McCain was very supportive and flattering of Sec. State Kerry...

[karynnj]

74. Obama defends his people WHEN THEY NEED DEFENDING

Kerry does not need defending. He is well respected in the Senate - and it is the Senate, not self appointed "pundits", whose accomplishment is that they have some megaphone in the media or internet. Sight unseen, I have NO respect for anyone who plays the race or gender card and suggests conspiracies including Kerry to discredit Rice.

The fact is the facts are all too clear as to what happened. It requires listening to what McCain says are his reasons - especially when they are unsupported by facts. (It might help to pretend that he is a Democrat and the Obama administration Republican.)

Warning: this list is NOT what I think, but what McCain has stated he believes.

1) Rice was sent out to say things that ultimately were seen to be not true. They were the CIA's TPs. I have NO knowledge of whether Rice, who would have been in the loop, had reasons to think they were not true when she spoke them.

2) McCain and others have repeatedly said that they did not believe the TPs from what they knew - which was likely LESS than she knew.

3) McCain and others thought that the truth of what happened would have shifted the election to Romney. (My view is that they are out of their minds. This was not something that showed unscrupulous or unseemly behavior - and it was NOT a key issue in the election. This was NOT 2004 when the key question was national security.

4) McCain attacked Rice because she was the public face that he says "misled" the American people in a time before the election. I think he sincerely believes that -- in spite of the fact that the CIA said that she repeated what they said. His logic is that she likely knew they were a coverup. He also attacked HRC for the same reason - his deeply held believe that she, like Rice and like Obama, did not tell the truth to the American people before the election.

Note that Kerry very specifically disputed McCain's use of the word "misled". Note also, that far from needing defense, he defended Clinton (and implicitly Rice) on this issue - and he did it well.