Politico attacks McCain's age

You see, John, this is what happens when you attack the MSM for their shameless Obama love -- you get a story about your declining mental acuity...all because you said 'Iraq' when you meant 'Afghanistan'. Honestly, the boys at Politico should be ashamed of themselves. This is pretty low.

They take a slip of the tongue on Good Morning America and produce a nice followup list of every other mistake (the obviously ailing) McCain has made over the duration of the campaign:

Unfortunately for McCain, that wasn’t an isolated slip. Among the other lapses:

• “Somalia” for “Sudan”: As recounted in a reporter’s pool report from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?"  Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: “Sudan.”

• “Germany” for “Russia”: A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia — following a trip to Germany — as “President Putin of Germany.”

• This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were “down to pre-surge levels” when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.

• Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently. 

• In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to Czechoslovakia, which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April. 

• In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years — but always correctly referred to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.

Seriously, this is journalism? What's a better story: 'McCain gaffes pile up, critics pile on'; or, 'Obama gaffes pile up, critics stay silent'?