McCain Hypocracy?

This was on my other blog. It's old, but since a friend of mine just told me how much she liked it, I thought I'd repost. For the record, I've criticized Senator John McCain a bit in recent months, but I'll likely stop. After all, nobody likes beating a dead horse.

McCain hypocracy?
I still need someone to explain to me why Congress forcing President Clinton to withdraw U.S. troops from Somalia was within Congress's power and the right thing to do, yet Congress forcing President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq is dangerous and infringes upon the President's power. Maybe my Senator can explain this one to me. From the Center for American Progress:

JOHN MCCAIN ARGUED FOR WITHDRAWAL: In Oct. 1994, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called on President Clinton to withdraw forces from Haiti "as soon as possible." "In my view that does not mean as soon as order is restored to Haiti," he said. "It does not mean as soon as democracy is flourishing in Haiti. It does not mean as soon as we have established a viable nation in Haiti. As soon as possible means as soon we can get out of Haiti without losing any American lives." A year before, in Oct. 1993, McCain argued against giving any strategy the chance to succeed in Somalia. "Mr. President, can anyone seriously argue that another 6 months of United States forces in harm's way means the difference between peace and prosperity in Somalia and war and starvation there? Is that very dim prospect worth one more American life? No, it is not," he said. (Watch the video of his statements here.) A McCain spokesman said, "It's intellectually dishonest to compare the situations in Haiti and Somalia to the current situation in Iraq." The only intellectual dishonesty comes from McCain's willingness to contort his views to defend Bush's failed Iraq policy.