McCain zapped by Spain question

Thu, 09/18/2008 - 10:21am

Listening to the original English audio of John McCain's already infamous interview with Radio Caracol Miami, it's fairly obvious that McCain doesn't intend to describe Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain as one of America's enemies, he just has no idea what the interviewer is talking about:

Interviewer: Let's talk about Spain. If you are elected president, would you be willing to invite President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to the White House to meet with you?

McCain: I would be willing to meet with those leaders who are our friends and want to work with us in a cooperative fashion. And by the way, President Calderon of Mexico is fighting a very tough fight against the drug cartels. I'm glad we are now working in cooperation with the Mexican government on the Merida plan and I intend to move forward with relations and invite as many of them as I can, of those leaders to the White House.

Interviewer: Would that invitation be extended to the Zapatero government, to the president itself?

McCain: I don't...you know, honestly I have to look at the relations and the situations and the priorities but I can assure you, I will establish closer relations with our friends and I will stand up to those who want to do harm to the United States of America. I know how to do both.

Interviewer: So you have to see if he's willing to meet with you, or you'll be able to do it in the White House?

McCain: Again, I don't...all I can tell you is that I have a clear record of working with leaders in the hemisphere that are friends with us and standing up to those who are not and that's judged on basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America and the entire region.

Interviewer: Okay, but what about Europe? I'm talking about the president of Spain.

McCain: What about me, what?

Interviewer: Are you willing to meet with him if you are elected president?

McCain: I'm willing to meet with any leader that's dedicated to the same principles and philosophy that we are for human rights, democracy, and freedom and I will stand up to those that do not.

The interviewer has an accent and speaks somewhat quickly, so it's possible that the Arizona senator didn't really understand the questions and was just trying to wing it. It also seems like the name Zapatero didn't really ring a bell for him (perhaps he was thinking of Mexico's Zapatista rebels?), which is unfortunate given that earlier in the interview, he distinguishes himself from Barack Obama by saying, "I know the issues and I know the leaders."

Any way you interpret this gaffe, it doesn't look good for McCain. If he honestly considers Zapatero to be in the same category as Chávez and Morales -- which I doubt -- he looks overly hawkish. And if he didn't know who the prime minister of Spain is, it undercuts his credibility as a foreign-policy expert. If he was just having a "senior moment" and didn't understand what he was being asked, well, that might be the worst.

Joshua Keating | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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Gaffe Patrol

by teodoro on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 11:00am

I for one am getting a little tired at the Gaffe Patrol. If you listen to the entire interview, he successfully navigated questions on Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba and included Columbia and Mexico. Yes, he seems to evade the question of Spain. But the circumstances of the election of PP's Zapatero, not to mention his subsequent withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, definitely should give the senator pause, since he doesn't seem like he's kept up recently with Spanish-American relations.

Zapatero is the leader of

by JohnRoss on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 8:23am

Zapatero is the leader of the Socialist party. The PP is the Spanish conservative party, associating Zapatero with it is like calling Obama a Republican.

John Ross

Colombia

by Antonio on Thu, 09/25/2008 - 7:33pm

is the correct spelling, Teodoro. Columbia is where I went to school (does that make me elitist?).

Gaffe Patrol, Redux

by teodoro on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 3:39pm

No, not necessarily. Although I didn't use the term or refer to being elitist. That must be an issue for you.

However, being on the spelling patrol for the comment section of a blog either means you are unemployed or in need of some serious self-esteem.

No patrol needed

by Ben on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 3:52pm

One would think you would be more tired of hearing a supposed-foreign policy expert continue to make gaffes on foreign policy. It's not like anybody's being forced to dig this stuff up. The "Gaffe Patrol", as you call the independent news media, is just doing their job. Also, successfully navigating questions shouldn't be cause for acclaim; if he couldn't do even that much, then he would have no business running for President, and somehow getting 80% of the questions right doesn't seem like a strong endorsement. American foreign policy isn't a multiple choice test.

Clarification

by Paul Gauthier on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 9:27pm

McCain’s Spain-Gaffe Interviewer: McCain Not Confused, Just Ducking Question

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccains_spaingaffe_interviewer.php

I think

by Virgil Tibbs on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 10:07pm

In my opinion, McCain didn't know who Zapatero was. Plenty of other countries have, or will pull their troops out of Iraq. There's no reason not to meet the man.

When he says "hemisphere", he's apparently referring to the Americas, not the western hemisphere.

The fact is that he had clearly been briefed on Latin American issues before embarking on an interview with a spanish-speaking journalist from Miami, but not on European issues, which is why he couldn't answer the questions.

It's so depressing that politicians have to be briefed extensively before each and every point of contact with the public.

Cranial capacity

by jgarzik on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 11:30pm

Expecting the president or vice president to have an in-depth command of every nation's policies and issues is unrealistic.

..but at least know or

by operagirl on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 9:35pm

..but at least know or pretend to know the ones who are fighting with you in Afghanistan!!!! ARGH!!!!

Man!!! This is sad, very sad.

He should know Spain

by kidzib on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 12:18am

I can forgive even a self-professed "foreign policy heavyweight" for not knowing who runs the Central African Republic or even Uruguay, but not knowing who runs Spain is kind of akin to not knowing who runs Britain, France, and Germany. I imagine he was probably not confused. But if he is going to completely shun the folks who have pulled out of Iraq, that'a bit childish in my opinion.

zapatero is no friend of america

by barcelona on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 8:49am

I am from Spain and I think that Joshua Keating's post is just plain silly. It also shows a complete lack of understanding as to who Zapatero is.

Zapatero is one the most anti-American leaders in Europe and he never misses an opportunity to say so. Moreover, he has said in public that he hopes Obama beats McCain. So why should McCain commit to meeting with this character?

Zapatero is also one of the most isolated leaders in Europe. Most European leaders want nothing to do with Zapatero, with leaders like Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy shunning him in public. What would McCain want to bestow credibility on this guy?

If you want to act like a foreign policy expert by posting on this website, you should be sure to know what you are talking about first.

They all support Obama....

by Lure D. Lou on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 10:40am

Your own credibility would be enhanced if you knew the political leanings of every other European leader in Europe who are likely Obama supporters (Gordon Brown has so much as said so in public)...our only true friends left in Europe are the Romanians and maybe the Georgians, although we certainly put a damper on their aspirations for becoming a world military power. Being anti-American in Europe is a fashion in high vogue right now because of George Bush and his arrogant unilateralism....For the Europeans I have talked with they see McCain as more of the same and want none of it. You may have your beef with Zapatero but as far as how Europeans view the American election you certainly don't speak for anyone but yourself.

Barcelona-

by Joshua Keating on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 11:10am

I know the McCain campaign is saying now that he meant what he said about Zapatero, but I still maintain that McCain doesn't appear to understand what he's being asked. His first three answers all refer to Latin America and he clearly doesn't hear her say "Europe" at the end.
If McCain does actually intend to punish Zapatero for his opposition to U.S. policy (and yes, I actually am aware that) it contradicts earlier statements he's made: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/18/mccain_slights_spanish_prime_m.html
Whatever McCain may think of Zapatero, I find it highly doubtful that he would describe the Spanish government as opposed to "human rights, democracy, and freedom."