"Strong countries and strong Presidents talk to their adversaries. That's what Kennedy did with Khrushchev. That's what Reagan did with Gorbachev. That's what Nixon did with Mao. I mean, think about it: Iran, Cuba, Venezuela -- these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, 'We're going to wipe you off the planet.' And ultimately, that direct engagement led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall. Now, that has to be the kind of approach that we take. You know, Iran, they spend one-one hundredth of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance. And we should use that position of strength that we have to be bold enough to go ahead and listen. That doesn't mean we agree with them on everything. We might not compromise on any issues, but at least we should find out other areas of potential common interest, and we can reduce some of the tensions that has caused us so many problems around the world." -Senator Barack Obama "Iran. Radical Islamic government. Known sponsors of terrorism. Developing nuclear capabilities to 'generate power' but threatening to eliminate Israel. Obama says Iran is a 'tiny' country, 'doesn't pose a serious threat.' Terrorism, destroying Israel, those aren't 'serious threats'? Obama - dangerously unprepared to be president." John McCain: "I'm John McCain and I approved this message." Link to the video is here. Read Obama's full quote. Is there anything in it that you disagree with or is untrue? Obama isn't saying that Iran isn't a threat. He's just saying that Iran is a less dangerous threat than other enemy countries we've faced in the past and still talked with. This is simply a fact.

The litany of John McCain's misleading (translation: blatant lying) campaign ads continues. At this point, John McCain's entire campaign strategy can be boiled down to "beware of the young, scary black man. He'll get your family killed, probably unintentionally but who really knows for sure? As far as we know he isn't a Manchurian Candidate." Can the U.S. media please stop the BS about McCain being an honorable man who is running an honorable campaign? What does it say about a man that he's willing to so blatantly lie on such an important issue in order to gain power? Update: Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic magazine has a good take on the situation. "McCain campaign airs provocatively misleading ads. The press has a conundrum. If we want to point out how misleading they are, we air the ad. McCain's campaign wins the point. If refuse to point out how misleading they are, McCain's campaign escapes criticism."