McCain completely lied about his "bomb Iran" song. That and his gaffe on nuclear energy should garner some attention. Instead, we're just going to here about "that one." There are a lot of nuclear reactors in critical states, so you'd think the citizens living in the shadows would be interested.
Nuclear safety. At all campaign stops near nuclear power plans, and maybe at every campaign stop, Obama and Biden should bring up this quote from McCain:
"Nuclear power. Senator Obama says that it has to be safe or disposable or something like that."
Ummm, yeah. McCain doesn't just want to de-regulate the nuclear energy industry, he <span style="font-style:italic;">wants</span> nuclear plants to be unsafe? It's unclear whether Obama didn't catch it or didn't want to raise it during the debate and so as to give McCain an opportunity to clarify his remarks. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there are 9 nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania, 5 in Florida, 5 in North Carolina, 4 in Virginia, 3 in Michigan, 3 in Wisconsin, and 2 in Ohio. Not to mention Nevada, home of Yucca Mountain, which apparently would not have to be a safe repository for nuclear waste under a McCain Administration.
"Bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran!" McCain walked into that one. Obama used it at the first debate, so I don't know what McCain thought he was doing focusing on judgment. McCain's response: weak references to his military experience and here's the money quote:
"I was joking with a veteran -- I hate to even go into this. I was joking with an old veteran friend, who joked with me, about Iran."
Yes, I am sure you do hate to get into this. Check out the joking with an old veteran friend:
That doesn't sound like joking with an old veteran friend. It was a serious question at a campaign event. Perhaps McCain had been making so many jokes about starting a war with Iran that he lost track. McCain's claim that his reckless remarks were informal is simply a lie. The critical point is not that it is a lie--all politicians like, even Margaret Thatcher lies--but how it would adversely affect negotiations with Iran about its nuclear capability.
A final note: McCain's closing remarks weren't explicit, but he was making a final appeal based on his experience as a POW and it flopped.
I know what it's like in dark times. I know what it's like to have to fight to keep one's hope going through difficult times. I know what it's like to rely on others for support and courage and love in tough times.
I know what it's like to have your comrades reach out to you and your neighbors and your fellow citizens and pick you up and put you back in the fight.
According to CNN's "Uncommitted Ohio Voters," there was no reaction. Either they didn't understand that he was referring to his POW years or they just didn't care.