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John McCain viciously attacked Obama with the accusation that he doesn’t understand the significance of the surge strategy. Further, McCain lowered himself to new depths when he said: “Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.” TIME’s Joe Klein, agreeing with David Gergen on CNN called this attack “the most scurrilous thing I’ve heard a Presidential candidate say in the 9 elections I’ve covered…”

During a CBS interview with anchor Katie Couric on Tuesday, McCain made a complete factual error on a subject upon which he claims expert knowledge, has built his campaign around, and has sought to discredit his opponent for a lack of understanding about: the Iraq surge. McCain said that the surge was responsible for the touted “Anbar Awakening,” in which Sunni sheiks turned against al Qaeda, helping to reduce violence in the country.

From the transcript:

Katie Couric: Senator McCain, Senator Obama says, while the increased number of US troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?

McCain: I don’t know how you respond to something that is as– such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel MacFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others, and it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.

The record firmly establishes the opposite: instead of being caused by the surge, the key signs of the Anbar Awakening occurred not only before the surge was implemented, but before it was ever conceived.

The military official cited by McCain, then Colonel Sean MacFarland, described the Anbar Awakening in September 2006 four months before the “surge” was even announced. A military review written by MacFarland notes that his unit left Anbar before the surge troops arrived.

Notice how sure of himself McCain was when he said “it’s just a matter of history” when he was completely and utterly wrong. It’s now almost a daily occurrence.

CBS edited out McCain’s gaffe… damn that liberal media.