That's Debatable

The big soundbite from the recent Republican debate was John McCain talking about how he couldn't attend Woodstock since he "was tied up at the time."

It's obviously an effective line, based on the applause, but within the context of the debate, it's not that impressive. (In general, I'm not impressed with big moments in debates--they rarely tell us anything about how the candidate will serve.)

If you look at the transcript, you'll see McCain was responding to a question about pulling troops out of Iraq. Instead of simply answering the question, he wrenches it into another subject just so he can use this canned line. He couldn't even wait for a question about fiscal responsibility, which surely would have come up.