From today’s Hotline, citing McCain on Hardball last night:
MSNBC’s Matthews, to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): “When asked about the killing of Saddam Hussein’s sons the other day, Howard Dean, the candidate for president said, quote: ‘It’s a victory for the Iraqi people but it doesn’t have any effect on whether we should or shouldn’t have had a war. I think, in general, the ends do not justify the means.’ Your thoughts, Senator?”
McCain replies: “I am astonished. A lot of people have compared me with Governor Dean. I could not disagree with him more to say that the ends doesn’t justify the means. The ends were the eradication of two psychotic murdering rapists, and the means were through legitimate use of the American military helped out by some excellent information that they gained. How in the world someone could in any way think this end was not justified by anything which was the removal of two odious characters, frankly, is beyond me. And I think, frankly, Mr. Dean does the nation a great disservice when he doesn’t recognize how wonderful an event this is and how important it is to the morale of the troops that these guys are gone. I mean, our troops serving in Iraq.”
McCain, on if Dean is catering to the left or “tone deaf”: “I don’t know which it is, but I think even the far left, people who did not support the war, are glad that these two thugs, these two, you know, adjectives, I don’t know enough adjectives that are not four letters, frankly, that describe these two guys. I think even the far left are glad that they’re gone. My god, this guy, you know the things he’s done. They’re well documented. Both of them.”
More McCain: “I hope that Mr. Dean will retract that statement and make it very clear that the world, America, and most importantly, the Iraqi people, are far better off with these two guys gone and their father should be next.”