In an October 15 post on his blog, Politico senior political writer Ben Smith uncritically reported that during the third presidential debate, Sen. John McCain “hit[]” Sen. Joe Biden “on specific foreign policy issues” including “his 'cockamamie idea about dividing Iraq into three countries.' ” Smith did not note that McCain's claim -- which he has made repeatedly -- is false. In fact, as Media Matters for America has previously noted, Biden introduced a “five-point plan” to "[m]aintain a unified Iraq by decentralizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis breathing room in their own regions." Biden's plan also stated that "[t]he Iraqi constitution already provides for federalism" and that "[t]he central government would be responsible for common interests, like border security and the distribution of oil revenues."

Smith's blog post, headlined “Biden's views”:

McCain praises Biden, but hits him on specific foreign policy issues: his “cockamamie idea about dividing Iraq into three countries” and his opposition to the first Gulf War.