PRO-grams! Git yer PRO-grams, here...

You can't tell the players without a program!

Apparently, economics isn't the only topic that John McCain "doesn't understand as well as he should:"

"Today in Iraq, America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable. Al Qaeda and Shia extremists -- with support from external powers such as Iran -- are on the run but not defeated."

"As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they're moving back into Iraq. I think Americans should be very angry when we know that Iran is exporting weapons into Iraq that kill Americans. And so all I can say is that I think they continue to be a threat."

"It's common knowledge, and it's been reported in the media, that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran."

Still no word on what color the sky is in that world.

Honestly, what's next? The Turks training the PKK?

For someone who's roundly considered to have such an advantage in national security and foreign policy experience, it certainly appears that he hasn't even gotten the basics out of the "Middle East Clusterfuck 101" that we've all been forced to endure for the past five years. His apologists are quick to blame fatigue, a slip of the tongue...pretty much anything short of a ventriloquist throwing his voice. If you ask me, the fact that he made the same so-called "slip" multiple times seems to belie those excuses.

Personally, I don't think Mr. 100 Years is an unintelligent man. I just don't think he cares. The details matter little as long as the Glorious Mission on which he's staked his credibility, continues. Much like 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's current occupant, McCain has invested so much in this disaster, that, no matter how the costs mount, he's forced to stay on a path to vindication, however illusory it actually is. Anything else means owning his role in those lost billions, limbs and lives, and how little they gained us.

Unfortunately the power of the conventional wisdom of St. McCain's near-papal infallibility on such matters renders the vast majority of the barbeque-enthralled press from even considering such a possibility.