McCain's Version of the "Winona Ryder Defense"

You know, I was willing to give John McCain a break on the accusations that he knew Rick Warren's questions in advance for Saturday night's Saddleback Forum.

My though was so what if McCain heard some of Obama's answers while he was in his limo on the way to the event? Warren informed both Obama and McCain of his first two questions. McCain probably already knew what his first two responses would be anyway.

But then, I saw the reaction of McCain's spokeswoman Nicole Wallace.

“The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of
war, cheated is outrageous.”

Talk about projecting guilt.

That's the POW version of Winona Ryder's defense at her shoplifting trial in 2002. According to Dahlia Lithwick of Slate:

Both the crime and the trial were about looking like a celebrity. The movie star had already dropped $3,000 that day on clothing and accessories, yet still shoplifted a $140 hair band and a $750 thermal shirt (because God knows, she couldn't go pay $16 for them at Target). So her attorney trotted out the people-who-look-like-her-don't-take-stuff defense (emphasis mine), alternating it with the people-who-don't-look-like-her-persecute-people-who-look-like-her-because-they're-jealous defense.

Like Winona Ryder, Wallace was arguing that John McCain didn't cheat because "people like John McCain don't cheat."

That sounds like a confession of guilt to me.