Dumb Won't Do It

John McCain has learned the wrong lessons from George W. Bush. He thinks Americans are as dumb as he is, he doesn't bother himself with nuance or facts, and he is planning to get elected based on the avalanche of double-talk and stupidity coming from his mouth.

If my memory were better, I could write a book on all of McCain's lies and fabrications. He says the economy is doing great, inflation is low, unemployment is low, we are better off than we were eight years ago, he thinks Iran is training Al Qaeda, Baghdad is safe, he says Obama is the Hamas candidate, that a guy raised on food-stamps is an "elitist", he says we are winning the war in Iraq, he falsely asserts that he called for Rumsfeld's resignation, he tells us that Reagan never negotiated with Iran for hostages, then he gives speeches about how in 2013, the world will suddenly be a magical place where unicorns run free.

And just yesterday, McCain told us that Iran is as dangerous as the Soviet Union in its heyday:

Senator Obama claimed that the threat Iran poses to our security is "tiny" compared to the threat once posed by the former Soviet Union. Obviously, Iran isn't a superpower and doesn't possess the military power the Soviet Union had. But that does not mean that the threat posed by Iran is insignificant. On the contrary, right now Iran provides some of the deadliest explosive devices used in Iraq to kill our soldiers. They are the chief sponsor of Shia extremists in Iraq, and terrorist organizations in the Middle East. And their President, who has called Israel a "stinking corpse," has repeatedly made clear his government's commitment to Israel's destruction. Most worrying, Iran is intent on acquiring nuclear weapons. The biggest national security challenge the United States currently faces is keeping nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. Should Iran acquire nuclear weapons, that danger would become very dire, indeed. They might not be a superpower, but the threat the Government of Iran poses is anything but "tiny."

This is the same kind of bullshit argument that got us into Iraq. Remember when Saddam Hussein was the next Hitler? Now it's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Remember when the ferocious Iraqi army was shooting at our planes, violating UN resolutions, and threatening to build more weapons? Now Iran is the big bad boogeyman. Believe it folks, a vote for McCain is a vote for war with Iran. He is spewing the same arguments that Bush was spewing in Fall of 2002, only the names are different. Forget that Iran hasn't attacked another country since the 18th century (Iraq started the Iran-Iraq war). Forget that Iran spends only $4.8 billion per year on their military. To John McCain, they are just as frightening as the Soviet Union!

We don't give awards here, but John McCain delivers the Understatement of the Year right here:

Obviously, Iran isn't a superpower and doesn't possess the military power the Soviet Union had.

You think? Iran's military power is probably one percent of what the Soviet Union had. Iran has zero nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union had over 20,000. Iran has not conquered another country in centuries. The Soviet Union controlled all of Eastern Europe. Iran has 545,000 people in their armed forces. The Soviet Union had 5,000,000. Barack Obama was spot-on when he said that Iran poses a tiny threat compared to the Soviet Union. But John McCain, unable to win an argument on the merits, first brushes past how ferocious the Soviets were and then builds Iran up into a big bad bully that should have us trembling in our sleep.

He really is the third term of George W. Bush. Same arguments, same lies, same disconnect with reality. If Americans are once again swayed by the dumbest arguments out there, McCain has a chance. But given how the gas tax holiday crashed and burned, given how Republicans are 0-3 in special elections this year, given how 81% of the population thinks we're on the wrong track, it's hard to fathom how McCain's con game can really hold up until November.