“I mean, that’s just a matter of history.”
- Sen. John McCain
July 22, 2008 to Katie Couric of CBS News

Well, isn’t this special? First, some actual history…

• Col. Sean McFarland heads 1st Brigade, 1st Division while deployed to Iraq, 1/2006 to 2/2007 (1/2006 to 5/2006 in Nineveh Province. 5/2006 to 2/2007 in Ramadi, al Anbar Province)
• “Anbar Awakening” founded by Iraqi Sheik Abdul Sattar Buzaigh al-Rishawi in al Anbar Province, around 8/2006 or 9/2006
• Col. McFarland announced “Anbar Awakening” on 29 September 2006
• Pres. Bush announce “surge” strategy on 10 January 2007 (four months after “Anbar Awakening” is founded)
• US troops in Iraq go from 132k in 1/2007 to 152k by 3/2007
• US troops in Iraq begin peaking at 168k in 9/2007
• Sheik al-Rishawi assassinated by roadside bomb in Ramadi, al Anbar Province, 9/2007

(Author’s note, if anyone has any dates that are more specific please link to historical info in comments and I’ll update here to ensure accuracy.)

Second, we learn the McCain claim of what is “just a matter of history” via a CBS News transcript (and in a moment, I’ll let Keith Olbermann explain why it’s so important to note these quotes are from the transcript of the “exclusive interview” and not the actual airing of that interview)…

Couric: Senator McCain, Sen. Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?

McCain: I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane (phonetic) was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history. Thanks to General Petraeus, our leadership, and the sacrifice of brave young Americans. I mean, to deny that their sacrifice didn’t make possible the success of the surge in Iraq, I think, does a great disservice to young men and women who are serving and have sacrificed.

They were out there. They were protecting these sheiks. We had the Anbar awakening. We now have a government that’s effective. We have a legal system that’s working, although poorly. And we have progress on all fronts, including an incredible measure of security for the people of Iraq. There will still be attacks. Al Qaeda’s not defeated. But the progress has been immense. And to not recognize that, and why it happened, and how it happened, I think is really quite a commentary.

(emphasis added)

Thanks to the crystal clear timeline we can see that Sen. McCain’s sense of “history” is evidently distorted.

“I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened” indeed, though shining the bright light of truth on those fallacies helps quite a bit. Sen. McCain’s response to that question was completely off-base and just plain wrong. (Sadly, as noted in the timeline that Sheik was also not protected by the surge as he was murdered by an IED.)

Unfortunately for CBS News’ already tattered reputation, the transcript of that Couric/McCain interview differs significantly from the edited footage which aired. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and others noticed (unofficial Countdown 22 July 2008 transcript):

Olbermann: In an interview with the CBS Evening News earlier today the presumptive Republican nominee getting the basic timeline and history of the surge completely wrong.

We cannot play that portion of the interview for you because CBS curiously, to say the least, left it on the edit room floor. It aired Katie Couric’s question but in response it inserted part of McCain’s answer to another question instead.

How do we know this? We consulted a transcript of the entire, original interview which was available on the CBS website.

(emphasis added)

What did CBS actually air, versus what McCain actually said? Just ask YouTube…

Now, I understand why conservative partisans keep bringing up this false notion that the media is somehow liberally biased when reality indicates otherwise. It’s just another way to try discrediting the news when it doesn’t go their way, and to discredit Sen. Obama’s abundant command of the both the national and world stage. (By the by, instead of complaining about it did con partisans ever stop to consider that the media may be tagging along with Obama’s overseas trip to such a large extent because they want to be right there in the scrum if he does make some gaffe? Early network gets the worm…)

I even understand why CBS, still smarting from 2004’s “Rathergate” for whatever it’s worth, would pull such an obvious stunt like this. They want to burnish their street cred amongst the right-wing of the political spectrum and are apparently willing to give McCain a mulligan to do so.

But for a supposed “news” organization to blatantly cover up for a major gaffe like this is simply inexcusable.

Some free advice for CBS News: let the cards lie on the table where they fall instead of trying to manufacture storylines like this, lest ye become the storyline yourself.

And some free advice for the rest of the lazy, narrative-fed news media: report facts, not your preferred outcomes. For several days last week, TV and print pundits were hypothesizing Obama’s trip could turn into a gaffe-a-minute.

Yet it has been McCain who is regularly and repeatedly making errors regarding foreign affairs and facts on the ground, from confusing Sunni and Shia Muslim sects to constantly referring to Iron Curtain era nations like “Czechoslovakia”.

Why are the pundits still opining that he’s somehow got “more” foreign policy cred than Sen. Obama whose current trip illustrates his proficiency in talking and dealing with world leaders (let alone our own military commanders)?

If Obama actually screws up (like his mistaken reference to “Israel” instead of the US being a friend to Israel…) go ahead and call him out on it, as minor as that was. But if McCain errs, report that with equal aplomb.

An informed citizenry demands no less.

UPDATE: Jed Report found C-SPAN footage of a conservative think tank meeting with Sens. McCain and Lieberman from 5 January 2007, five days before Pres. Bush even announced the surge. McCain is seen clearly speaking about the Anbar Awakening as being a sign of progress and in direct contradiction to his error from last night.

UPDATE 2: Politico’s Ben Smith notes that after weeks of complaining that the press was paying more attention to Sen. Obama and his campaign (even though Sen. McCain was getting plenty of air time and, in particular, response time) … Sen. McCain has canceled today’s press availability in Pennsylvania as his campaign tries to figure out how to handle this.

(h/t Roger Eaton)