John McCain's pre-emptive Dean Scream ... "Senator jumps shark, loses mind"

You gotta hand it to politicos like McCain that when they go off the rails, they really jump the tracks. Today, he jumped the shark in a way that would make Fonzie jealous. He wasn't content with just making a closing argument in Florida. Nope. Today, McCain leveled a bogus, deceitful charge at Mitt Romney.

The accusation? That Mitt Romney was in favor of withdrawing from Iraq. Follow the second link above to see what Allah has to say over at Hot Air about the ad. The AP got the scoop on the new line of attack and it's so damned dishonest that McCain supporters ought to question why their man is lying like the Clintons do:

Opening a new line of criticism in Ft. Myers as the two candidates campaigned along the state's southwest coast, McCain told reporters about Iraq: "If we surrender and wave a white flag, like Senator Clinton wants to do, and withdraw, as Governor Romney wanted to do, then there will be chaos, genocide, and the cost of American blood and treasure would be dramatically higher."

Minutes earlier, he took a slap at Romney without naming him during a question-and-answer session with Floridians, saying: "Now, one of my opponents wanted to set a date for withdrawal that would have meant disaster."

Asked about the comment in Land O' Lakes, Romney balked. "That's dishonest, to say that I have a specific date. That's simply wrong," he said. "That is not the case. I've never said that."

"I know he's trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq, but to say something that's not accurate is simply wrong — and he knows better," Romney said.

Governor Romney is correct to defend himself. Hugh Hewitt has posted the following on his site. It's a press release sent out by Team Romney today:

Governor Romney Criticized Withdrawal Timetables And Instead Talked About Setting Metrics To Measure Progress:

Governor Romney: "You want to have a series of things you want to see accomplished in terms of the strength of the Iraqi military and the Iraqi police and the leadership of the Iraqi government." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 4/3/07)

Governor Romney: "Could you imagine the setting where during the Second World War we said to the Germans, 'Gee, if we haven't reached the Rhine by this date why we'll go home,' or if we haven't gotten this accomplished we'll pull up and leave?" (ABC's "Good Morning America," 4/3/07)

Governor Romney Has Warned About Bringing American Troops Home Too Quickly:

Governor Romney: "Well, there's no question we all want to see our troops home as soon as we can possibly have them home. But we have to recognize that if we bring them home too quickly or in a way which leads to a collapse of the country or perhaps the Iranians grabbing the Shia south or Al-Qaeda playing a dominating role among the Sunnis or a Kurdish population destabilizing the border with Turkey, you could then end up with a regional conflict which would cause Americans to somehow have to get involved again – this time at a much more ugly situation with more casualties." ("Laura Ingraham Show," 3/9/07)

Governor Romney: "I Don't Think We Should Run Our Foreign Policy Based Upon Elections, Election Schedules Or Anything Of That Nature."

"But Mr. Romney said he did not agree with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Democrat, that President Bush needed to resolve the war he started before he left office and not hand it off to his successor, as she said while campaigning in Iowa on Sunday. 'She can do what she likes – but I take exception to her conclusions,'” Mr. Romney said in an interview while campaigning across this state today. 'I don’t think we should run our foreign policy based upon elections, election schedules or anything of that nature.'" (Adam Nagourney, "Romney: Clinton's Wrong About Bush," The New York Times, 1/29/07)

Governor Romney Has Consistently Said There Must Be "Clear Objectives And Milestones":

Governor Romney Said There Must Be "Clear Objectives And Milestones" In Iraq. "This effort should be combined with clear objectives and milestones for U.S. and Iraqi leaders." (Romney For President, "Governor Mitt Romney On Iraq," Press Release, 1/10/07)

President Bush Has Himself Talked About The Importance Of Setting Benchmarks In Iraq:

President Bush: "Iraq's Leaders Must Continue To Work To Meet The Benchmarks That Have [Been] Set Forward." "As we help the Iraqis secure their capital, their leaders are also beginning to meet the benchmarks they have laid out for political reconciliation. … There's been good progress. There's a lot more work to be done, and Iraq's leaders must continue to work to meet the benchmarks that have set forward." (President George W. Bush, Remarks On The Fourth Anniversary Of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Washington, D.C. 3/19/07)

President Bush "Pleased" Iraqi Government "Meeting Benchmarks."

"I was pleased that he's meeting benchmarks that he had set out for his government. One of the benchmarks was to move Iraqi troops into the city of Baghdad – troops that will be complemented by our own troops. He is meeting those obligations. A second such benchmark is that he would change the rules of engagement so that criminals, regardless of their religion, would be brought to justice in equal fashion. He is meeting that benchmark. Thirdly, he passed a budget of which $10 billion is available for reconstruction. He said he would do that; the budget has been passed, he has met that benchmark." (President George W. Bush, Remarks Meeting With Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Ambassador-Designee To Iraq, Washington D.C., 2/16/07)

Senator McCain's view of the facts are clearly obscured. Why is that? Because just like in 2000 he's lashing out at those who are beating him. Captain Queeg is looser than a goose, and he's taking potshots at Romney because the polls don't look good for his success in Florida. His candidacy is jeopardized if Mitt takes one more state, and he fails to. Given the fact that Rudy has just an outside chance of winning Florida, conservatives are flocking to Mitt, and giving John McCain the well-deserved gesture that has won him tons of "fans" int he GOP base.

See, the base doesn't like him. No New York Times endorsement will change that. As a matter of fact, unless Ronald Reagan is going to rise from the grave to endorse McCain, not endorsement will matter. the base isn't listening to him anymore, and they're determined to make sure that he's not the nominee. Hugh is right to point out that the Clintons are playing the '96 strategy all over again. Dole was no more of a conservative than McCain is. He was weak and ineffectual. For lack of any other understanding of the '96 nomination, it was Dole's "turn" to take a stab at the presidency. McCain thinks, like Hillary, that he is owed the nomination. That's why he's acting the way he is.

Honestly, if you're a McCain supporter, feel free to comment, and lay out your case of McCain's "conservative" credentials. He's not one, and no other candidate -- even on the Democrat side -- has been more openly hostile to the Constitution. No way in Hell can anyone vote for this man in good conscience. Worse, holding your nose isn't the answer on election day if he's the nominee, and you stand behind the GOP. You'll need a bottle of Jack Daniels to wash that nasty taste out of your mouth.

Publius II