What's in a gaffe?

gaffe also gaff [gaf]
- noun
1. A clumsy social error; a faux pas: "The excursion had in his eyes been a monstrous gaffe, a breach of sensibility and good taste" (Mary McCarthy).
2. A blatant mistake or misjudgment.

[French, from Old French, hook]

Comparative gaffes:

Gaffe #1: Barack Obama, while making a point that fundamental human rights, including that of a fair trial, should be accorded to terrorists, is accused of being inconsistent (and lacking the requisite thirst for blood) because of a connection (made by the McCain campaign) between inmates at Gitmo (who now have habeas corpus rights), Osama Bin Laden (who remains at large six and half years and two wars after his Big Day), and the defendants at Nuremberg (who did not have habeas rights).

Gaffe #2: John McCain, in an effort to ward off these two associated images:


...ignores a request from Iowa state officials to cancel a campaign appearance in order to keep personnel focused on flood recovery efforts rather than providing security for the GOP nominee.

You tell me. Which "gaffe" is more illustrative of the respective candidates?