‘Straight Talk Express’ Derailed Again

“Mr. Straight Talk” McCain says U.S. lives are “wasted” in Iraq

“Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be,” McCain said Wednesday on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman.” “We’ve wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives.”

This doesn’t mean that McCain has joined the reality-based community and recognized that there’s only one thing we can do to keep the situation from Iraq from getting worse (i.e., leave).

McCain, who repeated his assertion that U.S. troops must remain in Iraq rather than withdrawing early, made the “wasted” remark after confirming to Letterman what has been clear for at least a year or more that he’s in the running for the 2008 Republican nomination.

So. He thinks lives are being wasted, but he thinks it’s a good thing to continue wasting them.

It is true that lives are being wasted in Iraq — not just U.S. military personnel, but a far higher number of Iraqi civilians. If Shrub’s policy in Iraq continues, there will not be any outcome that would make these deaths worthwhile.

It is also the case that for the loved ones of many of the dead American soldiers, the thought that these lives were wasted is intolerable. When Barack Obama talked about wasted lives, he realized this and, without prompting, apologized. Will military hero John McCain respect the feelings of military families, and apologize for his remark?