Zapatero Who?

In a radio interview, John McCain declined to say whether he would meet with Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero. Initial reports in the media suggested that McCain didn’t realize who Zapatero was, and that he had Zapatero confused with Latin American leaders like Chavez, Castro, and Morales.

Here’s the actual exchange as reported by Marc Ambinder.

McCain said that he "will establish closer relations with our friends and I will stand up to those who want to do harm to the United States of America." When pressed, McCain would not committ to a meeting with the president, nor would he rule one out.

"I'm willing to meet with any leader that's dedicated to the same principles and philosophy that we are for human rights, democracy, and freedom and I will stand up to those that do not."

According to Jonathan Martin, the McCain campaign “insists he was aware it was Spain that was being discussed” and that "Senator McCain refused to commit to a White House meeting with President Zapatero in this interview.”

First, let's get two minor details out of the way. Spain is a democracy and Zapatero is the Prime Minister of Spain, not the President.

Now, back to the main show. There are at least two explanations of how this situation unfolded.

One, McCain was confused during the interview due to a variety of extenuating circumstances and wanted to avoid media reports of yet another gaffe. So, he insists that it is not a gaffe and digs in his heels. He insists that his refusal to commit to the meeting is based on policy reasons.

Or two, McCain was not confused and this is indeed his stance, which would be a continuation of Bush’s policy. Bush decided to cool relations with the Spanish government after Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq. (See more details on the Bush policy here.)

If it was just another gaffe, it’d have passed eventually. But with McCain’s stubborn insistence that his statement was indeed due to policy reasons, the issue is getting even more coverage, especially in the Spanish press.

I’m more worried by the second possibility -- that McCain’s refusal to meet with Zapatero is indicative of his actual position on the matter. Bush’s policy on Spain is petty and reminiscent of a tantrum thrown by a petulant child. Hard to sum up an entire philosophy in a few words but it basically says -- either you are with us or against us. To think that McCain wants to continue a similar policy against a NATO ally, one that is a democracy, and a country with troops in Afghanistan, makes me shudder.