The Cross in the Dirt

18Aug2008 #1:

McCain's story about the Steelers seemed to be a cynical effort to manipulate our feelings here in Pittsburgh. I certainly was moved when he told the story.

And I was and am deeply offended when I learned that he altered the true story to more directly affect us here. Now I wonder if even the original story about the Greenbay Packers is true.

But why did he do it. Certainly his story is compelling enough. It was so unnecessary. And so too is the cross in the sand story as he told it. Why not attribute it to its source in a book? Why not tell it as a story which moved him when he read it, which had it been true of his own captivity would have made a world of difference to him?

18Aug2008 #2:

Here is a link to MSNBC's coverage of McCain "Steelers" gaffe in Pittsburgh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vib6Ei-5UE0

It's very disturbing that he would cheapen his extraordinary story in so transparent a manner. And it's more disturbing that it is unlikely that the media will deal with it in a substantive fashion.

His willingness to articulate big lies calls into question the role he may have played in triggering the attack on South Ossettia by Georgia. The line of communication was certainly there, through his advisor Scheunnemann, a long time lobbyist under contract with Georgia.