Watch this video and decide if John McCain:
1) knows that Jose Luis Zapatero is the presidente of Spain (in Spain, the prime minister is called “Presidente del Gobierno”),
2) thinks Spain is in Latin America, and
3) is Mr. Magoo come to life.
The most relevant part is around 2 minutes and 58 seconds. However, also note the irony at at 2:14 “… pay more attention, i know the issues, i know the leaders..”
One theory is that McCain thought the reporter was talking about the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico since McCain answers a question about whether he’d invite Zapatero to visit the White House by talking only about Mexico.
Randy Scheunemann with McCain’s campaign claims McCain’s refusal to confirm that he’d meet with Spain’s President Zapatero was deliberate. Maybe that’s true, Zapatero opposed the Iraq war, and so Bush & McCain don’t want to be his buddy.
Trying to give McCain the benefit of the doubt, maybe it’s understandable that he was confused the first time, because the interviewer (with an accent) switched so quickly from Latin America to Spain. But then when she repeated it and made it clear she was now talking about Spain, McCain just kept plowing through.