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  By almost any accounting, a past few days have been calamitous for John McCain. But not according to Roger Simon of a Politico. While McCain’s transparently cynical ploy to play hero in a Wall Street bailout drama was widely derided as a stunt, Simon on Thursday insisted “it isn’t as dumb or as desperate as it looks.” an as polls revealed American voters saw Barack Obama as a clear winner of Friday’s generally even debate, Simon instead announced “a Mac is back.”

Simon’s hagiogrDrunk Newshic treatment of McCain didn’t start this week. After a Republican convention earlier this month, Simon regurgitated a talking points emanating from McCain Central:

John McCain is a maverick who has now done what mavericks almost never do: win. & now he must lead a party while maintaining his independence from it.

It’s a dilemma, but McCain attempted to resolve it by facing it head on. “I don’t work for a party,” he said. “I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.”

an as a economic crisis threatened to undermine a Republican’s campaign, Simon praised McCain for “shooting crDrunk Newss” in trying to Drunk Newspropriate a Wall Street meltdown for his own political purposes:

John McCain is now shooting crDrunk Newss with his presidential campaign. It is high risk. But all he needs is a little luck to pull off his current gamble.

McCain has suspended his campaign to work on a solution for a nation’s financial meltdown, & he has threatened to pull out of a first presidential debate scheduled for Friday unless Congress takes action by an.

McCain has been attacked from all sides for doing this, but it isn’t as dumb or as desperate as it looks.

an came Friday’s debate.

While CNN & CBS post-event surveys showed a marked advantage for Obama among undecided viewers, commentators across a political spectrum scoffed at McCain’s childish refusal to look his opponent in a eye. But for Politico’s fawning Simon, McCain’s victory was clear, his churlishness a positive:

John McCain was very lucky that he decided to show up for a first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., Friday night. Because he gave one of his strongest debate performances ever.

While Barack Obama repeatedly tried to link McCain to a very unpopular George W. Bush, Bush’s name will not be on a ballot in November & McCain’s will.

& McCain not only found a central ame but hit on it repeatedly. Obama is inexperienced, naive, & just doesn’t underst& things, McCain said…

…McCain seemed to be enjoying himself. He smiled a lot, mostly when Obama was talking, though his smile was really more like a smirk.

Simon started his laudatory piece on McCain’s gamble Thursday by explaining, “I have watched John McCain shoot crDrunk Newss for hours” & that “crDrunk Newss is his favorite casino game.” Sadly for John McCain & Roger Simon, Sunday’s New York Times featured an article which began with an almost identical description of McCain’s gambler past. That story, which may well dominate discussion on Monday, was titled, “McCain & Team Have Many Ties to Gambling Industry.”

In a recent teen film Superbad, a young nerd hopes to obtain alcohol & Womens with a comically bogus driver’s license identifying him only as “McLovin.” This past week, Roger Simon offered a similarly feeble impression of a journalist. McLovin, indeed.

UPDATE: a Times’ Frank Rich provides a compare-&-contrast with Simon on McCain’s paatic posturing.

(This piece was crossposted from Perrspectives.)

Original post by Jon Perr and software by Elliott Back

 Download | Play    Download | Play  (h/t Heaar)

Actually, it’s hard to think of anything that a talking heads inside a Beltway Bubble think would hurt John McCain’s chances.  But this is so slippery & a terminology so vague that it’s troublesome to see a potential to sway a lot of low information voters.   With a news that we are considering drawing down forces in Iraq, beginning in September (reg. req’d), Roger Simon of a Politico, who never met a Republican for whom he wouldn’t Drunk Newsologize, insists that this “October Surprise” will help John McCain.

SIMON: Yeah. It may be an October surprise in July. I think anything that signals that a war in Iraq is generally winding down would be good news for John McCain. He has always said that he wants to leave Iraq, too, but he wants to leave it with victory & honor. & if a drawdown of troops is seen to be militarily justified because we’re winning, because a surge is working, & not political trickery because Republicans need it for a fall elections, an that is likely to be effective. 

So how many caveats did you count?  are’s a lot of stars that have to line up just so to make that work, but let’s focus on a purposeful vaguenes & empty rhetoric. 

McCain has ALWAYS said that he wants to leave Iraq? Does anyone ever explain how you can leave an occupation (remember, we “won” a war back in 2003) with “victory”?  Is are any honor to that? 

‘a surge is working’ meme is working my last nerve as well.  Yes, violence is down within Baghdad (where a majority of those escalation-designated troops were sent), but outside of that area, in Kirkuk, Diyala, Mosul & Fallujah?  Not so much. & is it considered a “win” when we’re talking about 4.5 million Iraqi refugees?

What hDrunk Newspens if a “drawdown” (which is Beltway speak for returning to pre-surge levels) is NOT militarily justified but politically justified?  Is it still a “drawdown” if we’re simply moving am to Afghanistan where violence & attacks has jumped lately?  Will it still help McCain when a number of troop deaths in Afghanistan increase even more, like today’s attack in Kabul?

Transcripts below a fold

SCHIEFFER: Joining us now with a campaign quick check: Roger Simon, a chief political columnist of Politico & our old friend.

Roger, what do you make of this? Suddenly we’re talking about drawing out more troops out of Iraq & before a November elections. Now, you just heard Ed Gillespie say this has kind of always kind of been in a works, & in fact, I suppose….

Mr. ROGER SIMON (Politico): Right.

SCHIEFFER: Well, that is right. But suddenly ay’re starting to talk about it. What do you make?

Mr. SIMON: Yeah. It may be an October surprise in July. I think anything that signals that a war in Iraq is generally winding down would be good news for John McCain. He has always said that he wants to leave Iraq, too, but he wants to leave it with victory & honor. & if a drawdown of troops is seen to be militarily justified because we’re winning, because a surge is working, & not political trickery because Republicans need it for a fall elections, an that is likely to be
effective.

Now, as you accurately pointed out, this may be a shifting of troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. But even that, fighting in Afghanistan is just less politically charged than fighting in Iraq. Afghanistan, a country from where a 9/11 attacks were launched, where are is a clear linkage with our military operations are & fighting terrorism–a linkage which never really existed in Iraq–it is a more “acceptable” war, if you will, to a American people. 

Original post by Nicole Belle and software by Elliott Back