McCain's Revisionist History ... A Political Ploy or Signs of Something More Troubling

In case you haven't heard, Senator John McCain's recent re-telling of one of his POW experiences is raising more than a few eyebrows.

In the following video Cenk Uygur of "The Young Turks" shares his take on "the cross in the dirt" story.

url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Ue-p-xxsM

Josh Marshall of TalkingPointsMemo quotes one of his Republican pals as saying:

"You didn't get this from me, but use it as you will. Is it just me -- as a Republican knowing how we've played this game before -- or should there be genuine puzzlement why Obama isn't unleashing Democratic veterans (Jim Webb, Jack Reed, John Kerry, BOB Kerrey perhaps, etc. Some Democratic generals, whatever) to go after McCain on this "cross in the dirt" stuff? I mean, if there was one issue tailor-made for "Swift-Boat" payback, I can't think of anything else."

Well, in response to Josh Marshall's friend I would say that people like Jim Webb, John Kerry, Bob Kerrey, etc, may all see "the cross in the dirt" story in the context of a troubling change in the behavior of a man whom they once respected. And while I agree that this is tailor made for a little political payback, if I were in the Obama camp I wouldn't touch this with a ten foot poll.

You see what's troubling about the questionable details in McCain's story is not as much whether he changed the facts in the story to pander to the Christian evangelicals but whether Senator McCain really believes that the incident happened exactly as he recounted it to Rick Warren.

Why? Because, I have recently come to understand that one of the signs of the onset of senility and/or dementia is memory confusion. On numerous occasions I have heard an elderly person tell a story about an incident as being from their personal experience when in actuality the incident happened to someone they know. And believe you me, when they're convinced the story really happened to them, there is nothing that you can do to prove to them that it didn't.

In the following clip, Keith Olbermann points out other instances of McCain's memory confusion.

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WbnXn5Q_Hc

It's really sad when you see this happening to a family member or friend but the thought of the future President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces not having a clear grasp on reality is terrifying.