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Caught On Tape: Tim Pawlenty Confuses Iraq And Iran

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» 55 comments

Presidential candidates, as a rule, hate being corrected by lowly reporters. Just ask Tim Pawlenty. Meeting with reporters on the trail, Pawlenty was asked about U.S. policy towards Iran, but seemed to be referring to Iraq in his response, “I think the situation now in Iran is such that Secretary Gates is negotiating with whether the United States Military will be there beyond the end of this year. And they’re looking to the Iranians to see if they invite the Americans to stay, invite us to stay.” The extended answer was interrupted by a reporter who said “you mean Iraq, not Iran.”

And naturally, it was caught on tape and distributed, Politico’s Ben Smith says, by “the new Democratic group American Bridge.” The full exchange:

REPORTER: US foreign policy towards Iran how would you address contradictions in the US? On the one hand we are opposing Iranian policy, but on the other hand by usreconfiguratingthat part of the world we made Iran dominating Iraq and now we are pinning it on dominating of Pakistan. How would you address this contradiction in our foreign policy?

PAWLENTY: You’re talking about Iran?

REPORTER: Exactly.

PAWLENTY: Yea, well I think the situation now in Iran is such that Secretary Gates is negotiating with whether the United States Military will be there beyond the end of this year. And they’re looking to the Iranians to see if they invite the Americans to stay, invite us to stay. And if they do invite us to stay at some very reduced level I think the United States will be wise, until we make sure that they get to the next level of stability, to accept that invitation. So if Iran makes that invitation by the end of the year, leaving a residual force, a greatly reduced force, but a residual force that would be there for a temporary amount of time. Until they could establish much better air security, until they can develop their intelligence-

REPORTER: You mean Iraq not Iran, because Iran-

PAWLENTY: I’m sorry, Iraq, yes, yes. You said-, did you say Iran or Iraq?

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  • felixw

    Latest Gallup poll shows Mitt Romney is still the frontrunner.

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/147806/Romney-Palin-Lead-Reduced-GOP-Field-2012.aspx

    But you won’t see much coverage of Romney here, since he doesn’t easily fit into liberal comedy routines. And as we all known, the mainstream media now picks Republican candidates to cover based on how easy they are to ridicule. Too bad for the Left that the election will actually be decided by real issues — for example, the economy. You know the E story that the mainstream media doesn’t want to cover.

  • Glackin

    felixw said:
    Latest Gallup poll shows Mitt Romney is still the frontrunner.

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/147806/Romney-Palin-Lead-Reduced-GOP-Field-2012.aspx

    But you won’t see much coverage of Romney here, since he doesn’t easily fit into liberal comedy routines. And as we all known, the mainstream media now picks Republican candidates to cover based on how easy they are to ridicule. Too bad for the Left that the election will actually be decided by real issues — for example, the economy. You know the E story that the mainstream media doesn’t want to cover.

    Fleazix–What is Mittzie doing today? Is he still against the insurance he invented? Is he at the funeral of the auto industry he predicted when they were bailed out?
    Maybe he’s in Florida. They LUVS them flip-flops down there.

  • RhapsodyinBlue

    I can’t believe Pawlenty is so highly regarded by many and considered the safest choice to win nomination. HE had a 46% approval rating in his own state before he quit so he could run for President. He’ll be running against a guy who right now has a 52.5% approval rating (Real Clear Politics) in the entire country.

  • Glackin

    Pawlenty justed proved he’s not as smart as Daniels.
    He’s running.

  • Gasket

    Mittens is getting coverage and he will get lots of it when he actually starts being a media whore. He doesn’t parade himself in front of cameras at every moment like these lesser known candidates do. You seem to forget that it’s to Mitt’s advantage to lay low. It’s still way too early and anything really dumb can knock him out of the running. His Romneycare deal is his achilles heel (makes him VERY vulnerable in the primaries) and he will be bludgeoned by it mercilessly. You saw what the WSJ did to him not too long ago. It will only get worse.

  • Gasket

    Oops..wrong thread!

  • Gasket

    RhapsodyinBlue said:
    I can’t believe Pawlenty is so highly regarded by many and considered the safest choice to win nomination. HE had a 46% approval rating in his own state before he quit so he could run for President. He’ll be running against a guy who right now has a 52.5% approval rating (Real Clear Politics) in the entire country.

    Yes, T-Paw would lose his own state to Obama.

  • felixw

    Glackin said:
    Fleazix–What is Mittzie doing today? Is he still against the insurance he invented? Is he at the funeral of the auto industry he predicted when they were bailed out?
    Maybe he’s in Florida. They LUVS them flip-flops down there.

    Hah, Glackin mentions the auto industry. What a shining moment for the Left. Democrat politicians and union leaders work together over a period of fifty years, and turn Detroit into the most economically blighted city in the whole country. They destroy their community. They destroy their employers and put them into bankruptcy. They destroy their home values. They destroy their schools. They destroy the economic base of the entire city. By the time they are done, Detroit is like a Third World country, only with more crime and vandalism.

    Way to go, progressives! And now they want to spread that brilliant partnership of Democrats and Unions to the rest of the country.

    Try again, Joe. The very examples you pick always prove the exact opposite of what you intend. We feel your pain, but maybe the solution is to think a bit more before posting a comment.

  • Moderate

    Kennedy confuses Obama and Osama and the media thought nothing of it, except Fox.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YaRpx3LphI

  • Azarkhan

    OMG! He confused Iraq and Iran-what a catastrophe!!!!

  • puck30

    RhapsodyinBlue said:
    He’ll be running against a guy who right now has a 52.5% approval rating (Real Clear Politics) in the entire country

    And of course you don’t want to give the link to RCP because then folks would see something else that would show it wasn’t always that way. How many months till the Election Einstein? That’s right 18.

    Meanwhile

    “The economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter, a separate report showed”.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-climbed-last-week-to-424-000.html

    Yeah, I’m sure Barry’s approval rating is going to grow by leaps and bounds now.

  • Liberal Tormentor

    Let me know if he doesn’t know how many states there are in the USA. Then I’ll be worried.

  • http://constitutionallibertarian.co.cc DavidKramer

    UH OH, this is as bad as someone saying North when they meant South.

    OR, this is as bad as someone signing something with a date from 3 years prior.

    OR, this is as bad as someone that does not know English protocol.

    Oh well, these are NOT the droids you are looking for.

  • http://constitutionallibertarian.co.cc DavidKramer

    puck30 said:
    And of course you don’t want to give the link to RCP because then folks would see something else that would show it wasn’t always that way. How many months till the Election Einstein? That’s right 18.

    Meanwhile

    “The economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter, a separate report showed”.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-climbed-last-week-to-424-000.html

    Yeah, I’m sure Barry’s approval rating is going to grow by leaps and bounds now.

    Remember Bush 1 had a 92% approval rating prior to the election. Hmmmm, why is it that some cannot look at history? I guess they think history is fungible or something.

  • Moderate

    Obama admits he is a Muslim.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw

  • TangledThorns

    I’m not a TPAW fan so this is natural. He actually knows the difference unlike Obama who doesn’t know ANYTHING!

  • http://www.perceptionasreality.blogspot.com/ skoorbekim

    If this is all they got on T-Paw… he’ll be a racist by August…

  • RhapsodyinBlue

    puck30 said:
    And of course you don’t want to give the link to RCP because then folks would see something else that would show it wasn’t always that way. How many months till the Election Einstein? That’s right 18.

    Meanwhile

    “The economy grew less than forecast in the first quarter, a separate report showed”.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-climbed-last-week-to-424-000.html

    Yeah, I’m sure Barry’s approval rating is going to grow by leaps and bounds now.

    Um, I was unaware Realclearpolitics was so unpopular people needed an actual link to it in order to fact check me? You also decided to say “IT WON’T BE THAT HIGH IN NOVEMBER 12!” then cited some job numbers NOW as factor, a contradiction if there ever was one.

  • Glackin

    felixw said:
    Hah, Glackin mentions the auto industry. What a shining moment for the Left. Democrat politicians and union leaders work together over a period of fifty years, and turn Detroit into the most economically blighted city in the whole country.

    I “mentioned” the auto industry because Chrysler just paid off their loan two years early, and Romney said the loans would “be the death of” the auto industry.
    Your Detroit hobby horse has gotten old, and doesn’t fit here anyway. Rant on, flea-bitten one! Rant on!

  • puck30

    felixw said:
    Detroit

    Well I’m sure Joey can’t wait to move to Detroit.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCT_g_n61gY

  • Glackin

    RhapsodyinBlue said:
    Um, I was unaware Realclearpolitics was so unpopular people needed an actual link to it in order to fact check me? You also decided to say “IT WON’T BE THAT HIGH IN NOVEMBER 12!” then cited some job numbers NOW as factor, a contradiction if there ever was one.

    I think you were unaware that Puckypuck is into “gotcha!” posting. She’s just going for the two points, with a foul. Another stats freak, it’s all thumbs up/thumbs down in her universe.

  • puck30

    Glackin said:
    Your Detroit hobby horse has gotten old, and doesn’t fit here anyway. Rant on, flea-bitten one! Rant on!

    Yeah Joey let’s not talk about Detroit, see no evil right?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02x8EHXPfB0&feature=related

  • puck30

    Glackin said:
    I think you were unaware that Puckypuck is into “gotcha!” posting. She’s just going for the two points, with a foul. Another stats freak, it’s all thumbs up/thumbs down in her universe.

    WOW! Joey stats pretty much means facts in the majority of people’s minds.

    But then there’s Joey’s world.

  • THE REAL ROYAL KING

    We have twin villages in Texas, Old Dime Box and New Dime Box. It is easy to get confused about such matters.

  • puck30

    RhapsodyinBlue said:
    Um, I was unaware Realclearpolitics was so unpopular people needed an actual link to it in order to fact check me? You also decided to say “IT WON’T BE THAT HIGH IN NOVEMBER 12!” then cited some job numbers NOW as factor, a contradiction if there ever was one.

    Nah blue it that but since you’ve posted twice without a link let me help you.

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

    Now Blue would you like to tell the class what Barry’s approval raitings were on 1/27/09 & 10/31/10?

    And we have 18 months to go until the general election. Remember Blue, Daddy Bush’s numbers were up around 91% at one point and he was a one term president.

    And Blue you need to come back to reality a little here because were did I say? “You also decided to say that I said, “IT WON’T BE THAT HIGH IN NOVEMBER 12!”

    Now where did I say that Blue Boy because you took it the one step of putting it in quotes.

    UH! OH! Did Blue Boy just make something up?

  • puck30

    Glackin said:
    Another stats freak

    Yeah stats Joey, they always have a way of making you look stupid.

  • puck30

    DavidKramer said:
    Remember Bush 1 had a 92% approval rating prior to the election. Hmmmm, why is it that some cannot look at history? I guess they think history is fungible or something.

    Nah Dave history only suits them when it fits into their ‘street corner Bar& Grill’ mind.

  • TfT

    Well, gosh at least he didn’t call OUR NAVY GUYS:

    CORPSE MAN

    Three times; also on video/audio, but I don’t recall that headline here at meadiaite, or anywhere in the leftwing media for that matter.

    CORPSE MAN
    CORPSE MAN
    CORPSE MAN

    bwahahaha; the idiot president spoke and you media folks hid it. Typical.

  • RhapsodyinBlue

    puck30 said:
    Nah blue it that but since you’ve posted twice without a link let me help you.

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

    Now Blue would you like to tell the class what Barry’s approval raitings were on 1/27/09 & 10/31/10?

    And we have 18 months to go until the general election. Remember Blue, Daddy Bush’s numbers were up around 91% at one point and he was a one term president.

    And Blue you need to come back to reality a little here because were did I say? “You also decided to say that I said, “IT WON’T BE THAT HIGH IN NOVEMBER 12!”

    Now where did I say that Blue Boy because you took it the one step of putting it in quotes.

    UH! OH! Did Blue Boy just make something up?

    Do you have a spectrum disorder of some sort?

  • joe7

    In Pawlenty’s defense people mince words like that all the time. Daily in the news at least. I remember people on CNN mixing up Libya and Egypt, and Mubarak and Gadafhi. Its a simple mistake and we all all human. At least as a man Pawlenty is being held to this standard unlike when a woman messes up and people actually go to the press with it. Like when a certain someone was talking about North and south Korea, had it right, and then minced words at the end. Sexist hatemongers actually took to the presses with it for one of their smear campaigns. Hopefully men and woman will be treated equally from here forth, but still its a simple mistake that doesn’t really even mean anything.

  • LibertySister

    Hey here is something that is better!

    we have a president that thinks we have 57 states!

    We have a president who signs books the wrong year!

  • Glackin

    puck30 said:
    Yeah stats Joey, they always have a way of making you look stupid.

    Mark Twain credits Benjamin Disraeli:
    “They come in three categories; lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
    I’ll take their combined wisdom over yours, Pucksniff.
    No insult intended, but you been outclassed.

  • notsofast

    Barry discusses his Muslim faith:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGdkqfBICw

  • felixw

    Glackin said:
    I “mentioned” the auto industry because Chrysler just paid off their loan two years early, and Romney said the loans would “be the death of” the auto industry.
    Your Detroit hobby horse has gotten old, and doesn’t fit here anyway. Rant on, flea-bitten one! Rant on!

    Uh, I hate to point out the obvious, but Chrysler was absorbed into a German company in 1998, and now has changed hands again with an Italian company standing out as the largest shareholder — and soon to be majority shareholder. All that thanks to the Democrats and unions which destroyed this company, much like it has destroyed Detroit in general.

    Think it through…you are bragging about the success of a European company and about the profits flowing back to Europe.

    So, once again, Glackin, you make a total fool of yourself. But we are used to it by now.

  • http://TheDividedStatesBlog.com Publius219

    OMG WAIT!!! You mean he confused the country that ends in N with the country that ends in Q in the course of talking about the same exact things day after day for month after month? He must think that one is the other!!! Why does Tim Pawlenty think our soldiers have been dying in Iran?! Is Tim Pawlenty knowledgeable enough on world affairs to lead the country?!!

  • notsofast

    Publius219 said:
    OMG WAIT!!! You mean he confused the country that ends in N with the country that ends in Q in the course of talking about the same exact things day after day for month after month? He must think that one is the other!!!

    He hasn’t been to all 57 states yet, son. Grow the Fk up!

  • Glackin

    felixw said:
    Uh, I hate to point out the obvious, but Chrysler was absorbed into a German company in 1998, and now has changed hands again with an Italian company standing out as the largest shareholder — and soon to be majority shareholder. All that thanks to the Democrats and unions which destroyed this company, much like it has destroyed Detroit in general.

    Think it through…you are bragging about the success of a European company and about the profits flowing back to Europe.

    So, once again, Glackin, you make a total fool of yourself. But we are used to it by now.

    The salaries are being paid in the US. How many jobs has TPaw created since the BushBust? How many from Mittzie?
    If you think me a fool, you give me great peace of mind. Fools like me are going to win. You jokers can’t even pick a decent loser.

  • Gasket
  • TheEagle

    Minor flub. People confuse the two all the time.

  • Nacho

    He gave away his plan to invade Iran if elected.

  • felixw

    Glackin said:
    The salaries are being paid in the US. How many jobs has TPaw created since the BushBust? How many from Mittzie?
    If you think me a fool, you give me great peace of mind. Fools like me are going to win. You jokers can’t even pick a decent loser.

    Are you bragging about job creation in Detroit now? You’re comments just get stupider and stupider.

  • Glackin

    felixw said:
    Are you bragging about job creation in Detroit now? You’re comments just get stupider and stupider.

    I’m saying people are working and paying taxes. Isn’t that what you want?
    In the recovery, Obama has now created as many jobs as W. did in eight years.
    The Stock Market has almost doubled since the BushBust.
    Maybe you don’t give a sh#t about people getting jobs.
    Maybe you only care about yourself.
    Maybe you aren’t human. Hmmm……..
    If you aren’t, can I hate you without “Nutsoswift” calling me racist?
    I mean, wouldn’t I be a specieist?

  • labman57

    Alas, Tim did not have Joe Lieberman standing next to him, whispering sweet corrections into his ear.

  • damien

    TheEagle said:
    Minor flub. People confuse the two all the time.

    No it’s not. Not really. Among idiots, mabye, but among who care about what countries America is bombing (or might be bombing soon) its a significant mistake.

    What was that Limbaugh said about being sick of people making excuses for other people’s mistakes?

  • http://www.sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ sarainitaly

    and so it begins….

  • Rgentum

    notsofast said:
    He hasn’t been to all 57 states yet, son. Grow the Fk up!

    TfT said:
    Well, gosh at least he didn’t call OUR NAVY GUYS: CORPSE MAN Three times; also on video/audio, but I don’t recall that headline here at meadiaite, or anywhere in the leftwing media for that matter. CORPSE MANCORPSE MANCORPSE MAN bwahahaha; the idiot president spoke and you media folks hid it. Typical.

    LibertySister said:
    Hey here is something that is better! we have a president that thinks we have 57 states! We have a president who signs books the wrong year!

    What’s telling is not that Pawlenty flubbed the difference between Iraq and Iran. What’s telling is that the same fundamentalist, radical right wingers who insist that Obama’s occasional flubs (saying he’d been to “57 states”, signing the wrong year, mispronouncing a word – all far less substantive than saying “Iran? You’re asking about Iran? Well, I’ve got an opinion on Iran, and I’ll tell you about Iran” and then lapsing into a perfunctory discussion about Iraq) is proof positive that Obama is a blithering idiot will say that this is nothing, completely understandable, Pawlenty is a genius, etc. etc.

    I think this is just a silly flub, although Pawlenty’s certainly had his share in the few months he’s been in the spotlight (many more than Obama has had in the five years he’s been in the crosshairs of the radical fundamentalist Republicans). I just think it’s interesting that right wing republicans say that when a black person makes a remotely comparable flub, it’s because they’re an idiot, when a white guy does it, it’s just a simple, honest mistake.

    I’m not saying these radical fundamentalist republicans are racists. I’m just saying it’s interesting.

  • Steve_27

    skoorbekim said:
    If this is all they got on T-Paw… he’ll be a racist by August…

    June.

  • Steve_27

    Glackin said:
    I think you were unaware that Puckypuck is into “gotcha!” posting. She’s just going for the two points, with a foul. Another stats freak, it’s all thumbs up/thumbs down in her universe.

    Just becuase you wind up getting got everytime you post doesn’t mean Puck is inot ‘gotcha” games.

  • J Baustian

    Big effing deal! People have been saying Iraq when they mean Iran, and vice-versa, for decades.

    They also say Osama when they mean Obama, and vice-versa.

    And recently Barack Obama got in trouble with his speech about Israel and Palestine. He claimed to have a plan for peace, but in fact it was a plan for war. It’s easy to see how he could make such a simple mistake.

  • OZ

    I was a little amazed. The other reporters seemed to be oblivious to either the question or the answer.

  • esd2000

    Did he, Michelle, and Sarah graduate from the same high school?

  • esd2000

    Azarkhan said:
    OMG! He confused Iraq and Iran-what a catastrophe!!!!

    Thank God he’s not a bomber pilot. “What a catastrophe”.

  • Anonymous

    Definitely a non-event.

    Anybody can make that slip. Anybody.

  • Anonymous

    Definitely a non-event.

    Anybody can make that slip. Anybody.

  • Anonymous

    This really
    answered my problem, thank you!
    peugeot 307

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