Just like Senator McCain, Joe Scarborough doesn't know what "vindicate" means either. Yep, the "vindicated" thing was literally 90 percent of Morning Joe today.
Senator Obama was saying: Yes! He has huge faith in the American people, and Iowa made him feel like his faith was justified -- reinforced -- substantiated -- defended. In religious terms, it was like saying, "I looked at that beautiful flower and it vindicated my faith in God."
Scarborough also said that he's never heard anything like this statement before. Let's remind him:
"Your faith in freedom's ultimate triumph was vindicated when the Berlin Wall was toppled, when an evil empire vanished from the face of the earth." --Dick Cheney to the Heritage Foundation, 5/1/03. You mean it required the toppling of the Berlin Wall for the far-right conservatives at Heritage to believe in freedom? Crazy!
"We've borne these responsibilities before, and we have seen our faith in freedom vindicated by history." --President Bush on fighting terrorism, 9/29/06. So Bush needs proof of his faith in freedom? Is he not proud of freedom? Traitor!
"We must reaffirm our faith in the principles that our founders declared to be universal, that all people are created equal and possess inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We fought a Revolution, a Civil War, two world wars, and a cold war to vindicate these principles..." --Senator John McCain, 5/1/07. McCain needed his faith in these prinicples reaffirmed?? He needed the cold war to prove something to him about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?! Wow, he's unpatriotic!
Of course I'm screaming at a big stinking pile of stupid here, and irrespective of any laundry list of explanations, the Republicans are drowning in desperation right now and will latch onto any disingenuous bullshit that floats by.