Getting Hot In Herre

As the Labor Day milestone is passed, it's time for the candidates on the right to start the time-honored political tradition of attacks and counter-attacks. So John McCain, on the verge of becoming completely irrelevant, has taken aim at Rudy Giuliani's fake national security credentials.

Senator John McCain took a more aggressive stance toward his Republican rivals on Tuesday, saying they lack his knowledge and experience on national security issues and questioning whether the leadership that Rudolph W. Giuliani displayed after Sept. 11, 2001, translates into foreign policy expertise [...]

“I think the nation respects the mayor’s leadership after 9/11, and I do, too, and I think he displayed leadership at a time that Americans needed some steady hand, and I think that his conduct was very laudatory following 9/11,” Mr. McCain said, when asked why so many voters identify Mr. Giuliani with the issue of terrorism.

But he went on to say: “I don’t think it translates, necessarily, into foreign policy or national security expertise. I know of nothing in his background that indicates that he has any experience in it, with him or Romney.”

Clearly McCain has to do something to shake up the race and kick-start his failing campaign, and calling for an even bigger war on drugs isn't going to cut it. What's more, McCain is pretty much correct. Happening to be the mayor of New York City on 9/11 simply doesn't translate to national security experience. It's a pretty clear statement, and if Giuliani becomes the nominee I expect the Democratic nominee to expropriate it. So thanks for the head start!

Giuliani demurred when asked to respond, but the Romney campaign pushed back, oddly enough, considering he was just a throw-in.

The McCain comments also drew a rebuke from the campaign of Mr. Romney, whose spokesman, Kevin Madden, said: “One of the problems with Washington right now is that everyone inside the Beltway thinks the only ideas that exist are the ones on Capitol Hill or in the halls of the bureaucracy there. That’s just not the case. Governor Romney’s experience has been built over a lifetime of making decisions and achieving results instead of just assigning blame.”

Meanwhile, McCain drew a lot of attention for jokingly calling a high school student a "little jerk", but I think this episode was more telling.

Then another student, William Sleastor, 16, asked Mr. McCain what he planned to do about “L.G.B.T. rights.” When Mr. McCain looked puzzled, the student explained that the initials stand for “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.”

“I had not heard that phrase before,” Mr. McCain said. Then, with a glance at the student who asked about his age, he said, “That authenticates your comment.”

Of course he hadn't heard LGBT before, he could care less about that constituency and the same with his party. They only use gay issues as a bludgeon for their theocratic base, nothing more. Thanks to McCain for telling the truth on that one.