AP headline touted McCain's "Straight Talk," but article documented his flip-flops

A March 26 Associated Press article bore the headline, "McCain Back Embracing Straight Talk," despite documenting several examples of Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) recent "shift on some issues."

The article began: "Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is back in New Hampshire and back embracing straight talk" and went on to describe McCain as "by far the most accessible of the candidates, Republican or Democratic." After noting McCain's acknowledgment of the "risks of full days on the record," the article pointed out McCain's inconsistency on several issues. First, the AP highlighted McCain's failure to answer a question posed by a reporter on March 16 regarding U.S. funding for condom distribution to fight AIDS in Africa:

McCain experienced some of what he candidly describes as "a problem with foot-in-mouth" in 2000. But he was the upstart in that year's GOP race; now he's a candidate of the Republican establishment.

Fallout from a recent question in Iowa highlights the difference. A reporter asked McCain his position on U.S. funding of condoms to fight HIV/AIDS.

"Are we on the Straight Talk Express?" McCain joked and laughed. "I'm not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I'm sure I've taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was."

He asked an aide to come forward.

"Would you find out what my position is on contraception? I'm sure I'm opposed to government spending on it, I'm sure I support the president's policies on it."

The Democratic National Committee [DNC] pounced, sending reporters previous McCain statements indicating he supported aid to developing nations to fund condom purchases and distribution.

Indeed, a March 19 posting on the DNC weblog noted McCain's previous position on the issue:

In fact, McCain has been on the record advocating the use of condoms as recently as 2004 when he answered a question on the Vote-Smart.org questionnaire asking him "Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives?" McCain answered "Yes".

And in 2002, on [NBC's] Meet the Press, McCain was asked:

MR. [host Tim] RUSSERT: What do you think of [then-Secretary of State] Colin Powell's comments about the use of condoms, encouraging sexually active young people to use them?

SEN. McCAIN: Oh, I agree with him. I think that he established the priorities correctly. We should emphasize, first of all, abstinence, faithfulness, but there are people in American society who are sexually active, and in the world. And when HIV/AIDS has reached an epidemic proportion, I think we need to use every means possible to try to eradicate this epidemic that has affected particularly Third World countries. But I do believe it's appropriate to emphasize abstinence and other ways, as well, and give them priority.

The AP article continued by pointing out that "eight-year-old video clips still bouncing around on the Web also document McCain's shift on some issues." The AP specifically cited McCain's remark during the 2000 presidential race that "[n]either party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be [Nation of Islam leader] Louis Farrakhan or [Rev.] Al Sharpton on the left, or [Rev.] Pat Robertson or [Rev.] Jerry Falwell on the right." The article noted that "[S]ince then, he [McCain] has accepted a speaking invitation to Falwell's Liberty University."

The AP further reported that McCain has "revised his views" on the issue of ethanol subsidies:

The rise of YouTube and blogs has some questioning how well McCain's openness will work this time.

"I'm not sure you can do what worked some years ago and have it work over again. It's not the casing of the sausage that matters; it's what's inside," said Iowa State University political science professor Steffen Schmidt.

McCain skipped Iowa in 2000 partly because he opposed subsidies for corn-based ethanol. He's revised his views and now jokes to Iowa reporters that he has a glass of ethanol with breakfast every day -- a punchline heard repeatedly as his bus rumbles down highways.

As Media Matters for America has documented, there are numerous other examples of McCain's inconsistency -- beyond those documented by the AP -- that belie his "straight talk" persona.

—M.B.B.