran, to understand the future that we seek," Obama concludes. "It is a future with renewed exchanges among our people, and greater opportunities for partnership and commerce. It is a future where the old divisions are overcome, where you, and all of your neighbors and the wider world can live in greater peace and security."

...

Obama ended the address with a Farsi saying, Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak -- which translates to 'have a celebratory new year' -- and included Persian captions in the video."

Read more at HuffPo.

CONTINUE READING...

U.S. officials: Hamas slipped note to Obama via Kerry

It said, "Meet me behind the gym after recess...."

Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas passed Sen. John Kerry a letter for President Obama while Kerry visited Gaza on Thursday, senior State Department officials said.

The letter for the president is in the hands of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, the officials said Friday.

Kerry, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, toured the devastation in Gaza and met with officials from the U.N. Works Relief Agency, the main provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Frederick Jones, the committee's communications director, told CNN at the end of Kerry's meeting with UNRWA chief Karen Abu Zayed that 'she handed [Kerry] a letter addressed to the president of the United States along with other materials.'

Read more at CNN.com.

CONTINUE READING...

Obama On Al-Arabiya

Significant to the Muslim world that Obama's first media interview as President goes to an Islamic outlet...

In his first formal interview since taking office, the president spoke with the Dubai-based station Al Arabiya on topics pertinent to the Arab and Muslim worlds. Much of the interview was spent defining the new approach that the United States would implement in that region: respectfulness over divisiveness, listening over dictating, engagement over militarism. But the president drew the line when it came to terrorist organizations.

"Their ideas are bankrupt," he told host Hisham Melhem, when asked to respond to recent audio clips from al Qaida leadership calling him various epithets. "There's no actions that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them."

More on HuffPo.

CONTINUE READING...

500 Muslim Soldiers' Tombs Desecrated In France

Unbelievable. Who thought this was in ANY way a good way to make a statement???

500 Muslim Soldiers' Tombs Desecrated In France: "Vandals desecrated at least 500 tombs of Muslim soldiers in northern France on Monday _ an act President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced as 'repugnant racism.'

The desecration near the town of Arras appeared timed with the start of Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday in the Muslim calendar.

The administration for the Pas-de-Calais region said the damaged tombs were in the Muslim section of the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette cemetery, a well-groomed burial ground for World War I soldiers. Some had swastikas scrawled on the tombstone, others had lettering whose meaning was unclear."

CONTINUE READING...

Obama wants to speak from a Muslim Capital

This idea makes me oddly excited. Imagine, the concept that an American president would want to speak to the Islamic world...

From the New York Times:

President-elect Barack Obama’s aides say he is considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office.

So where should he do it? The list of Islamic world capitals is long, and includes the obvious —Riyadh, Kuwait City, Islamabad — and the not-so-obvious — Male (the Maldives), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Some wise-guys have even suggested Dearborn, Mich., as a possibility.

Clearly it would be cheating for Mr. Obama to fly to Detroit, talk to Dearborn’s 30,000 Arab residents and call it a day. And Male and Ouagadougou, while certainly majority Muslim, can’t really be what Mr. Obama’s aides have in mind when they talk about locales for a high-profile speech that would seek to mend rifts between the United States and the broader Muslim world.

So Burkina Faso and the Maldives are out. But that leaves a whole swath of Islamic capitals, all ready to be spruced up for Mr. Obama to make his speech. I’ve thought hard about this, and asked a few people — diplomats even — which capital Mr. Obama should pick.

The consensus, after an entire day of reporting, is Cairo.

Why Cairo? It’s a matter of elimination. I called Ziad Asali, the president of the American Task Force on Palestine, to gauge his thoughts. “Damascus would be cool, except it would look as if he was rewarding the Syrians and it’s too soon for that,” Mr. Asali said.

CONTINUE READING...

Powell Power

Columnist Maureen Dowd talked with Colin Powell about the general's endorsement last Sunday, in which he talks about the photo of Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan's grave that moved him so much. "Powell got a note from Feroze Khan [Kareem's father] this week thanking him for telling the world that Muslim-Americans are as good as any others. But he also received more e-mails insisting that Obama is a Muslim and one calling him "unconstitutional and unbiblical" for daring to support a socialist. He got a mass e-mail from a man wanting to spread the word that Obama was reading a book about the end of America written by a fellow Muslim. 'Holy cow!' Powell thought. Upon checking Amazon.com, he saw that it was a reference to Fareed Zakaria, a Muslim who writes a Newsweek column and hosts a CNN foreign affairs show. His latest book is The Post-American World...Even though he watched W. in 2000 make the argument that his lack of foreign policy experience would be offset by the fact that he was surrounded by pros — Powell himself was one of the regents brought in to guide the bumptious Texas dauphin — Powell makes that same argument now for Obama. 'Experience is helpful,' he says, 'but it is judgment that matters.'"

Please, please, help us educate this nation... because another GOP organization head, Marcia Stirman, head of the Republican Women of Otero County (New Mexico) just said, and I quote, "Muslims are our enemies... I don't trust them at all. They've sworn across the world that they are our enemies. Why we're trying to elect one is beside me."

CONTINUE READING...

Ground Control to Major Tom Edition

I took a weekend off before we get into the final two week frenzy, but of course, the campaign cycle is inexorable--YIKES there was STILL lots of news, so let's get down to it!

Colin Powell
In case you missed this over the weekend, General Colin Powell gave his endorsement to Obama on Meet the Press on Sunday. Along the way, Powell makes some excellent and very pointed comments about the way the discourse has devolved during this election cycle.

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

Let's hope cooler heads can prevail. There was an bizarre incident at a McCain rally in Virginia where a McCain supporter tried to push the idea that Obama is a Muslim again and ran into trouble with McCain staff who are actually Muslim. There are Islamic McCain supporters??

After Meet the Press, Powell had more to say. And of course, there was a lot of buzz for the rest of the weekend. Huff Po gathers reaction from across the political spectrum, with Newt Gingrich on This Week making the point that it eliminates the "experience" argument. And more reaction to this endorsement from all over, on Politico.com.

Oh, and Colin Powell also said we might think about talking with our enemies..."I think the president has to reach out to the world and show that there is a new president, a new administration that is looking forward to working with our friends and allies. And in my judgment, also willing to talk to people who we have not been willing to talk to before. Because this is a time for outreach."

More Endorsements:

As of this morning, Obama has picked up 112 newspaper endorsements, compared to McCain's 39. The list for Obama--which includes papers in key swing states like Detroit Free Press, Buffalo News, Cleveland's Plain Dealer, Palm Beach (FL) Post, New York's Daily News, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, The Oregonian, Denver Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Salt Lake Tribune, Kansas City Star, and Chicago Sun-Times.

In a real shocker, two solid Bush papers in 2004, the Houston Chronicle and Austin American-Statesman, also came out for Obama on Sunday.

LA Times: "Our nation has never before had a candidate like Obama, a man born in the 1960s, of black African and white heritage, raised and educated abroad as well as in the United States, and bringing with him a personal narrative that encompasses much of the American story but that, until now, has been reflected in little of its elected leadership. The excitement of Obama's early campaign was amplified by that newness. But as the presidential race draws to its conclusion, it is Obama's character and temperament that come to the fore. It is his steadiness. His maturity. These are qualities American leadership has sorely lacked for close to a decade...We may one day look back on this presidential campaign in wonder. We may marvel that Obama's critics called him an elitist, as if an Ivy League education were a source of embarrassment, and belittled his eloquence, as if a gift with words were suddenly a defect. In fact, Obama is educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature. He represents the nation as it is, and as it aspires to be."

Chicago Tribune, in the paper's first ever endorsement of a Demoncratic Party nominee for president: "On Dec. 6, 2006, this page encouraged Obama to join the presidential campaign. We wrote that he would celebrate our common values instead of exaggerate our differences. We said he would raise the tone of the campaign. We said his intellectual depth would sharpen the policy debate. In the ensuing 22 months he has done just that. Many Americans say they're uneasy about Obama. He's pretty new to them. We can provide some assurance. We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president. We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready."

CONTINUE READING...

Desperate Times

Remember how a few weeks ago we said that desperate parties will reach for desperate measures? It's getting desperate out there for McCain.

Even former McCain strategist John Weaver is a little appalled at the frenzy of hate that has been whipped up at McCain and Palin rallies, saying, " top Republicans have a responsibility to temper this behavior. "People need to understand, for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society, the differences with Sen. Obama are ideological, based on clear differences on policy and a lack of experience compared to Sen. McCain, and from a purely practical political vantage point, please find me a swing voter, an undecided independent, or a torn female voter that finds an angry mob mentality attractive. Sen. Obama is a classic liberal with an outdated economic agenda. We should take that agenda on in a robust manner. As a party we should not and must not stand by as the small amount of haters in our society question whether he is as American as the rest of us. Shame on them and shame on us if we allow this to take hold."

Already , I think McCain may be finding that he can't control the beast that he has unleashed. At a rally on Friday, a McCain supporter went a little far, even for McCain's taste and he tried to dial things back. "I don't trust Obama," a woman said. "I have read about him. He's an Arab." "No, ma'am," McCain said several times, shaking his head in disagreement. "He's a decent, family man, [a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about." The crown groaned its disapproval apparently, and booed him. Isn't it wonderful to know that as a full-grown adult you can still behave like you're a three-year old with a loaded weapon?

Obama praised McCain for tempering the tone, "'I want to acknowledge that Senator McCain tried to tone down the rhetoric in his town hall meeting yesterday,' Mr. Obama said, speaking at an early-morning rally in North Philadelphia. 'I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other. I've said it before, and I'll say it again – Senator McCain has served this country with honor, and he deserves our thanks for that.'" My God, can ANYTHING ruffle this guy? Andrew Sullivan pits it this way: Americans "need a Valium. They can now vote for one for president."

Later in the weekend, Palin dropped the puck at a Philly Flyers hockey game, and was roundly booed. I could say she reaps what she has sown, but to be honest, I have to say I'm not deriving any pleasure at all out of this. I think it's just nasty ugly and so completely not what the country needs right now, or frankly at any time.

On the Road in Scranton

Hillary and Bill Clinton campaigned in the key area of Scranton with native son Joe Biden and his wife Jill. Just making sure Pennsylvania stays blue... Hillary reminded us: "Make no mistake about it. We've done it before and we will do it again. America will once again rise from the ashes of the Bushes."

Climate Change

Georgia Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, whom McCain has named as a figure he respects, said in a statement to Politico: "What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement issued today for Politico's Arena forum. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."

Lewis didn't accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities.

"George Wallace never threw a bomb," Lewis noted. "He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

McCain responded to this ouch moment:

"I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track," the GOP nominee said in a statement this afternoon.

He added: "I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."

And Obama's reply to that suggestion:

"Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States 'pals around with terrorists.'

"As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead."

Jeez people, can we just get ON with it?

I'm reminded, a little sadly, of what Obama said at the DNC way back before any of this really took off, "But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain."

It's been another bad week for McCain, whose reputation as a military hero took a hit with the Tim Dickinson Rolling Stone story, which recounted McCain's less-than-heroic actions on the day when the fuel tank on his jet caught fire on the deck of the USS Forrestal, setting off a missile and ultimately causing one of the worst disasters in modern U.S. naval history. McCain was not to be found at the forefront of fire-fighters, but rather in the ready room, where he retreated after jumping out of his damaged jet.

Jeff Stein at the Congressional Quarterly takes that story a step further, questioning whether McCain actually played a more pivotal role in the missile accident on the USS Forrestal. "According to these accounts, McCain, whose A4-E Skyhawk was queued up in a line of jets waiting to take off, "wet started" his engine, a prank designed to startle a trailing pilot with a flame of exploding kerosene."

Normally, it's a harmless, common stunt by "cowboy pilots." But on this occasion the exploding kerosene caused a six-foot long Zuni rocket under the trailing pilot's wing to launch across the flight deck.

"[It] ripped through the fuel tank of McCain's aircraft," Dickinson writes. "Hundreds of gallons of fuel splashed onto the deck and came ablaze. Then: Clank. Clank. Two 1,000-pound bombs dropped from under the belly of McCain's stubby A-4 . . . into the fire."

McCain rolled out of his cockpit onto the deck and ran for his life, Dickinson writes.

"Just then, one of his bombs 'cooked off,' blowing a crater in the deck and incinerating the sailors who had rushed past McCain with hoses and fire extinguishers."

But according to historian Mary Hershberger, writing on the liberal Truthdig.com site, McCain panicked.

"Some of those who were on the Forrestal and other persons familiar with the ordnance told me that because the rocket did not hit McCain's craft, only actions by the pilot could have caused any bomb to fall from McCain's Skyhawk," wrote Hershberger, who in 2005 published a biography, "Jane Fonda's War," advertised as "an antidote to the 'Hanoi Jane' myth."

"These sources . . . who spoke under the condition that they not be publicly identified," Hershberger wrote, "agree with each other that, if any bomb fell from the McCain airplane, it was because of actions that he took either in error or panic upon seeing the fire on the deck or in his hasty exit from the plane. Two switches in the cockpit of a Skyhawk need to be thrown to drop such a bomb, according to the sources."

It might set the In-the-tank-for-Obama-ites teeth on edge, will anyone pay attention? Probably not.

Anyway, one could argue that it' not necessary to dig into the past to help the McCain campaign implode. They seem to be doing fine all on their own thanks very much. This morning, Bill Kristol called McCain' campaign "pathetic" on Fox News Sunday. Andrew Sullivan hilariously characterizes McCain's effort as coyote-esque.

Over the weekend, CBS announced that McCain and Dave Letterman have tentatively made up-- or at least, McCain will appear on Dave's show. That could be good, or really bad...

And SNL ran a repeat this week, but through the magic of the internet, you can see them spoof the last McCain-Obama debate here. No Tina Fey, but still funny.

CONTINUE READING...