Would someone please let Andrea Mitchell know that John McCain is competing for the Republican presidential nomination? He's not going up against Obama, Hillary et al. in a race to determine who can surrender fastest in Iraq.
Giving her expert analysis on this morning's "Today" of John McCain's lackluster fundraising results, Mitchell claimed that John McCain is "hurt by his support for the Iraq war."
Could Andrea possibly be more wrong? McCain's support for President Bush's Iraq policy is the only thing keeping him alive, if barely, in the GOP race. Opposition to the war would put McCain in Chuck Hagel territory -- so unpopular among Republican voters that he dare not even throw his hat into the ring.
What's hurting McCain is not his support for the war. It is the reputation he has earned in the GOP for being unreliably conservative on everything from campaign finance to tax cuts to immigration to having played footsie with John Kerry in 2004 regarding a possible veep nomination.
As I noted here, Hannah Storm of CBS fell into the same error when recently interviewing McCain, asking him whether "your position on this war, and your support of sending more troops in" has caused him to fall behind Rudy in the GOP primary polls.
Mitchell's mistake this morning again demonstrates how hard it is for the MSM, trapped in a liberal, anti-war prism, to understand things from a Republican perspective.
UPDATE: NB Senior Editor Rich Noyes, noting this isn't the first time Andrea has trotted out this theory, passed along this exchange from last month:
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell: John McCain is having so much trouble in the poll rankings because he’s embraced the war.
Host Chris Matthews: Yeah!
Mitchell: That’s his big problem.
Matthews: And his numbers are sinking because he’s a hawk.
Mitchell: Exactly.
— the Chris Matthews Show, March 11th, 2007
Mark was in Iraq in November. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Mitchell's mistake is due to her dellusion.
April 3, 2007 - 07:01 ET by CTAndrea Mitchell and the rest of the lost liberal lefty souls are so deluded with their surrender now mind set that they have convinced themselves that is what every American voted for last November.
You are spot on. With Mc Cain
April 3, 2007 - 07:03 ET by USA4freedomYou are spot on. With Mc Cain, it’s Mc Cain / Feingold, gang of 14, immigration, taxes. The only thing that he sounds great on, IS THE WAR. I wonder what they pay these people for this brilliant commentary.
America is best described by one word, freedom... Dwight D. Eisenhower
Proof positive of how clueles
April 3, 2007 - 07:04 ET by rimskyProof positive of how clueless the msm can be. Does she really believe that that a majority of Republicans want to cut and run from Iraq?
It’s the reason that we are
April 3, 2007 - 07:18 ET by USA4freedomIt’s the reason that we are begging for a real conservative. Finish the job in Iraq, by winning it. We want: cut taxes, (God forbid).. Smaller government, build the fence, more refineries, drill our own oil, fine the companies that hire people here illegally, no pork spending, and leave my guns alone. Give me those and you have my vote, and a check.
America is best described by one word, freedom... Dwight D. Eisenhower
Amen Brother / Sister
April 3, 2007 - 07:26 ET by SemperrightAmen Brother / Sister
Remember, no matter what the
April 3, 2007 - 07:31 ET by sarcasmoRemember, no matter what the media want you to believe, you've got nine choices (and, happily, your choice'll have to hear from mine, despite the blatant bias of the media!) not just a few RINOs...
JMR
USA,I am sure that you have r
April 3, 2007 - 07:37 ET by msh1973USA,
I am sure that you have read that the Dems want to approve the biggest tax hike in history. We can kiss goodbye every tax break we received under President Bush. I don't blame the Dems (well sort of) I blame the weak Republicans for not making those tax cuts permanent. It just frost me that our government thinks that they can take what is not theirs to further their own selfish greed.
Yep, this latest move by the
April 3, 2007 - 08:02 ET by USA4freedomYep, this latest move by the Democ rats is the perfect example. To make sure we cut and run, they bribe the few.. Democrats that would not vote for it. PORK..
America is best described by one word, freedom... Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dems want to approve the bi
April 3, 2007 - 08:11 ET by motherbeltDems want to approve the biggest tax hike in history--msh1973
Well that's because they believe that raising tax rates brings in more tax money.
Andrea Mitchell dumb as a box of rocks
April 3, 2007 - 07:23 ET by SamAndrea, your political insight is as useful and accurate as my cat's. Who do you think you're fooling with that half arsed analysis?
Standard MSNBC/NBC Rhetoric
April 3, 2007 - 07:54 ET by pilsenerAndrea Mitchell is stating the conventional MSNBC/NBC wisdom. A couple of months ago they were stumped that McCain was not the overwhelming front runner in the polls - after all, he was THEIR front-runner and had been since 2000. The only explanation that they could come up with was his position on Iraq, since they are all for getting out now. So they talk among themselves, and come up with "THE TRUTH" that is now the conventional wisdom at MSNBC/NBC.
Who cares what actual Republican voters think.
When the RNC was sending me l
April 3, 2007 - 08:10 ET by USA4freedomWhen the RNC was sending me letters to give money, I would write in big letters I WILL SEND MONEY WHEN YOU BUILD THE FENCE TO PROTECT THIS GREAT CONTRY. Then the knuckle heads would send me a list of pole questions….. They did not get it, I wonder if after this last election they will. WE DON’T WANT RINOS…..
America is best described by one word, freedom... Dwight D. Eisenhower
Another great example of the
April 3, 2007 - 10:44 ET by Chris NormanAnother great example of the irrelevant views of a member of the MSM. Ms. Mitchell probably thinks she's very dialed in, but she's so deep in her conventional liberal wisdom bubble, she probably does think that being an anti-war liberal gets you front-runner status in the GOP. Hey, Andrea, how's that Chuck Hagel's campaign doin', you twit?
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Mitchell claimed that John
April 3, 2007 - 10:49 ET by MidAmericaMitchell claimed that John McCain is "hurt by his support for the Iraq war."
She's looking at this from the democrat viewpoint. What's Mrs. Bill Clinton's main liability? Her previous support for the war.
The other reason for the MSM to talk this way is that by repetition the great unwashed masses who only casually hear news will pick up the impression that opposition to the war is nearly universal, not just democrats but Republicans too.
She's just gets uglier every
April 3, 2007 - 11:22 ET by sembyShe's just gets uglier every day!