It’s gotta suck to be John McCain at the moment. Not only is everyone here laughing at his political stunt last Sunday where he strolled the “safe” streets of Baghdad with the help of a small private army, but the Iraqi’s are calling bullshit on him as well:
“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday. “The security procedures were abnormal!”
The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.
“They paralyzed the market when they came,” Mr. Faiyad said during an interview in his shop on Monday. “This was only for the media.”
He added, “This will not change anything.”
When even the Iraqi’s know you’re full of shit you’ve got problems....
Mr. McCain was asked about a comment he made on a radio program in which he said that he could walk freely through certain areas of Baghdad.
“I just came from one,” he replied sharply. “Things are better and there are encouraging signs.”
He added, “Never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today.”
Told about Mr. McCain’s assessment of the market, Abu Samer, a kitchenware and clothing wholesaler, scoffed: “He is just using this visit for publicity. He is just using it for himself. They’ll just take a photo of him at our market and they will just show it in the United States. He will win in America and we will have nothing.”
A Senate spokeswoman for Mr. McCain said he left Iraq on Monday and was unavailable for comment because he was traveling.
I’ve completely lost respect for this man.
Posted on 04/09/2007 at 11:31 AM 
Ditt-fuckin-o. I recall thinking a coupla years ago if this was the face of GOP we (earthlings) could do a lot worse.
Was I ever wrong?
I think he started taking on the appearance of something totally fucked in the head when he chose to give a talk at Jerry’s Liberty University (is there any such thing as the perfect oxymoron?
) last year.
Sad in a way, but, aren’t we lucky he didn’t hold it together till after he won the race in 2008.