While on lunch, I watched an interview that Mika Brzezinski conducted with McCain surrogate Jill something (don't worry, I will update this once MSNBC posts video of this interview). I watched with rapt interest, knowing that I would be pissed off, but I wanted to see what the other side was up to.
Of course, she couldn't help but take pot shots at Obama per her party's talking points - it was premature for Obama to make his policy decisions before he went to Iraq and Afghanistan, and how Obama was against the surge even though it has worked, blah, blah, blah.
I do have to give Mika credit for one thing she (unintentionally?) sneaked into the conversation - I'm paraphrasing, but Mika asked Jill if it was par for the course nowadays to criticize PRESIDENTS while they were out of the country... not PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. Jill seemed completely oblivious to the (mis?)statement.
Anyway, the two points that started me screaming at my television are detailed below the fold.
Mika wanly asked this Jill person what John McCain's stance was on the issue of insurance covering Viagra but not birth control. Just to recap quickly, the folks on Morning Joe, including Mika, were playing the Planned Parenthood PAC ad this morning and mentioning that it was 'ridiculous' that insurance covered Viagra but not birth control. John McCain, meanwhile, not being able to decide where he stood on this issue (and with some Repubs trying to get birth control to be declared abortion and other Repubs not giving a crap about women's health period, he was in quite the pickle) was nearly mute in the ad.
Jill, after launching into a diatribe about how the press is always welcomed by John McCain on the campaign trail, and that sometimes it bites him in the ass, finally responded with:
"There are lots of 'gotcha' moments in politics. John McCain deals with them every day, and this is one of them."
Pardon? I can't speak for all the rest of the folks in the world, but for me, women's health and birth control are NOT 'gotcha' moments! They are very REAL issues.
This coversation lead right into a discussion about McCain courting Hillary voters who are "uncomfortable" with a President Obama (Mika's words, not mine) Jill was positively giddy at the possibility of flipping Hillary voters, and launched into her most blatantly bullshit-laden speech about John McCain knowing that Americans are concerned about the economy and the Iraq war and that McCain has a history of reaching across the aisle...you all are familiar with the speech.
Now, not that Jill said that McCain would do anything about the issues worrying the American people. What else could we expect from Bush Jr.'s 3rd term?