When McCain tossed out the whopper about troop levels in Iraq the other day, it reminded me of former Bush Press Secretary Tony Snow's offhand remark when asked about the 2500th American soldier dying in Iraq in 2006.

"It's a number, and every time there's one of these 500 benchmarks people want something." -Tony Snowe

There is something terribly wrong about a White House that dismisses American military deaths so carelessly, and with a presidential candidate who purports to be an expert on foreign policy, yet doesn't know how many men and women are risking their lives in a war he continues to promote. You'd think for all the talk of how much time he's spent in the Middle East, he'd have a clue about troop levels and such.

TPM has audio from a conference call with Senator Kerry and the Obama camp yesterday in which the Senator remarked on McCain's credibility gap.

"If you don't know the numbers of troops, it's very difficult to make a judgment about whether or not they're overextended. It's also very difficult to have an understanding as a citizen about what levels of troops he's going to keep there. Because if he thinks 150,000 is pre-surge, and that's where he's going to stay, that's a deeply overextended military, and it raises serious questions about his comprehension of this challenge." - John Kerry

Barack Obama weighed in on McCain's misunderstanding of the situation in Iraq and his response to criticism:

"As the saying goes, you’re entitled to your own view, but not your own facts. We’ve got around 150,000 troops in Iraq -- 20,000 more than we had before the surge. We have plans to get down to around 140,000 later this summer -- that’s still more troops than we had in Iraq before the surge. And today, Sen. McCain refused to correct his mistake. Just like George Bush, when he was presented with the truth, he just dug in and refused to admit his mistake. His campaign said it amounts to 'nitpicking.'"

"Well, I don’t think tens of thousands of American troops amounts to nitpicking. Tell that to the young men and women who are serving bravely and brilliantly under our flag. Tell that to the families who have seen their loved ones fight tour after tour after tour of duty in a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged."

“It’s time for a debate that’s based on the truth, and I can’t think of anything more important than how many Americans are in harm’s way. It’s time for a debate that’s based on how we’re going to end this war – not a debate that’s based on raising a few dollars for John McCain’s campaign."

“The American people have had enough spin. Just this week, we were reminded by President Bush’s own former spokesman of how it was deception – not straight talk – that misled the American people into war. It’s time to cut through the tough talk so that we can be straight with the American people about a war that’s cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars without making us safer. It’s time to end the political game-playing so that we can finally end this war. That’s what I’ll do in this campaign. And that’s what I’ll do when I’m President of the United States.” - Barack Obama

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) gave a typical Cheneyesque response.

“So what?”

And McCain's response?

"Clearly John Kerry and Barack Obama have very little understanding of troop levels ..."

Clearly, they are capable of simple math, Senator. The question is to the number of troops. They are right, and McCain is wrong, and to reply with a statement about their understanding of troop levels is just another example of how the 'Straight Talk Express' has derailed. And for Kyl to dismiss it completely is, well, sadly not surprising.

In addition to knowing the number of American forces in Iraq, 'foreign policy expert' McCain should probably know who the key players are. In his defense, Sunni and Shia both begin with an 'S', so maybe Sen. McCain had another senior moment and got a bit confused.

On multiple occasions.

And there was that stroll through Baghdad. Which I hear is completely safe, provided you take the proper precautions.

The delegation arrived at the market, which is called Shorja, on Sunday with more than 100 soldiers in armored Humvees — the equivalent of an entire company — and attack helicopters circled overhead, a senior American military official in Baghdad said. The soldiers redirected traffic from the area and restricted access to the Americans, witnesses said, and sharpshooters were posted on the roofs. The congressmen wore bulletproof vests throughout their hourlong visit.

It's obvious McCain has no credibility on foreign policy. I'm not sure if he really doesn't know what he's talking about, or if he's playing us like Bush did. Either way, someone who has, time and again, proven that he's got nothing when it comes to Middle East policy should steer clear of calling out Barack Obama who was right from the start on Iraq and continues to be to this day.

It's not just Iraq, though. It's been four days since the Phil Gramm lobbyist scandal hit Countdown, and it's barely been discussed. The fact is that 649,917 properties were foreclosed on in the first quarter of 2008 and the number of people losing their homes continues to skyrocket. I guess that's just a number, too, and as long as there's another crazy pastor to talk about, McCain's top economic advisor and his ties to the mortgage crisis will just have to wait.