Distortion: McCain Did Not Quite Support Kofi Annan

I was pretty surprised to read the headline that John McCain was defending Annan, and ready to tear him (another) new one.

But he didn't quite do that. The piece was written by Oliver-Willis-fan Joe Conason-- consider the source. And consider what McCain actually said:

Asked whether he believes that Mr. Annan should step down, the Arizona Republican and outspoken hawk replied, "No. I think that we should have a full and complete investigation and then make decisions like that. Am I disturbed when I hear that his son was on payroll? Of course I’m disturbed about it, and apparently Kofi Annan was [disturbed] also." He added, "I think Coleman is kind of a symptom of some dissatisfaction within Congress about the U.N.—but no, I think we need a full and complete investigation, and there’s plenty of time to decide whether people should keep their jobs or not."

Sure, I wish McCain were more forward-leaning on this, and yes, I think he's wrong about the need, at this point, to collect more evidence before making some judgments.

Still, McCain seems to be making a limited proceduralist statement -- "Let us do these things in proper order, and at the proper time" -- rather than "disdaining" Annan's GOP critics, as Conason claims in his headline.

Perhaps McCain said additional things off-the-record. Perhaps, but I'm inclined to believe that Joe Conason is just being the normal dishonest hack he's always been.

posted by Ace at 03:41 PM

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