Media villagers give McCain a pass on cozying up to dictator Moammar Gadhafi

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Sen. John McCain's media arm, the Arizona Republic, did some mighty fine spinning for the senator this morning in McCain: It's time to step up aid:

U.S. Sen. John McCain has consistently called for a more active U.S. role in supporting the Libyan rebels.

* * *

In April, McCain traveled to a rebel stronghold in Libya amid the fighting between rebels and government forces.

He returned in September, after Gadhafi had been ousted.

He criticized the administration for not intervening militarily in Libya more quickly than it did to help end the bloodshed and reinforce the rebels' efforts to oust Gadhafi.

It appears the Arizona Republic shares John McCain’s Libya amnesia — his past has disappeared down the memory hole:

What McCain is apparently forgetting is that, apart from the past few weeks, the last decade has been a period of rapprochement between the United States and Libya. It started with President Bush announcing in 2003 that Gadhafi had agreed to give up his “weapons of mass destruction” programs. In 2006 Bush removed Libya from the official list of state sponsors of terrorism. In September 2008 Condoleezza Rice traveled to Libya to have talks with Gadhafi. And just a few days before the 2008 presidential election, Bush signed a settlement under which Libya compensated families of victims of Lockerbie and other ’80s-era attacks.

Who else was involved in the effort to forge better ties with Gadhafi? John McCain. In August 2009 he led a delegation of senators, including fellow hawks Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, on a trip to visit the Libyan leader in Tripoli. Discussed during the visit was delivery of — get this — American military equipment to Gadhafi (a man with American blood on his hands no less).

“We discussed the possibility of moving ahead with the provision of non-lethal defense equipment to the government of Libya,” the AP quoted McCain as saying at a press conference. McCain also noted that “ties between the United States and Libya have taken a remarkable and positive turn in recent years.” 

One of the WikiLeaks cables describes McCain’s friendly meeting with Gadhafi in great detail.

Steve Benen harshes on McCain at the Political Animal – The question Blitzer forgot to ask:

McCain may be pleased, but perhaps now would also be a good time to remember what the senator was up to two years ago.

In August 2009, the Republican lawmaker traveled to Tripoli for a personal visit with Gadhafi, and the two discussed delivery of American military equipment to the Libyan dictator. There’s even a video of the introductions.

Yes, you’ll notice that McCain actually bowed a little to Gadhafi. After the meeting, the conservative senator even praised the Libyan leader online. [See John McCain’s Twitter Archive Reveals 2009 Gadhafi Meeting, ‘Late Evening’ – ABC News].

(You might also recognize Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman, and Susan Collins, all of whom attended the meeting and shook Gadhafi’s hand.)

McCain changed his mind earlier this year and compared Gadhafi to Hitler, but I’m curious why the media has been so quick to forget about the senator’s willingness to cozy up to the dictator just two years ago. Politics can move pretty fast, but 2009 wasn’t that long ago.

Put it this way: if a Democratic senator who claims superior foreign policy expertise literally bowed to Gadhafi two years ago, chatted with him in Tripoli, and soon after praised him online, do you think he or she might be asked about it today? Especially as the senator makes the rounds doing interviews anyway?

Excellent point, Steve, but we all know the answer. For the corporate media villagers, IOKIYAR.