Scarborough trots out the most-Americans-don't-know-the
-difference defense of McCain's Sunni-Shiite "confus[ion]'
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SUMMARY: On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough defended Sen. John McCain's apparent conflation of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, saying: "The thing is, everybody is obsessing over the fact that he keeps confusing Sunni and Shia. The fact is, I -- you know what? I could start peppering people with questions about Sunnis and Shia and Kurds, and the relationships there, and 99 percent of Americans wouldn't know; 99 percent of Americans wouldn't give a damn."
On the April 9 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, during a discussion of what co-host Mika Brzezinski described as Sen. John McCain's "rough spot with the Sunni-Shiite thing" while questioning Gen. David Petraeus on April 9, co-host Joe Scarborough defended McCain, saying: "The thing is, everybody is obsessing over the fact that he keeps confusing Sunni and Shia. The fact is, I -- you know what? I could start peppering people with questions about Sunnis and Shia and Kurds, and the relationships there, and 99 percent of Americans wouldn't know; 99 percent of Americans wouldn't give a damn."
During the hearing, McCain asked Petraeus: "Do you still view Al Qaeda in Iraq as a major threat?" Petraeus replied: "It is still a major threat, though it is certainly not as major a threat as it was, say, 15 months ago." McCain then asked "Certainly not an obscure sect of -- of the Shiites all -- overall --" Petraeus replied, "No," as McCain said: "or Sunnis or anybody else?" In fact, Al Qaeda in Iraq is a Sunni group, not a Shiite group.
Scarborough also said: "The bottom line is, John McCain knows Iraq, John McCain's been over to Iraq. If he keeps confusing Sunni and Shia, it's a block. You know, all presidents have these, like, mind blocks. George Bush -- it happens when he talks. Bill Clinton, it happens whenever he has to make personal judgments. Everybody's got their thing."
This is not the first time a member of the media has excused McCain's errors on this subject by asserting that most Americans don't know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites. As Media Matters for America noted, after McCain previously conflated Sunni and Shiite -- making the admittedly false claim on March 18 that "[i]t's common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran" -- USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page asserted, "I think it's a verbal error. And, you know, most Americans can't tell you the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, either." McCain made the misstatement twice during a press conference on March 18 and also to nationally syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt during a March 17 interview.
As Media Matters also documented, during the March 19 edition of MSNBC's Race for the White House, Scarborough suggested that McCain's misstatement on March 18 were the result of a lack of sleep, saying: "John McCain also doesn't know the difference between Sunnis and Shia after he's been awake for 48 hours." He added, "Boy, that's a winning platform."
From the April 9 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:
BRZEZINSKI: He hit a little bit of a rough spot with the Sunni-Shiite thing again.
SCARBOROUGH: But you know what --
BRZEZINSKI: But we'll get to that.
SCARBOROUGH: The thing is, everybody is obsessing over the fact that he keeps confusing Sunni and Shia. The fact is, I -- you know what? I could start peppering people with questions about Sunnis and Shia and Kurds, and the relationships there, and 99 percent of Americans wouldn't know; 99 percent of Americans wouldn't give a damn. The bottom line is, John McCain knows Iraq, John McCain's been over to Iraq. If he keeps confusing Sunni and Shia, it's a block. You know, all presidents have these, like, mind blocks. George Bush --
GEIST: Several.
SCARBOROUGH: -- it happens when he talks.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, I don't think that's a good example.
SCARBOROUGH: Bill Clinton, it happens whenever he has to make personal judgments. Everybody's got their thing.
BRZEZINSKI: You know what? That's -- I'm sorry, that's ridiculous. But I'm thinking the guy, you know, probably doesn't want to do that a third time.
SCARBOROUGH: So are you suggesting that John McCain's dumb? Or that --
BRZEZINSKI: No, I'm not. I'm suggesting that --
SCARBOROUGH: Are you suggesting he's too old? Are you suggesting he's confused? Are you suggesting he doesn't understand --
BRZEZINSKI: You are -- happy birthday.
SCARBOROUGH: Are you suggest -- what are you suggesting? And why -- what are these people who don't know much -- I almost said a word that probably would have gotten me fired on my birthday --
GEIST: Yeah.
BRZEZINSKI: Yes.
SCARBOROUGH: Who don't know much about Iraq, who write their little blogs while their faces and fingers are smeared with Cheeto dust in the basements of their ranch house in Schenectady, New York. What are these people suggesting? That they know more about Iraq than John McCain? I'm not defending John McCain; I'd say the same thing about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
BRZEZINSKI: Uh-huh.
SCARBOROUGH: What is the point?
BRZEZINSKI: I think the point is that the candidates all need to define themselves on Iraq, and John McCain has the credibility of a war hero and of experience --
SCARBOROUGH: But what about the Sunni and Shia --
BRZEZINSKI: And it just doesn't help. The Democrats, I think, have a much bigger challenge with this --
SCARBOROUGH: Right.
BRZEZINSKI: And I think that, quite frankly, the whole philosophy as to whether or not we go on with this, needs to be debated deeply --
SCARBOROUGH: I think --
BRZEZINSKI: -- because there are serious problems with staying in there a long time.
Most Americans couldn't find Iraq on a map in 1991.
And most Americans couldn't have told you, in 2001, who the leader of Pakistan was, and we wouldn't want someone that ignorant to be in the White House, would we? Oh, wait, we already got him.
New McCain campaign slogan:
McCain '08
He's just as dumb as you!
We call those folks that don't know the difference 30%ers
W knows them as his base
EDEN.....
If we call the 30%'ers, Bush's base....
What do we call the 7% that still backs Cheney? Other than brain dead idiots?
I beleive the followers of Darth Vader are called Imperial Stormtroopers, though it's been a while since I've seen any of those movies.
But seriously, does 7% really still support him? You know the saying that you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time? Apparently, 7% of Americans can be fooled all of the time.
Joe,
Do you sometimes wonder why you were moved to mornings and far away from the limelight of prime time airtime?
Yeah...... I thought that too!
A group effort this year I see.
This year as the collective @sshole of the Year we noninate the base of a shrub.
I'm underwhelmed, are you underwhelmed?
Does it occur to anyone that the press itself doesn't know the difference?
for anybody who can't wait, here's a preview.
If most Americans don't know the difference between the Shia and Sunni Muslims (like our current President) it is because the media has dropped the ball on their job of informing the public on what the facts are and who the players are in a given situation.
I have to agree with you for the most part. Many americans are turning a cold shoulder to the media - whether it be internet forums, newspapers, television, etc - because of partisonship and objective news coverage. As the old saying goes "dont let the facts get in the way of a good story".
Not that this is in any defense to McCain at all, but he change his words correctly fairly quick. Stupidity is no excuse for ignorance either - ala under sniper fire.
The suspicion has been raised on occasion.
There are so many absurd suspicions and accusations, some pretty funny as a bonus, laid at their door (the one for the servants). A hard working ethically strong four estate is the image thats hard to imagine today. There are some stars, if you look for them. Their net effect in msm, oh bout ought point five hp.
This distinction between the Shi'a and sunni Muslim sects is nothing trivial, to those who are trying to understand how best to deal with U.S. Troops in Iraq... it's nothing like "who gives a damn".
If you had the least bit interest in what it is that U.S. Troops are charged (unfortunately) with dealing with in Iraq, and are the least bit interested in understanding just who it is that wants to topple that fledgling democracy that Iraq seems to be (at least for now)... and it is unfortunate for us all that we are in a position of providing a great degree of the national security functions, to a "fledgling democracy" in the Middle East, in Iraq, but why balk at or deny facts: That's where we are, and what we're doing there, thank you very much George W. Bush (not!)...
Again, if you had any interest at all in these things, then you would find it of intense interest, and the utmost importance, and nothing trivila or insignificant, to know just which of Iraq's ancient neighbors it is, that funds and mans the "insurgency" in Iraq, against that "fledgling democracy", and in the process, against the U.S. Troops there.
Is that ancient neighbor (now threatening and posed to inherit Iraq's unfortunately destabilized government, tyvm GWB not!), is it:
A. Iran
B. saudi arabia
C. Both
or D. neither
And if you had the least bit interest in these matters, then you'd want to know the answer to that question... and if you wanted to know the answer to that question, then you'd want to know the difference between the Muslim sects known as Shi'a, and sunni... and you'd want to know which of those sects are aligned with the nation of Iran, and which with saudi arabia...
And which with the thing that George W. Bush et al call "al qaeda".
And it would appear that we have a candidate for the Presidency, and to be Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, and to inherit the management and Command of an occupation in Iraq by more than 100,000 U.S. Troops... a candidate who either simply doesn't know the difference between who forms that Iraq "insurgency" that daily threatens the existence of that "fledgling democracy", and (unfortunately) in so doing, threatens daily the lives of those U.S. Troops who are placed in the (tragically negligent GWB) position of providing Iraq with it's national Security against it's ancient neighbors...
We have a man standing for the U.S. Presidency who I say either doesn't know these things, or doesn't care, you decide.
And if it should be the latter of those two disqualifications to the Office, namely that Sen. McCain doesn't care that it is the sunni sect of muslims, and the nation of saudi arabia, that threatens the majority Shi'a "fledgling democracy" of Iraq, and threatens in turn the U.S. Troops who provide Iraq it's national security functions...
If he doesn't care what the difference between sunni and Shi'a is, or which of them constitutes the thing called "al qaeda"...
...then maybe it's because he thinks it trivial (which it is not), and that he doesn't give a damn (which most Americans do, this jerk scarborough's claim notwithstanding).
I could start peppering people with questions about Sunnis and Shia and Kurds, and the relationships there, and 99 percent of Americans wouldn't know; 99 percent of Americans wouldn't give a damn. ...
oh Joe, can I have your autograph???....becuz you are all knowing, if not for you & your devine wisdom(still a step or eight behind Limberger) we in the huddled masses could know a Sunni from a Shia, a Shia from a Kurd or a Arab from a Jewish person.....
....please keep your infinite wisdom flowing to the less fortunate so that we may see the light...wait, hang on Joe, Dancing with the Stars just started.
As he stumples around, I think Joe actually made a very good point. What can we accomplish in Iraq if a significant portion of the American people can't figure out (or be bothered to figure out) which side is which? If we can't identify the players, why are we in the game?
Suppose the British had decided to take sides during the American Civil War (as they came close to doing, by the way) but didn't bother to figure out which side was which?
99% wouldn't give a damn. Yeah - THAT'S A PROBLEM!!!
All you really NEED to know is that THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER VERY MUCH.
If you can remember that much, (and who belongs to which side) you are far from ready to command our militray in a war on terror.
That's pretty much what I was thinking, that he made a good point. It really doens't matter that MMFA is using it to criticize defense of McCain.
Most Americans understand fried chicken, NASCAR, Britney Spears, the NFL and which college your kids might attend someday. And we don't know jack about the warring factions in Iraq. We don't want to know. It doesn't jibe with waving the flag, killing the bad guys and rescuing Tess from the railroad tracks.
So, we stumble on in with our bravado, kill and maim everything in sight and say we've "liberated" the countryside.
And we cannot, for the life of us, figure out why people are angry with us after all the "good things" we've done in their country.
During the Vietnam war, an era in which I served as an army draftee, I saw a 1950's movie (Capucine!) about the clash between north and south in Vietnam duinrg the French occupation of the south. The north saw themselves as liberators of their brothers and sisters in the south under French rule. They're whole purpose was to kick out the colonial occcupiers and to actually re-unite north and south into one country...kinda like what happended in reality in the 70's. It was an eye opener of epic proportion because in my little naive, patirotic and arrogant world, we were always right and "they" were always wrong.
The incredible challenge in staying informed about what's happening politically and in religious circles in Iraq is that it changes each week. Kinda like Three Card Monty with guns.
Not only does Iraq not change weekly, it's been going round and round in-fighting for thousands of years. It's requires the rule of an Iron Hand dictator, Maybe like I don't know... Saddam Husseim. The reason you trouble understanding whats going on is your not given the truth very often. What's missing is the eye openers like the one you sighted on Viet Nam. I good way to seek out better information (in addition to this site) is to follow news from foreign countries, you'll be amazed at the lies your told at home by our media.
go ahead and pepper me with questions, Joe. I might get them wrong but I'M not running for President.
remember all that " a president doesn't really need to be able to talk good or be smart" crapola? all Bush needed to do was show up and say "goo" to just make guys like Joe bust their buttons. here we go again.