TPMtv: McCain's Yes, No, Maybe

Here's a thought for you. Since the Swiftboat kids will be the new attack vehicle against the Dems this year, why don't you do some vids about the kids themselves. Maybe have other kids perform a question and answer with lookalikes of the swiftboat kids. I think you could definitely score points on the Obama cocaine ad. Perhaps even showing that President Bush admitted to using cocaine. Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you.

Sorry, I made a faux pas. The statement, "the other clips are necessarily a 180 degree departure from that." should read, "the other clips aren't necessarily a 180 degree departure from that." My apologies

Your videos are always of the highest quality and this one is no different. Most of the time you can nail a topic precisely and concisely with little unnecessary fluff. Here, however, I don't think you've made the strongest case possible about McCain's varying positions on our war with Iraq. I always try to be the devil's advocate on things like this, to see it from the skeptic's viewpoint, and try to knock it down at any and every turn. Most of the time you are rock solid. As the skeptic in this case, however, I found myself saying, "That's not necessarily inconsistent with his other statements." I think that because McCain is hemming and hawing a lot, hedging his bets wherever possible, he could rather easily say, "That's what I thought would happen under the conditions proposed by the question. I never said that we have to ........." "I would HOPE that we would bring them all home..." "If we could draw to bases, and eventually bring them all home, that's the plan." "We would be there for a longtime in a support role." "I can see the presence of America there for a while." The main sticking point is supposed to be the "how about 100 years" statement. It is definitely a zinger, but at the same time, the other clips are necessarily a 180 degree departure from that. To be honest, I think that focusing on this part of his platform would be a mistake. He's a good politician who knows how to hem and haw and hedge his bets. I think the more damaging one would be the "bomb Iran," story. To show him condemning Iran juxtaposed with statements from the NIE and elsewhere would be much more effective IMHO. Americans, for the most part, are pretty numb on the whole Iraq thing. Their attention span is definitely shorter than five years, so this war is over in their feeble brain regardless of the eventual outcome. Unless Bush can come out with Iraq War version 3.0, where OBL goes to Baghdad to help Moqtada and his evil henchmen of fathers and brothers, Americans are pretty much novocained on the whole thing. McCain's statement on Iran, however, will definitely be something that the new president will have to manage. A theme of, "Would you want this man to answer that phone at 3:00 am" juxtaposing his famous opinions on Iran would be much better. But please, keep up the great work. You have no idea how much I look forward to every new vid from you. Thanks,