Mar 27, 2008 -First came John McCain's strange assertion that Al Qaeda in Iraq was being trained and supported by the Iranians.

Next he backed off the claim after Joe Lieberman whispered something in his ear. "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not Al Qaeda."

Then on Meet the Press, NBC's political director, Chuck Todd, explained why this slip wouldn't hurt him with the press corps : "Even if…