McClatchy, WaPo and Romney Warn About McCain's Out of Control Temper
In a disturbing expose Sunday, the McClatchy papers joined the growing list of press, pundits and politicians raising a red flag about John McCain's out-of-control temper. Following on the heels of the devastating revelations from the Washington Post in April, McClatchy documents many of the tantrums, outbursts and eruptions that continue to call McCain's presidential temperament into question. And as Mitt Romney's campaign revealed in January, those McCain tirades are directed at friend and foe alike.
Starting with an f-bomb hurled at GOP colleague John Cornyn, McClatchy details McCain's long history of explosions, a record which led Mississippi Republican Thad Cochran to conclude "the thought of (McCain) being president sends a cold chill down my spine":
There's a lengthy list of similar outbursts through the years: McCain pushing a woman in a wheelchair, trying to get an Arizona Republican aide fired from three different jobs, berating a young GOP activist on the night of his own 1986 Senate election and many more.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to John McCain's white hot temper.
Among the most shocking incidents are those involving POW/MIA activists. As this video shows, McCain's "prosecutor-like questioning" of Dolores Alfond, chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen and Women, left her in tears during a 1992 Senate hearing. In 1996, McCain lost his cool again when 25 of the group's members came to see him at the Senate:
Six people present have written statements describing what they saw. According to the accounts, McCain waved his hand to shoo away Jeannette Jenkins, whose cousin was last seen in South Vietnam in 1970, causing her to hit a wall.
As McCain continued walking, Jane Duke Gaylor, the mother of another missing serviceman, approached the senator. Gaylor, in a wheelchair equipped with portable oxygen, stretched her arms toward McCain.
"McCain stopped, glared at her, raised his left arm ready to strike her, composed himself and pushed the wheelchair away from him," according to Eleanor Apodaca, the sister of an Air Force captain missing since 1967.
McCain's staff wouldn't respond to requests for comment about specific incidents.
McCain's rage is hardly limited to political opponents or messengers of inconvenient truths. Just ask Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn. As Perrspectives recalled in March:
While Cornyn ultimately endorsed McCain for the White House, in March 2007 he was on the receiving end of a McCain tantrum. Clashing over immigration policy, McCain dropped the F-bomb, saying to Cornyn, " F**k you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."
Cornyn was far from alone among Senate Republicans in feeling the wrath of McCain. In 1999, McCain told the Finance Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM), "Only an a****** would put together a budget like this." On another occasion, he blasted the mild mannered Chuck Grassley (R-IA), " I'm calling you a f****** jerk."
McCain's fury also extended to his GOP allies in the House of Representatives. As the Washington Post and Real McCain author Cliff Schecter each reported, McCain nearly came to blows with his Arizona colleague, Rep. Rick Renzi.
In recent weeks, Democrats including Harry Reid, Dick Durbin and Barbara Boxer have all sounded the alarm about John McCain's decidedly unpresidential temperament. But it was Mitt Romney, the man who almost became the Republican vice presidential nominee, who offered the most ominous warnings to Americans that John McCain's dangerously out-of-control temper made him unfit for command.
As his make-or-break Florida primary contest against John McCain approached in January, Mitt Romney abandoned his pledge that "I'm not going to talk about the character of the people I'm running against." Instead, the Romney campaign produced a memo titled, "The McCain Way: Attack Republicans - A Top 10 List."
Romney's top 10 includes some of McCain's greatest hits - literally. In addition to the Cornyn, Grassley and Domenici episodes, the Romney list features some comparatively minor McCain blow-ups towards Dick Cheney, Mitch McConnell and other leading lights of the GOP. Amazingly, the Romney camp claimed that in 1995, John McCain "had a scuffle" with then 92-year old Strom Thurmond. (The complete "McCain Way" memo is available at the Boston Herald.)
During his first president run back in 1999, John McCain tried to defuse the growing concerns over his hot temper, insisting, "Do I insult anybody or fly off the handle or anything like that? No, I don't." And when the Washington Post detailed John McCain's legendary temper in April, his spokesman Mark Salter called its account "99% fiction." On Sunday, Salter defended his man again:
"McCain gets intense, and intent on his argument." His blowups with senators often result from colleagues being accustomed to deference, he said. "A lot of these guys aren't used to that," Salter said, so they get annoyed when a peer gets emotional.
Mitt Romney isn't the only Republican who's fretting about John McCain's finger being on the nuclear button. As Jon Hinz, the Arizona Republican Party executive director during McCain's 1986 Senate run, put it:
"It seems the only way to deal with John McCain is to think the way he does. If he gets more power, what's going to make him suddenly become a fuzzy, nice guy?"
With friends like that, who needs enemies? And thanks to Mitt Romney, we know how John McCain treats his friends.
The debates with Obama are going to be fun.
The Palin nomination was a coup d'etat inside the Republican establishment.
McCain did not choose her anymore than he chooses what psychotropic drugs he is fed daily.
These people want to get Puppet Palin in the VP spot and then watch McCain pull an Ariel Sharon (that is to say get a debilitating illness).
With a Puppet in the White House the Fundies and Neocons will plunge the world into a massive conflict that will usher in a New Dark Age.
Scared yet?
WHAT'S
Glad McCains finger wasn't on the buttons the morning of Sept 11.
Thad Cochran is actually a Mississippi Senator.
wonder if video exists?
Temper, temper.
BTW...Thad Cochran is from Mississippi not Missouri.
Now let's hope MSM will do their job and report this. I'm thinking they won't.
Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria. [NYT]
Palin/McCain 1808, a ticket completely unfit for office. Mittens should have brought this up in his RNC speech.
Whats McCain intend to do about price gouging. Especially Utilities.
Utilities, like any other business, should be required as in the past, to absorb the cost of their plants and upgrades as part of their business - not pass along costs for everything they do so they can continue to give fatter compensation packages and dividends.
Not surprising about his temper, since virulent racists and sexists tend to have short fuses.
Code Red
PTSD
Obama should go back to big crowds. That's waht
pisses the GOP the most.
Glib, she is.
Biden, he isn't
McCrazy @ 12:
They require real delicate handling that's for sure.
I'd just love to know precisely what the Obama campaign could say next week that would cause McCain to put on public display this out of control temper. The sooner, the better, don't you think?
I think its going to take more than a few f-bombs to derail McCain. The rash judgment angle is much more productive. He isn't nice. So what. He picks unqualified people on a whim and under pressure--that's a deal breaker.
Boy are we lucky that there are forces in play the freaks in the neocreep camp have no control over. They may believe in the end times but the VAST MAJORITY of people and governments on the planet don't. As our global dominance wanes so does our ability to convince countries to join our pilgrimage of insanity. Add the vision of an Obama presidency in Nov and we've got a lot of help from outside the country getting these whackjobs out of office.
Stand firm, don't give into despair, do your part and keep your attitude positive.
"Ordinary people doing extraordinary things" Obama/Biden '08
The only command assignment McCain was given was a flight retraining squadron. It is significant that he was not given another, nor given an admiral's star. His website touts his assignment as Congressional Liaison, but that is not a command assignment. It was a place to stick him until retirement.
Whether it was temper, rashness or partying, the military was not enthused about McCain.
Regarding debates, if Obama can take control of the debate and not let the moderator keep the discussion in areas McCain is prepared for, America will see the blank look. Obama should not be afraid to break the rules of the debate; Vladimir and Osama don't follow our rules. The Commander-in- Chief has to remain calm and centered when facing unexpected circumstance. If Obama can push McCain to an explosion, it's over.
Wasn't he tortured or something like that? Maybe he has permanent PTSD. He wasn't a commander before or after his capture, should he be Commander of ALL USA Forces?
lis @ 13:
I agree. Obama attracts crowds while the McCain campaign composes captured audiences.
L.A. Confidential @ 9:
Of course, he left out the one that supports the group that has actually attacked us (on 9/11,) Saudi Arabia.
the G.O.P.:
these are the many surprises we get
when we're too lazy, too stupid, too frightened
to vett...or is it vet?
Richard Peterson @ 18:
I'm pretty sure McCain will be pushed, but I don't think he'll explode. He'll resort to being smirky, sarcastic, condescending and, at worst, glancingly mean.
In short, he'll react exactly the same as Bush.
Apparently, you haven't watched the two candidates in action. Obama is a lousy debater. McCain will package his answers as short, black and white certainties, largely nonsense, but appealing to the typical American voter. Given the formats of most debates, I would definitely give McCain the advantage. Of course, by the time the debates are staged, everyone will have decided that the brilliant orator (Obama...from prepared texts) will crush McCain. That means the expectations for McCain will be low and he will easily exceed them. Result? A huge win for McCain.
I seriously doubt that the temper(ament) issue will work for the Democrats. Every time McCain appears in public and doesn't explode, he "disproves" the claim. There also seems to be an utter lack of significant incidents in the last ten years. This sounds like just another imaginary issue favoring Democrats.
Add to that the incredibly stupid insistence of Obama and Biden to spare no effort in telling the American people what a great guy McCain is and you have a fairly typical losing campaign shaping up for the Democrats.
It's possible that Democrats are simply too stupid to win unless Republicans nominate a Bob Dole type candidate -- nasty disposition, no charisma, lousy speaker, and no compelling life story. Amazingly, Dole was not unlike McCain in these qualities, but he was totally unable to translate any of his advantages (good sense of humor, war record, etc.) into a useful campaign narrative.
Ruth, wake up. Obama has shown zero ability to perform well in debates. I still can't believe that people are confusing Obama's speechmaking ability (superb) with his debating ability (mediocre to poor).
John McCain. Commander in Chief Preview
He dumped a jet aircraft in the drink during pilot training (should have been a warning alarm to the navy that an idiot who couldn't pass his classes and almost got booted out several times for personality disorders didn't merit a coveted seat in the U.S. free jet aircraft training school for Republican trogs ... oh, yeah, daddy's and granddaddy's intervention again); John McCain bailed out of and destroyed a pristine multi-million dollar jet aircraft while on a Christmas holiday junket flying from his base to his hometown? (all the other military saps had to use their personal funds to buy a commercial ticket home for the holidays, but not Little Johnny McCain); and, of course, his plane burnt up on the U.S.S. Arizona (not necessarily his fault, but still ... the leader sets the tone of the ship) and then, of course, he was too stupid and slow-motioned to use proper evasive techniques and opted instead to try and race a SAM missile.
I feel a small amount of pity for old man mcsame. Lots of people have a hot temper but the abusiveness and bullying is learned.
But he's an adult and should have put some time and effort into dealing with this personal problem a long time ago. Instead he just continued to use it to bulldoze his way through life.
Now he wants to pretend that a lifetime of being an over aggressive loudmouth jerk is actually just an incident or two taken 'out of context'.
Another steaming pile brought to you by the mcinsane campaign.
He'd approve this message but he's too busy chewing the scenery.
...won't be easy to tell him when he's wrooooooong-which will be damned near every daaaaaaaay!
oh really @ 24:
He sure let O'Reilly punk him on "the Surge". And that was just an interview.
http://bgladd.blogspot.com/2008/09/surge.html
Other People who have reported Anger Issues with John McCain:
Renzi
Grassley
Cornyn
Cochran R-Miss
Senator Bob Smith
John McCain is also drugged up with some of the most powerful drugs on the market today. Ambien for one.
Americans love pissed off politicians. Ever heard of Dick "go f*&k yerself" Cheney?
McCain's "Nation first" meme is bogus. It should be "McCain first". As evidenced by the selling of his very soul to the Conservative Religious right Side of his party ( a side that he can barely stand), and of late, his un-vetted and rather rash choice in a running mate. His only objective is to win the presidency... and then what? He is so beholden to the special interests that got him there if he does win, then what?
Senator McCain stands in direct contrast to Campaign 2008 McCain ( not to mention Campaign 2000 McCain) that he has proved himself untrustworthy. I can't trust what he says. His positions change from day to day based on the group that he is talking to and whom he is trying to impress. And I can't trust what his running mate says either, for she has proven herself to be a resume inflater and a liar of the highest Republican degree.
I have heard this before. The worse was when he called his wife a c*nt. You know all these republicans that work with him know about his temper. You would think they would put the country first before a hot head. Lets pray they secretly vote for Obama. Am sick of hearing the McCain is suppose to be a patriot. All I can say is like hell he is.
MCCAIN-PALIN=BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
Gretchen the aspiring elitist @ 23:
I'm not sure I agree, here's why. I believe that McCain has had a core of decency during his life in contrast to Bush who has been a sociopath since a very early age. I think this is significant in how these two freaks handle stress. Bush has no conflicts and is able to ignore anything that is said about him. McCain, on the other hand, is conflicted and at some level realizes that he has sold his soul for power. Being on the same stage as someone with the presence and composure of an Obama may just prove to be too much for him to handle in a rational manner. If he hits that breaking point, literally anything may happen.
Additionally Bush could be medicated and still function. McCain is already carrying a full load, if they put anything more in his system he'll be reduced to a gibbering idiot. His handlers and supporters are rapidly finding their situation untenable. When they realize just how hopeless their situation is, that will be when the world will be at the greatest risk. Keep your spirits up, your attitude positive, be part of what can get us through this coming crisis.
Peace and respect to all of you.
With all the corporate bailouts like with Fannie May and Freddi Mac, I think we should update the story of McCain and his role in the Keating 5 conundrum. Many Americans know to little about this blemish on history. I'd wait for the Main Stream Media to do that, but that won't happen.
Orangutan. @ 34:
So, a GOP administration is now nationalizing everything in sight, but Obama is the “Socialist”?
Phil Gramm, btw, is nothing but a financial rapist. McCain will elevate him to Treasury Secretary.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not! @ 33:
I do hope you're right and I'm wrong. I've seen the rumors that McCain is fairly heavily medicated, but is there anything substantial to back that up? When I've seen him in close-ups it looks like he has pupils the size of quarters but I'd like to know the real story.
McCain Is Unstable Says New Report | "Fuck you," McCain told Cornyn, in front of about 40 witnesses.
http://www.adn.com/uspolitics/story/518455.html
He's already as old as the hills. When has an old person changed anything other than a pair of depends?
This guy is way out of his element. He has personalized the war and feels like he has to "win" it because he never got a chance to do it in Vietnam. He's drunk on power.
He lost to Bush in 2000, that should say something about him. Kick this guy to the curb. He needs to be on a rocking chair in the country, not in the oval office.
McCain's history of hot temper raises concerns
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3035300
Yes, I am scared. It feels like all of us are crammed into one tiny little car on the slow upward climb of the rollercoaster from hell. Who knows what horrors await us once we go over the top and down the other side.
The thought of a President McWar, Vice-President McFertile and all of the lunatics who support them terrifies me. I hate to say this, but sometimes I wonder if there will even be an election in the US. Nothing would surprise me now.
King of Kings @ 2:
This may sound crazy, but this has been in the back of my mind. It's not just that he's 72; it's not just that he's had bouts with melanoma; it's also the fact that Presidents age noticeably during their time in the White House. Look at any "before and after" pictures of Presidents and see what the job does to their physical appearance.
Serious question: How many meds does he take per day?
My understanding is that the U.S Navy works on the principal of up or out. If you fail to make promotion after two kicks at the can out you go. Given his family background I've wondered why he didn't screen for flag rank. It sure would be interesting to read his commanders performance evaluations. If they haven't been thoroughly tidied up that is.
you know he was known as Songbird in the P.O.W. camp. any real questioning of the period is going to get the blood pressure pumping as he tries to maintain the lie.
An Average Joe @ 43:
For his dementia, alzheimer's prevention?, viagra?, blood pressure, sleeping aids, etc etc. I'd imagine a lot. I don't think we'll ever know, because I don't think its public information. But you can pretty well assume he is over-medicated and under qualified.
He admitted being broken as a pow.
Long term isolation in solitary confinement drove him insane.
This guy should not be anywhere close to the button and probably wants war with China for Vietnam.
Sometimes I see him walk the baby steps with his hands clenched together in front of his crotch and his eyes cast downward. I know he suffered in the Hanoi Hilton, and he deserves sympathy and gratitude for his suffering in service of our country. But, is he still in the Hanoi Hilton in his head?
Missouri Republican Thad Cochran
Correction, Thad Cochran is from Mississippi, not Missouri.
Where/when was that angry photo taken? It's not Photoshoped is it? If elected McCaint would continue the tradition of medicated GOP presidents.
General Jack D. Ripper @ 42:
Great minds. I was saying that to about 5 people yesterday -- Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, real standouts in the aging game.
And someone here mentioned McGramps had aged noticeably in the last year...
The only time one should age noticeably in such a short amount of time is childhood. Anything else is a symptom of illness.
Lis is right. Obama can draw bigger crowds than McPain.
He should play to his strength. (So what if they call him
"The One")
ABC has a story about McCain's Ambien use, a prescription sedative and sleep aid drug. Ambien has some rare but bizarre side effects including sleep walking, binge eating, and driving while asleep.
ABC article from May 23: McCain's Ambien Use: a Security Threat?
"The unusual side effects of the drug....made headlines a few months later, when Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy smashed his Ford Mustang into a barrier near Capitol Hill. He later released a statement saying that he had been disoriented by two prescription medications he had taken, one of which was Ambien."
I agree with oh really at 24...
Obama is NOT a great debater. He should be working FULL TIME at sharp, SHORT, catchy answsers to policy and personality questions... because THAT is what McSame is practicing and delivering every day.
Obama has to remove himself from those l-o-n-g c-o-n-s-i-d-e-r-e-d responses that got him in so much trouble at that religious retreat fiasco three weeks ago.
It's an unfair comparison to put his temper up side-by-side to former Presidents. He's not POTUS and won't be, but what if he were? Add the stress, responsibilities, criticism, both stateside and worldwide, and the temptation to touch Palin's butt everyday to the formula and then make the comparison. He'd be a time bomb waiting to go off. The GOP played the biggest fear card they had without even knowing it.
Gretchen the aspiring elitist @ 36:
Gretchen, my heart goes out to McCain, he's an old, frail man who has given into a mindless, soulless lust for power. A weakeness that is being exploited. A group of totally unscrupulous beings have decided that McCain can be used to maintain their grip on power and control, he truly is a pathetic pawn in this game.
That said, I can assure you, based on some personal aspects of my life, that no one who has paid the physical and emotional price that McCain paid during his captivity could be doing what he's doing right now without chemical intervention. He should be living a life of active, quiet contemplation right now, not being fed into the meat grinder that is an American presidential campaign.
I will do whatever I can to keep McCain/Palin out of the WH but I can not find it in my soul to hate him, all I can feel towards him is a combination of compassion and sadness.
Believe it or not I truly feel he is descending into his own personal hell on earth. Just look at his face during unguarded moments, this is not the face of a happy man. More prove of the old adage; "Be careful what you wish for, you may just get it."
In that list of temper tantrums I think they forgot that time he screamed at a waiter because his iced tea was slow in coming. It was his favorite brand too, Motherrucking's or something like that.
Here's a leaked tape:
http://assets.236.com//mp3/McCainPalinCall.mp3
Listening to the Republican Convention night after night on a battery powered radio because the electricity was out for four days due to the latest hurricane made one thing crystal clear: Those speechifiers were all using some heavy mind-game psy-ops claptrap on the sheeple.
Is anyone afraid they will wire Palin for the debate, like they did with Bush in 2004? I think we need to be ready for that. I hope the Obama camp has thought of that and has a plan for it.
Just read a blurb on Drudge..."The New York Times to do expose on Gov. Palin's baby...developing..."
What the heck could THAT be? Maybe they're getting tired of being scooped by The National Enquirer? Maybe the baby belongs to the business partner she supposedly had an affair with???
At any rate, something is cooking on Palin at the NYT.
Re: McCain's temper..... I just completed a song that has one line about this....
Call him a hot head, what do you know?
Sometimes when a nation comes smirkin' at you....
Bombin' is the way, bombin' is the way, bombin' is the only way to go.
If you want to hear the song, it's here:
www.stickyinfo.com
If you haven't learned any self-control by the age of 72, you don't deserve to be in charge of a taco stand, much less the U.S. of A. He sure sounds like a guy who beats his wife. Wonder what Cindy's hiding under that expensive makeup?
lis @ 13:
Speaking of code reds, I really wish Obama would be more careful about the words he chooses. Apparently on "This Week" he mentioned something about his "Muslim faith". Obviously a slip of the tongue, but we all know the way this will be twisted:
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/07/obama-verbal-slip-fuels-his-...
CNN is running a special on him showing his temper and his wife's opiate addiction.
14All @ 63:
He may have learned something from his captivity then. You don't mark up someone's head if you want to use them in propaganda films.
If you really want to set him off, call him a communist collaborator for making over 32 propaganda tapes while he was a [sob] POW. That is the reason he didn't want the POW/MIA records declassified and tore Dolores Alfond a new one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM1xqqTX_g
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not! @ 56:
I agree. I respect what he has been through with his captivity and hate that it is trotted out again and again. It cheapens everything and I think he is so intent on getting elected that he can't possibly see it.
I can't hate him either - so far I have no reason to. I don't believe in his words or his ability to lead, but I can't hate him for that. Now Bush, on the other hand, has given me reason in plenty.
getalife "whiners" @ 65:
Can you slip us a link so I can shoot it off to friends, family and customers. I sure don't want anyone to miss that special.
King of Kings @ 2:
YOU BET YOUR BUTT IM SCARED!!
No wonder he sees Sister Soulmate in Sarah Palin
McSame also publicly called his wife the C-bomb back in the 1990s.
Prairie Sunshine @ 71:
LOLz! Good catch.
going back and reviewing some of the "old" stuff can sometimes give one hope.
my hope is that the people who booed clinton in the instance cited above are representative of voters in general and react with similar disfavor to palin's just-plain-nasty language with respect to mccain's opponent.
Sarah Speaks!
Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has agreed to a television interview, with ABC News.
yah disney!
The Manchurian candidate should no be the leader of our nation.
Fuh King @ 67:
Holy smokes, that's a freakin' bombshell, I had no idea a tape like that existed and it appears there's lots more like it. There are boat loads of republican senators on these tapes. How in the world have the repukes allowed him to become the candidate? You know Obama's camp is aware of this information and must have licked their chops when they confirmed McCain as the repuke nominee. This whole thing is getting spookier by the moment.
What's the problem. McCain merely fits the "angry white male" demographic of entitlement gone sour by diversity and technology that have passed them by. Their lot has been stolen away by unpatriotic, elitist upstarts. But rather than spending his declining years on the lazyboy watching Fox and listening to Rush, McCain decided he is due the Presidency. Let those uppity minorities and intellectual techno-nerds responsible for the country's prosperity stand aside. Family name and wealth deserve the reins of powers. Then all will be well with the world.
When will she interview with a news channel and real journalists.
To Chuck at post 72,
Yea, he also called her a Trollup.
I'm not sure what a Trollup is (probably not as bad as the C-bomb!), I think it would make an excellent Daily Show or Colbert Report item.
Blast his age for his using vocabulary from a lost time, would that be "keen".
Peace.
EconProf @ 78:
* groan *
This wouldn't be so ridiculous of McSame were a white trash redneck but he's as far as you can get from that. He's a rich boy with a bloated ego from decades of telling himself that he deserves to be president.
Typo: This wouldn’t be so ridiculous if McSame were
rend @ 75:
now, see, there's a couple problems here.
i don't know but isn't it pretty common knowledge that national politics is a highly intrusive game? she made the choice to drag her kids along to the announcement and to the convention and now on the campaign trail -- she could have left them in alaska from day one. i mean, it's not like we don't already have someone running for president who has young children who haven't been dragged around as campaign props as an example.
haven't we all grown up being told that you have to earn respect, you cannot demand it?
and finally, where is this woman's humility?
she wants to rule my freaking country, for crying out loud!
but she's not going to talk until everyone settles down and is quiet so she can speak without interruption.
shush, you wicked lefties, shush.
Richard Peterson @ 18:
Your lips to the higher power above. I would hope that someone in the Obama camp would explain this scenario in their War Room sessions.
King of Kings @ 2:
take a gander at what my shorts filled with,
i can't believe i left this part out:
sarah palin not only wants respect before she will speak, but she wants deference as well.
i'm not getting any work done at all. i spend way too much time waiting for the next nugget of head-exploding GOP "fun." it's not my fault -- they've got me trained to expect another one twice or three times a day, weekends included.
McCain/Mugabe 08 @ 39:
Darling, I agree with everything you say about McCain but lets not generalize. In 4 years I will be as old as McCain is now, I take no meds, I do not wear depends, I know how to use a computer and I can remember what I said yesterday. I also enjoy life but will occasionally get nasty, mostly with my fellow racist non- Democratic Georgians.
lis @ 13:
yah. why AREN'T they--the MSM--talking about PTSD? Or anybody else for that matter? the symptomatology is classic. He's straight-up fucked up by his prisoner years. The very thing they're selling him with is his biggest liability.
Georgia Democrat @ 87:
You sir are an inspiration to us all. Apparently I'm an anomaly to be 56 and not on any meds, you must be considered a freak of nature in this society. When I grow up I want to be just like you. Party on dude.
Georgia Democrat @ 87:
You have to admit that you didn't do 51/2 years in a POW camp which could effect your mind and attitude towards life. I think there is a strong possibility that he has been brainwashed and is the Manchuian candidate.
Richard Peterson @ 18:
Regarding debates, if Obama can take control of the debate and not let the moderator keep the discussion in areas McCain is prepared for, America will see the blank look.
aw, c'mon. we've been seeing a blank look for 8 years now. Think "Pet Goat" for starters. Christ, it's amazing what the Repubs have made us live through. And Graham calls us whiners. What a barnyard the republican party is.
So, McCain's gonna end up flipping out on Palin, and call ther the C word. She'll get out her hunting knife and cut his balls off. Can't wait to read about it in US Weekly.
Chuck @ 81:
or WHATEVER IT IS he tells himself. Or some part of him tells himself. Or some goddam thing...WTF?? how do you begin even to think about this?
then again, look what's been foisted upon us these 8 years. With CHENEY as puppeteer. Sweetest Lord Jesus.
Emma Hussein Goldman @ 92:
Have you--or anybody here--read C. S. Lewis' THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH? it's a scene right out of it. Cheney's in it too.
I would love to hear McCain and Palin accidentally call Adam Clymer a major league asshole in front of a hot microphone. The campaign would be over.
Abraham Jackemoff @ 95:
yeh, between the two of 'em, there's plenty of potential for horrifying gaffes. They're really gonna have to be stage-managed. But the repubs have gotten a lot of experience stage-managing their guys. Goes back to Reagan, remember?
godDAM we've had to tolerate a lot for a long time. isn't it time for this shit-show to be OVER?
How is it possible for McCain to have any greater disrespect for this country, its safety or its citizens?
The first foreign leader he disagrees with and says "F... you" to will probably end any diplomatic communications for the WH with the rest of the world for at least 4 years. So then he’ll send Palin, with her total lack of negotiating and diplomatic experience, and her conceptions of Jehovah as some kind of bellicose killing machine, to mend wounded dignities?
No wonder he likes Palin, they both like to get revenge and to get people fired when they get upset at them. Perfect leadership qualities.
So we have a Presidential candidate who, like Bush is socially inept, like Bush is grotesquely undereducated, for a man who had access to an elite education, who like Bush drank and partied his way through college, like Bush has gained most of his “success” though the money and connections of a relative, and, in addition, has a sewer mouth in public and has some difficulty keeping his hands off people he is upset with.
There are at least three of those qualities that indicate a total lack of respect for other’s dignity, feelings, or ideas and a deep lack of maturity. A 72 year old man who still has tantrums a la the “terrible twos “ is not ready for the leadership of anything.
Explain to me again why the religious right think he is so great? He drank his way through a military academy, s....d around on his first wife, lives off a rich women, and spews filth both in private and in public.
He loves and respects this country so much he picks as his VP running mate a person who is so butt ignorant that she doesn’t know that the VP, receives the same daily briefing as the President, sits as a coequal of the Secretaries in Cabinet meetings, chairs the Senate, appears around the world and at home speaking for the President, and many other tasks assigned or chosen by the individual based on their personal interests.
Does she like Bush never read a newspaper or watch the news, or pay attention in class? She doesn’t even know that Canada is a foreign nation.
Please. Please. Somebody ask her if Mexico is an American protectorate. Or better yet find out if she knows the difference in New Mexico, and Mexico and how many electoral votes each has.
I have gotten the impression, by hearing him speak and reading about him that McCain is a small man, 5'6" or under, with a small man’s need to prove himself. 5'9" is about normal height for an American man. So his small man insecurities and vanities are of his own mental creation, (or just an excuse he has made up) not the reality he lives in. At 5'8" I look up to most men but not by much. In most normal conversational situations I can look straight into their eyes.
So why is he trying to defend something he is not, and that is an impossibility to prove exists, since it doesn’t. Since it cannot be proved, he needs to fight and fight and fight. What lengths will he go to if President, to prove something that is impossible to prove, because he needs it for his male vanity?
King of Kings @ 2:
I'm glad somebody is noting this possibility; if they can manage to lie, cheat, or outright steal their way into office, they very well may WANT McCain to die or otherwise fall apart, because that gives them another empty suit with passable stage presence to tell exactly what to do.
Maybe they're not planning that far ahead, or figure McCain has already sold out so far he'll be easy to control anyway, but Palin does look unnervingly like Bush II (in that she'll do whatever she's told, not in her personal policies--she's far nuttier, but also far less sociopathic).
"haven’t we all grown up being told that you have to earn respect, you cannot demand it?"
No, I was brought up to believe that respect is a birthright. Everyone is entitled to my respect, until they give me a reason to withhold it.
On this I agree with Mother Teresa.
The story mentions a "scuffle" McCain allegedly had with then-92-year-old Strom Thurmond. I wonder just how physical that got. I never was a fan of Thurmond, but, damn, messing with a guy in his nineties is really chickensh!t. A man's got to be a real coward to bully women in wheelchairs and 92-year-old men.
Difficulty with anger control can be an early sign of Alzheimers.
StirFry @ 20:
I am Canadian and he sends a cold chill up my spine
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
I've come across a few folks with a temper like that ...
folks who like to use the phrase "nuke 'em all, and let God sort it out"
rick street @ 102:
rick street @ 105:
PTSD
Obama should go back to big crowds. That's waht
pisses the GOP the most.
Glib, she is.
i would like to believe that. but the nielson ratings and the latest polls seems to favor mccan't and palin. i don't understand it. btw, i think the possibility that mccain actually does have PTSD should be a campaign issue. we've got to hit them hard.
Biden, he isn't
I agree. Obama attracts crowds while the McCain campaign composes captured audiences.
If he had Tourette syndrome, he might have an excuse but then again, as he hasn't exactly been forthcoming with his health records or military records who knows ...
"Maybe he has permanent PTSD."
No. He has permanent PMS.
The only thing worse than a woman with PMS is a man with PMS. (Progesterone is the female testosterone and peaks right before her period as estrogen plummets.)
For women its not life long and is only a day or two of every 28, and most learn how to stifle the mood swings.
For men, who suffer it, it is a permanent state, and since they never acknowledge the problem, they never make the effort to try to keep a lid on.
Any little thing can turn them into screaming bit....s.
Ali @ 101:
Apparently Johnny had problems with anger control since early childhood. He would get angry and hold his breath until he passed out. Been there done that, took me years to gain control over my temper, without chemicals I might add. Meditation, a wonderful daughter, a loving partner and lots of luck have done the trick. McCain is still battling his personal demons. WE DO NOT WANT HIM IN THE ROLE OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. Trust me, I know.
I'm so tired of the cynics and pessimists. The one's who've been convinced by the stupid meme that Democrats "can't win elections", that they give all their power away to the opposition.
What pathetic negative mind-set victims you are.
The Democrats won the popular vote in 2000. Without any progressive talk radio. With very few progressive blogs. In the wake of a huge scandal around the Democratic White House.
We came damn close to beating an incumbant in 2004. With a not very inspirational candidate.
Progressives and moderates, along with the far left liberals, make up the majority in this country. Almost none of them are going to be voting for McCain. And he's pushed away even more moderates by choosing Palin as a running mate.
The Republicans cheated their way into control of Congress in the 90s. And they cheated their way into the White House in 2000. I don't think that's going to happen again.
It just feels better to be an optimist. Even I'm ultimately disappointed, as least I've spent less of my life being miserable.
Does McCain have a temper? Could he loose his temper in a professional setting?
watch this and decide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CazKanlYDg
it is a slow burn ( watch it build in his face around 5:40).
i think he is speaking to a member of a POW/MIA family.
spread this to others and let them decide.
i hope Obama can push a few buttons to set him off in the debates.
It doesn't matter. Most Americans are comfortable voting for Godzilla... as long as he's not that uppity muslim.
calgarylady Says:
I hate to say this, but sometimes I wonder if there will even be an election in the US. Nothing would surprise me now.
You're not the only one. Can we all move to Canada if the Repocons steal the WH again? I mean the ones of us that still believe in democracy and would love to live in one for the rest of our lives.
karen marie @ 86:
In that case Charles Gibson is the perfect choice for the interviewer. He is probably the biggest shill for the Repubs in the MSM, right up there with his lame ass colleague John Stossel. Why bother to even watch this senseless lovefest interview?
trevor-es @ 53:
Ambien in Australia has been shown to cause disorientation and far worse. It's lead to obsessive compulsive disorder, obsessions with all kinds of things, and in many cases, out of control gambling. People have lost entire lives through taking Ambien.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not! @ 77:
Wow! What your said!
King of Kings @ 2:
My thoughts exactly! nuff said..its scary just wondering what they ..not might..would do. They also need to be sure whoever is nominated or placed in the "Fright House" is not gonna prosecute any of them.
"Go fuck yourself," said Dick Cheney to Senator Leahy with exactly zero negative repercussions for Cheney (I'm sure it rallied the base). Unless the American voters see McCain losing control in the present, there is virtually no chance this is going to any impact on the elect and it's a big waste of time.
It also doesn't help that Obama and Biden can't seem to find enough nice things to say about what a great guy McCain is.
It's a disease -- losing presidential elections -- and Democrats seem to be born with it.
Chuck @ 58:
Great stuff!
I'm surprised nobody in the MSM has delved more deeply into McCain's role in the USS Forrestal fire, which killed 132 crewman. McCain may have possibly caused the conflagration when he revved up his engines as a stunt or through incompetence, causing missiles on the plane behind him to discharge into his fuel tanks. He managed to bail safely, and was the only crew member to be immediately transferred after the incident. If McCain's actions did cause the Forrestal fire in any way, it's another example of how being the son of an admiral led to his being treated differently.
Agreed. The great mystery is how is it possible that the Obama campaign doesn't seem aware of this. One of the things I want in a president is the ability to adapt. I have seen no evidence that Obama has improved at all in Q&A situations.
Democrat Presidents have always been held to a higher standard than their Republican rivals. Imagine if Obama was known to explode the way John McCain does. The GOP attack machine would be casting him in the role of "The Angry Black Man". Speaking of anger management issues.. who isn't afraid for Bristol Palin's future baby? How many of you haven't seen the results of a raging, angry teenager who was forced into fatherhood and family responsibilities before he was mature enough to accept these responsibilities. Seems like everyone on this GOP ticket has real and potential problems with anger management in their future.
Cmc1124 how could that possibly surprise you? You must have access to a fantasy MSM that I've never seen before. Besides, McCain's military service is sacrosanct. I can't imagine any MSM reporter going after anything related to McPOW's service. Didn't you see Bob Schieffer's thoroughly embarrassing incredulity at Wesley Clark's perfectly valid assertion that getting shot down and being a POW are not qualifications for being president?
The MSM fail routinely to perform the vital tasks they were once expected to do (although I doubt there was ever a "golden age" in any important sense), but Schieffer's amazing jaw-dropping, bug-eyed disbelief was a dead giveaway that he is emotionally and intellectually incapable of doing his job -- not the one they pay him for, but the one that democracy depends on.
This is one of the great failings of Democrats -- they keep waiting for people to do things they're never going to do; or at least no sane person would rely on them doing those things. While Democrats wait for the MSM to provide fair and responsible coverage, or for the American people to respond to rational arguments, the Republicans go out and win elections.
"Democrat Presidents...
I think you mean Democratic Presidents.
Marnie @ 116:
Thanks to Brave new Films, here's the boatload of stuff about Mc Lame:
www.threalmccain.com
Ow shucks, Wally, I'll never pass the big exam at this rate.
oh really @ 124:
bmw 528 @ 125:
Try that again: www.therealmccain.com
"it was another instance of the Republican presidential candidate losing his temper, another instance where, as POW-MIA activist Carol Hrdlicka put it, "It's his way or no way."" Unquote.
Point is, haven't we seen 8 years of a Thief-in-Chief who works in EXACTLY this way? How many millions of war casualties, dispossessed Americans, flooded cities left to fester and hopeless people who have just given up will it take before we apply the lessons learned at such a price?
How can anyone with an IQ out of single digits endorse, vote with, and vote for John McSame?
We have been warned. The question of history remains. Can we heed in time? I have my doubts.
Roci
Ruth @ 1:
I know - I can't wait ~
*
According to my first cousin once-removed, a veteran who had served on the same base as McCain told her that he would never vote for him because of the way he treated his people. McCain didn't just now become a grumpy old man. He's been a jerk his entire life.
rcm @ 126:
There's still time, Beav, but you've got to watch yourself. It's one thing to get a wrong answer and quite another to burn the teacher's house to the ground. Best Wishes, Wally
Sorry, but I don't want a reactionary, hot-tempered, war-hardened old man with 1 foot in the grave (who was caught singing "Bomb, bomb, Iran" on youtube) to have his finger on that red button at 3am. He'd probably push it just to go back to sleep! I want a man whose nature it is to intelligently think through a problem and approach it from all angles. Obama has the brains. Lets not forget that this man graduated from Harvard Law having been head of the Law Review. THE most prestigious position there is. AND he was the 1st black man to do it. McCain, by his own admission graduated 5th from the BOTTOM of his class in the Naval Academy. Not a candidate for Mensa to be sure. With all due respect, being a "POW" might have developed his character but it didn't earn him a degree. And lets not overlook the fact that McCain has a well-known reputation of being nasty when he's not agreed with. (again check out YouTube if you don't believe me) No wonder Bill O'Reilly worships at his altar...He sees himself in McCain.
Hi, Marnie @ 113. Sorry I'm late in responding. Just so you know, Americans are always welcome up here in the north country :)
Marnie @ 116:
Wow! is right ...
Can the link to this video be e-mailed to the DNC, to Obama's campaign, to ANYBODY in a position of power and influence in the Democratic machinery? This HAS to get out! I myself will send it along -- with money and a well-wrought message -- if somebody can provide an address. Or lots of us can do it.
Damn!
hey it must be ok because even barack wants to bomb every arab country the neocons do, even russia
John McCain's volcanic temper is no secret to many, yet we haven't heard the media mention it. Imagine that. It's clear Mccain's temperament isn't well suited for the presidency. The McCain-Palin ticket is a disaster for this country. Ms. Palin is George Bush in a skirt, someone without substance or experience, someone they can dress up to look like just an ordinary old gal who likes to hunt moose (like Bush and his chainsaw down on the ranch), and she's evangelical. I'm sure at the moment she's being schooled in the neocon ways, and when McCain kicks the bucket or otherwise becomes incapacitated, they'll once again have their puppet in the WH. It makes me sick.
More ways that McCain is exactly like Bush: a self-deluding, vindictive, grudge-nursing little sociopath who is hypersensitive to any all forms of criticism.
Chicken "Hussein" Little - Not! @ 89:
Just for the record - I am a female!
When you have serious tantrums like these doesn't it raise your blood pressure, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks?
Both his father and his grandfather died of sudden heart attacks in theirs 60s didn't they. I can't imagine his cancer improves either. Palin, Palin, Palin?
Have ya'll seen this video, which is MUST SEE and pass on, please....Republicans and military men on John McCain
Did McCain receive treatment for his Post Traumatic Stress?
Georgia Democrat @ 87:
Georgia Democrat @ 87:
Georgia Democrat:
Good Morning, you are entirely correct. However, I'm sure you know that you are lucky and defy the odds.
I'm a nurse and I work in a regional stroke center. I see lots of patients, both young and old. And, unfortunately, as we age
things tend to stop working, work sporadically, go haywire, etc. Most of my patients over 60 have at least one or two
medications that they take and when you cross the threshold of 70 it generally increases greatly.
Now, when you take the fact that he's 72 and has crashed a few planes, was a POW and obviously has anger issues, it's
higly probable that he is consuming some, if not many, medications. He may or may not be incontinent, you're absolutely
correct and I think we are all a little ageist in that respect. Frankly, I'm really concerned about the dementia potential or
the fact that he could work himself into one of his notorious rages and have a massive stroke. And then we would be left
with probably the silliest excuse and scariest V.P. candidate ever to ascend to the office of president.
As an aside, I grew up in a small town that was comparable in population to Wasilla, AK. At one point we had a mayor who reminds me a lot of S.P. He was my world history teacher in high school and also taught driver's ed. He had a Napoleon complex and was an evangelical. He once threw an eraser at me because he said I was sleeping in his driver's ed class. Eventually, he became mayor of our small town and exhibited much of the behavior we have been shown S.P. exhibited. Although, she's cuter and probably a little bit smarter than him, I always think of him when ever I see her face. Being mayor of a small town only qualifies you to be mayor of another small town, or perhaps a somewhat larger town. And, what is it with book banners having the unmitigated gall to call anyone a socialist/communist/fascist?
Anyway, Georgia Democrat, I hope you continue to enjoy good health as you have and that we can insure that this obviously unhealthy and unfit team does not capture the White House.
Have a great week!!
BCPipes @ 48:
Which head? The one on his shoulders or the little one between his legs?
I think McCain's whole anger thing could be indicative of something else, something much more troubling.
It's talked about at:
Oops...the place where I read about McCain's temper being a manifestation of something much darker and something directly related to how he would govern was at http:abcparty.org
I must admit, I'd love to say f*** you to John Cornyn.
oh really @ 24:
i'm wating for mccain to hit a blank/forget the question as he does when questioned by the press. love that long uncomfortable pause. that'll be fun.
unfortunately, for your argument, the independents who will decide this race are not taken by sound bites. only repubs get sucked into that.
i'm also waiting if the repubs will use a receiver like bush did in his debate with kerry. mccain needs it especially on the subject of the economy.
unfortunately this temperament issue is not being touched much by the bbq media. they miss sedona, i suppose.
but because it's not being touched, a lot of people do not know about it.
would you trust a man that unstable to have his finger on the nuclear button...and who is he going to consult? caribou barbie? scary. she cant even face the press let alone deal with the nuclear option.
michael dukakis had personal experience of this temper. barbara boxer had a run in with kay bailey hutchison about this on wolf blitzer's show. the media just doesnt pick it up for futher discussion. there are people with personal knowledge about mccain's temper. and if it's admissible in evidence in the courts, it should at least be a valid subject of reporting.
Out of curiosity... where did this picture come from?
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