He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda. In fact, officials have said they believe Iran is helping Shiite extremists in Iraq.

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."

Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."

Spencer, really, do you need to compare McCain to John Kerry? The Kerry quote was a an inartful way of expressing a coherent, accuratate statement - he voted for one version of a bill before voting against a second, different version. There was nothing false or mendacious about Kerry's statement.

McCain, on the other hand, is not only dangerously wrong, he's a liar. You notice the technique he uses, right? When his authority is questioned, reply with a line about how "everyone knows" such and such and how something is "well documented." This dares the questioner to risk being seen as a fool or a terrorist sympathizer. It's cynical, dishonest, and ignorant - three things John Kerry is not.
 Francisco The Man | 10:05 PM

Francisco, that wasn't what I meant, but I take your point. What I perhaps unclearly expressed was that McCain said something that unintentionally revealed how he actually thought. Kerry's line on the $87 billion, whatever the merits of what he said, served the same function. That's all I meant.
 Spencer Ackerman | 5:59 AM