What's McCain Got Against Spain?
posted by Ari Berman

The McCain campaign has continually tried to downplay John McCain's repeated gaffes on foreign policy issues, his supposed strong suit.

So it will be particularly interesting to see how they spin McCain's bizarre interview with a Spanish language reporter in Miami, where McCain didn't know who the Prime Minister of Spain was (it's Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero) and kept confusing Spain with a country in Latin America.

Take a listen. Relevant section starts about three minutes in.

Josh Marshall has a more detailed rundown. He also cites the perturbed reaction of the Spanish press:

The great majority appear to think the McCain was simply confused and didn't know who Zapatero was -- something you might bone up on if you were about to do an interview with the Spanish press. The assumption seems to be that since he'd already been asked about Castro and Chavez that McCain assumed Zapatero must be some other Latin American bad guy. A small minority though think that McCain is simply committed to an anti-Spanish foreign policy since he's still angry about Spain pulling it's troops out of Iraq. Finally, a few of those who lean toward the first view speculate that McCain may have confused Zapatero with the Zapatista rebel group in Mexico.

Just before getting tripped up on Spain, McCain bragged about his Latin American expertise. "I know the issues, I know the leaders," McCain said. Apparently the same fluency doesn't extend to the other side of the Atlantic.

UPDATE: McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann clarifies this morning that McCain will not commit to a meeting with Zapatero. That seems like a needlessly confrontational and reckless geopolitical posture, given that Spain has the world's 8th largest economy and 780 troops serving in Afghanistan alongside NATO allies. Huffington Post reminds us that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Zapatero last year and said that "the United States and Spain are allies. We're in NATO together; we are serving together in Afghanistan." McCain himself told Spain's El Pais in April that he'd meet with Zapatero. Why the change of heart?

UPDATE II: Blogger Hilzoy makes a great point: "McCain and his campaign are willing to insult a foreign leader and damage an alliance, rather than admit to a moment of confusion