"The Same Old Lie"

Glenn Reynolds uses that term to describe this statement:

“Hi, John McCain; this is Alex. He’s my first. So far, his talents include trying any new food and chasing after our dog that, and making my heart pound every time I look at him. So, John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because, if you were, you can’t have him.”

How is that a lie? The woman does not describe combat; she describes a potential American soldier stationed in Iraq some time in the next thirty years. And she doesn't want her son there. It's not a lie. McCain's position is that he'd be fine with stationing American troops in fifty permanent bases in the middle of Mesopotamia for the next century or more. The woman in the ad is perfectly entitled to believe that such troops would not be in the same position as troops in South Korea or Germany - McCain's nutty analogies - and not to be deemed a liar for saying so.

One core issue in this election is that one candidate opposed this war from the beginning and wants all American troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and the other backed the war passionately and is happy with permanent bases for the indefinite future. That's the choice.