Yesterday, the Wonk Room’s Matt Duss noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) often incorrectly portrays Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as if Ahmadinejad has a significant role in formulating Iranian foreign policy. He doesn’t. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran’s National Security Council set Iran’s foreign policy.
Yesterday, Time’s Joe Klein pressed McCain on the issue, but McCain refused to concede he was wrong, saying he disagreed that Khamenei runs Iranian policy behind the scenes. McCain added that because the “average American” thinks Ahmadinejad is Iran’s leader, that’s good enough for him:
But as the National Security Network’s Ilan Goldenberg notes, “if the ‘average American’ thinks that Ahmadinejad is the ultimate leader of Iran” it would be McCain’s job as president “to dissuade them of this notion - not reinforce it.”
True, but McCain is still only the candidate, and his job right now is to get elected. He knows damn good and well that an accurately, truthfully informed electorate is not in his or his party's best interests. Spin, lies, and disinformation to keep their sheeple in the dark and in fear are their only chance of success. Besides, it's Repug policy.
It's easy for McCain to appear sincere about all this - well, about every Bush/Repug talking point - because he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground about very much other than how to marry well anyway.
McBush would rather have a showdown with Iran than a sitdown, I think because they've seen too many old cowboy movies, and are in love with the image of themselves as Matt Dillon standin' out in the street with their fingers poised over their pistol butts. Talkin's fer pussies, Slade, slap leather. They don't give a shit how many people die or how much it costs. Or how fundamentally wrong they are. Diplomacy implies weakness to them. I guess the corollary to that is that arrogance, ignorance, stupidity, and bullying imply strength.
My fervent desire is that Bush, Cheney, McCain, the neocons, et al, get to ride off into the sunset draped over their saddles.
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