Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “Iraq” when he apparently meant “Afghanistan” on Monday, adding to a string of mixed-up word choices that is giving ammunition to the opposition.
Just in the past three weeks, McCain has also mistaken "Somalia" for "Sudan," and even football’s Green Bay Packers for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Given the nature of our political-media culture works, this sort of narrative could be more damaging to McCain than anything the prime minister of Iraq has to say. The perception of McCain as a doddering old guy could easily become on a par with the perception of Al Gore as a serial exaggerator
--Michael Crowley