Sen. John McCain on Wednesday blamed the I-35W bridge collapse that killed 13 people in Minneapolis on pork-barrel spending in Congress. By Thursday, he was backing off his assertion.
The Republican presidential candidate was wrong to use the I-35W bridge collapse tragedy for a political purpose. His assessment was wrong for several reasons.
The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board states a combination of a design flaw -- undersized steel plates -- and a heavy load of construction materials were the primary cause of the bridge tragedy.
Democrats on Thursday criticized McCain's bridge comments. And Republican Sen. Norm Coleman said McCain was wrong.
McCain's comments were at odds with Gov. Tim Pawlenty who told his critics "quit exploiting the bridge tragedy to advance their political agenda."
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Maybe Pawlenty should have a talk with McCain.
McCain has deep concerns about the earmark spending in Congress. Those are justifiable concerns and we applaud his efforts to curtail earmarks.
However, using the I-35W bridge tragedy to illustrate this political point on earmarks is not appropriate.
