McCain Tricks Obama Into Massive Global Win

Like so many McCain campaign disasters -- choosing Phil "Poor People Suck" Gramm as financial adviser or announcing a press conference on an oil rig during a hurricane -- it probably seemed like a terrific idea at the time:  Harass Barack Obama into embarking on an international fact-finding mission thing, which would obviously provide so many embarrassing gaffes and make Americans scared to death of the Boy Muslim President.

Instead, Obama has turned the world into an exciting and hopeful background for his candidacy. Here's what we've noticed, so far:

• The U.S. troops in Afghanistan endorse his plans there.

• ... Where he also made a three-pointer from way downtown on his first try.

• The Iraqi government endorses his plan over the Bush/McCain non-plan.

• He struts around without body armor, a foot taller than everybody else -- in painful contrast to Ol' Walnuts looking like a Kevlar burrito wearing an old lady's sun hat. 

• The hawkish Israelis say, "Hey, this fellow will let us nuke Iran, too. We like him fine." 

• The saner Israelis say, "Hey, maybe this guy isn't such a one-note warmonger and might actually accomplish something over here."

• The Jordanians say, "Welcome, Mr. Cool. Our king will drive you around and you guys can figure everything out."

• Germany's Angela Merkel pronounces him "well-equipped — physically, mentally and politically."

• The Palestinians make him a bagel! 
  
  
  

Meanwhile, McCain has bumbled and stumbled from one fuckup to another. He doesn't know where Iraq is, he doesn't know when his precious Surge started, the magic sheiks his polices protected were murdered by Al Qaeda a year ago, he whines about the media following Obama's epic trip, the trip McCain forced Obama to make.

Meanwhile, the NYTsays "no thanks" to McCain's crappy op-ed while his idiot staffers book him atop an offshore oil platform during a hurricane andcancel his one serious press conference of the week. It is all frantic and weird.

 McCain Makes the Biggest Political Mistake of Our Lifetimes [Matt Littman/HuffPo]