Anyone see Richard Holbrooke calling out CNNs John Roberts for spinning for the McCain camp?

[NNN0LHI]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/13/ltm.01.html

ROBERTS: We should mention, as you said, you support Senator Obama. You have written the lead article in the new foreign policy magazine in which you compare the foreign policies of the two candidates. You do come down on the side of Barack Obama for the most part in this article.

But let me ask you, in terms of the response to Georgia, John McCain came out very quickly with a very forceful statement against Russia. It took Senator Obama three times to get to a similarly tough position. Has he got the foreign policy experience to be able to deal with a person like Vladimir Putin?

HOLBROOKE: John, with all due respect, I would dispute what you just said. Senator McCain and Senator Obama have roughly the same positions. It's the Bush administration that was behind the curve. President Bush embracing Putin, sitting next to him in Olympic stadium, having a most cursory talk and taking four or five days while he's playing volleyball in Beijing before he gets a serious statement. Meanwhile, the French are out there.

This is not a political issue. And you're just repeating spin from McCain supporters. Senator Obama was in the air on his way to Hawaii. He put a short statement out, got on the plane. He understood the severity of the issue instantly. And he followed it carefully. He talked to President Saakashvili by phone and his position is absolutely correct.

And I am not criticizing Senator McCain's position either in this case. I just think we ought to recognize this as a historic event and it's not a time for the kind of politics which some of McCain's supporters have been putting out recently.

ROBERTS: With respect, Mr. Ambassador, and you and I have known each other for a long time and quite well, I'm not repeating Republican spin. Just looking at what happened on the ground. They were three positions by Senator Obama, each one successively tougher. John McCain simply had the one statement. Let me, let me --

(CROSSTALK)

HOLBROOKE: Because, John, the situation was evolving. Obama's statement which came immediately was a place holder statement. But as the situation move, he was on the plane, out of touch on his way to Hawaii.

[Supersedeas]

1. po' John Roberts -- caught with his Ken Doll panties down again.

[radfringe]

2. mccain's spin is to emphasize mccain's "experience"

a common misconception is experience=competency, when it's really two different things

bush had 4 years as a governor, touted that as "experience" - as you can tell from the past 8 years, it doesn't/didn't translate to competency

mccain may have "experience" - but that doesn't mean he's competent.

meanwhile, the crap coming out of mccain's mouth is the same crap we've seen coming out of bush's piehole for the past 8 years

[CrispyQ]

4. Good distinction.

Now if only the dems would run with it.

[theoldman]

3. Holbrooke is one of the smartest politicians we have ever had.

Obama should include him in an important position.

[Kolesar]

6. Holbrooke was an enthusiastic supporter of the Iraq War

:sigh:

[SidDithers]

5. JD Roberts, glorified VJ...

and, from personal knowledge, not the sharpest knife in the drawer either.



Sid