McCain gaffe of the week: The rain in Spain falls mainly on–Latin America?

Yesterday, in an interview with a Spanish-language radio station in Florida, John McCain seemed absolutely stumped by a series of questions involving Spain and its prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. In the words of Josh Marshall, who posted the original English-language audio of the interview at TPM, “John McCain either doesn’t know who the Prime Minister of Spain is, thinks Spain is a country in Latin America, or possibly both.”

Update: The McCain campaign responded by saying Johnny Mac knew what he was saying and intended to take a hard line against meeting with Spain’s prime minister. This is cast in doubt, as TalkLeft points out, by McCain’s previously stated desire to meet with Zapatero.

(There’s a 527 ad punchline in here somewhere: “John McCain doesn’t listen to the words coming out of his own mouth–why should you?”)

You can hear that audio below. The heart of the exchange on Spain comes after the 2:45 mark.

Radio Carocol (Miami): John McCain interview, September 17 2008 (5:35)