McCain booed by rabid supporters for defending Obama as a "decent person"
By SilentPatriot Friday Oct 10, 2008 4:45pm
So it's come to this. At a town hall meeting in Minnesota Friday night, John McCain was loudly booed after he defended Obama as a "decent man" that his supporters shouldn't be afraid of. The answer came in response to two questions from audience members, one by a man who said he's afraid of raising his unborn first child in Barack Obama's America, and another one from an older woman, who McCain had to yank the mic away from, after she called him "an Arab" that she "couldn't trust."
"He is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared about as President of the United States. If I didn't think I would be one heck of a better president I wouldn't be running."
Older Woman: "I have read about him. He's an Arab".
"No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."
While it's nice to see McCain defend Obama from what Glenn Greenwald calls his "traveling lynch mob," it's important to understand that it was McCain himself (and, of course, Sarah Palin) who have been working overtime for the past 10 days or so painting Obama as a Un-American Terrorist Foreigner who they should be fearful of.
Now that McCain has debunked his own campaign's last line of attack, where does he go from here? Perhaps he can start trying to convince a majority of Americans that his ideas are superior to Obama's? I won't hold my breath.
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I'm absolutely ashamed of the idiots in my state. Lakeville is a mega church suburb and again, I apologize for the idiots in my state. Many people are not this stupid. It is true!
I'm in Utah, and outside of very liberal Salt Lake City proper, the whole state is a megachurch. If we start feeling ashamed, we start feeling hopless. The two fanatics with the mics in this video are probaby lost, but there are many people in some very conservative religions who would embrace progressive values if they thought they wouldn't be alone. I have a lot of Mormon colleague who will be voting for Obama this year because the GOP facade is becoming so cracked and broken that it is almost impossible not to see what's behind it.
Trying to inter-mingle your religion with political parties is folly. When in Rome do as the Romans do. Keep your head in the clouds with your feet firmly on the ground. Rightwingnuts who have allowed the conservatives hoodwink them are partially to blame for the condition we find ourselves in.
i beg to differ... they are entirely responsible... they have not only been the enablers, they have been the tyranny of the majority that allowed people to get away with heaping disdain on the dixie chicks when they were one of few voices of reason at a time was reason was kicked to the curb...
When McCain told that lady Obama is a DECENT person was he implying that arabs are not decent people? He should have answered differently.
I caught that, too! If I had more respect for him, I'd cut him some slack and assume that he was just caught off guard by the comment and responded badly. But since I have NO respect for him, I'm going to assume that he was implying that arabs aren't decent.
I caught it too, but then realized that McCain had to dumb it down for that woman and the audience. He knew what she was saying in idiot-speak, so he replied in idiot-speak. He wasn't saying Arabs are bad; he was replying to her assertion that Obama was bad, which she communicated by the idiot-speak code word for bad -- Arab. McCain didn't have time, nor would it have been fruitful to answer her beyond the length he did. I am an Obama supporter, big time, but can't get down on McCain for his response in the idiot dome.
It's to bad you can't respect someone that gave so much of himself for our freedom. He's a POW!
I guess that goes to your charactor.
Half of Arabs aren't decent--the male half.
When their religious terrorism and bigotry against the female half of Arabia ends--the half which is giving birth to, feeding and tending to, the male Arabians, we'll reconsider their lack of decency. Until then, the indecency is public and open. Until then, the Male Arabian will be viewed as what he is--the feculent end of the Arabian horse.
Ignorance fail.
"Arab" is a race, not a religion, and it encompasses a wide variety of peoples, mostly originating in the Middle East. The Muslim faction that you are referring to only represents a small portion of the Muslim religion in general, and an even tinier portion of the people around the world that fall into the category of "Arab".
these people cannot be that stupid, it almost makes me think that the questions were staged.
Actually, I saw a youtube video of someone who interviewed the "arab" woman afterwards, she's crazy, but not planted.
With all that is going on, John McCain, Sarah Palin, their obvious frustration at the reality staring them in the face. They have nearly no chance of winning.
Have you ever burned dinner? For five minutes or so it seems like maybe it really isn't so bad, maybe it really isn't burned. But it is and sooner or later it sets in. That's exactly the same thing the republicans and all these supporters are going through right now. Their party is broken, their conservative future uncertain.
Remember what it was like when it became obvious that W. was going to be the President? Remember what the last 8 years have been like? Is it possible that these angry mobs realize that history has caught them, that what comes around goes around?
Take heart dear reader. There is a progressive future for all of us just ahead.
I belive you that your state is not that dumb. However, I have to belive that the stupids far exceed the smart. Its much easier not to think and just follow like sheep. This is proven in fox news ratings, and the fact that mccain is doing as well as he is. The morons may not be leading in the polls, but all it takes is a large pack of them or only one to cause serious problems. lets hope to god they have stepped up security around obama due to these morons with gun racks.
George Lutz
Professional Former Haunted House Owner
I totally agree with you. These people actaully do not deserve us blogging about them but since I am I'd like to let the
gun shooting Gov. know that with he stupid remarks. She is only adding gas to the fire and I would hold her reponsible if Obama is harmed in anyway. She's a sorry excuse for an American, sorry excuse for a mother. Ship her ass to Iraq on the front line.
You're right. Most people are not that stupid and certainly not that virulent, but McCain has been poking a lion with a stick in hopes that the lion would take off after Obama and now he's put himself in some untenable position.
The saddest part is that I think McCain truly was a respectable politician, until he sold his soul to the devil and became solely focused on winning the Presidency at any cost, regardless of the consequences.
You can tell this weighs heavily on the old bastard, that he's been saying dishonorable things and inciting a gang of thugs turning ever nastier, and he's starting to regret it. Unfortunately for him, it may be too late.
I think Obama will win this election, but McCain can still do the right thing and at least bring some measure of honor back to this disgraceful campaign he's ran. At least then he'll be able to live out the rest of his days without a guilty conscience.
I too thought McCain an honorable politician, but (I know this is esoteric) he now reminds me of Shakespeare's MacBeth after seeing Banquo's ghost enter and sit at the banquet table. Only Macbeth can see the ghost; the audience (those booing at McCain's "assertion" that Obama is somehow an honorable American worthy of respect and the land's highest office) only sees Macbeth raging at an empty chair. The ghost in this case may be McCain circa 2000 who was stabbed by McCain circa 2004 in order to win over the rabid Republican right that he needed to win the nomination.
I also agree with your last paragraph. McCain is faced with a choice. He is not a character in play forced by the author to wade toward his own doom; he has free will. He has the option of taking his own campaign back from the Spawns of Lee Atwater & Karl Rove, his vice presidential nominee and those she represents and his own lust for the presidency and he could restore his honor. He may and should loose this election. He may also be able to save his party from complete self-destruction.
... but John McCain has never been honorable. NEVER.
Rake through his past. It's full of deceit, rashness, anger, vitriol and other undesirable attributes.
We're just seeing the full flowering of his wretchedness in the withering glare of a national campaign.
Hatred and anger and distortions in the GOP base is a fire that was started and is being fed by many right-wing talk show hosts, like Rush L.
They breathe hatred and lies, just to profit from more ratings and ad revenue. Truth be damned, civility be damned, and in the case of Rush's vote registration scam, the constitution be damned. So now many conservatives actually believe Obama is muslim, arab, evil, a terrorist, etc.
Meanwhile, McSame and Palin turn a blind eye.
mccain is above his voters. I wouldn't want those votes. we need to show everyone what these people are really like. people that would vote for bush all over again.
McCain is not above his voters. He is on a par with them.
He has shown exactly who and what he is by his actions and his words. He rang that bell, a whole bunch of times, and he can't un-ring it now.
Forget the speeches about his "Honour". He sank as low as he thought he had to, in not time flat, propelled forward by his belief this is his destiny, this quest for absolute power, and no one was going to take his rightful prize. For heaven's sake, don't you know he's an old, rich, white, christian, war hero!!
You reap what you sow, I suppose - and McCain has been working his "hand at the tiller" overtime lately.
Good for McCain! For the first time in weeks, I can recognize the John McCain I once admired. I've always disagreed with his politics, but I used to believe he was a fundamentally decent person. Maybe his hubris has ebbed, and his humanity can re-emerge.
He's better than his campaign.
yes-- i agree -- i was for kucinich, and now obama -- but i never thought mccain was a bad guy -- just someone i disagree with on a number of issues.
maybe he has realized he is going to lose. perhaps if he'd just been himself he would have done better.
he shouldn't have gone to "crazy-base land" as john stewart called it so long ago.
how can you buy this shit??
last nite, he is on hannity pushing the ayres meme
today he is telling the mongoloid crowd that obama is a decent man?
in late 07, mccain sold his soul for the chance to be prez
he just looked at the polls, and saw that his soul wouldnt be enough...so he is trying to gain it back
too late
he is now hellspawn
let him burn
"mccain sold his soul for the chance to be prez"
Thank You!
nailed it, but everyone should have seen this as obvious.
Absolutely.
What can you say about a man that was so abused by Bush's team
in 2000 and adopts the team and the tactics. Pathetic.
Of course he's not honorable. He might have seemed honorable for all those years when he was only a senator and the stakes weren't any higher, but put in a position of gaining real power he loses any vestige of scruples and his true colors come bleeding through.
No, I'd say he just forgot his campaigns position. He'll get back on track tomorrow.
McCain: Spewing blood and piss out one end and talking blood and piss out the other.
If McCain's poll numbers went up and not down with this strategy, he wouldn't have said a damn thing to that woman. For McCain, it was a matter of pure politics and not human decency.
No, he's just realized it's gone too far and he wants to look all noble and statesman-like. Now he can point to this footage and say, "see, I tried to stop it." But he's lost control of his own mob.
Disgusting.
I'd like to agree with you, but I've been reading the remarks from his fellow Republicans, of the more moderate ilk, and Republican pundits.
They are embarassed and disappointed in his sleazy tactics.
McCain is an angry man, who went way too far. I'm less certain that he's sorry he has conducted himself so badly during this campaign as I am certain that he is sorry that it hasn't worked so far and that people disapprove.
Stay tuned to see if they stop using the Ayers and Muslim, untrustworthy and dangerous attacks. I'll be amazed if they do.
Quinbyite:
I also at one time admired McCain, but he lost my admiration when he voted for Waterboarding, this to me was the last straw. As far as I am concerned he has no honor. He is just as disgusting as those whom he has hired to run this campaign. The hosts on MSNBC tonight were asking what would the campaign do next? I think they are at a crossroads, the people who are running the campaign come from the Karl Rove playbook and they have nothing left but fear and the politics of personal destruction. I heard someone tonight, maybe Jonathan Alter from Newsweek say that the Republican party of Reagan was dead. I for one hope that is true, as far as I am concerned the Dem's can stomp on the head of the Republicans when the new Congress convenes in January. Hopefully, they will have a 60+ majority in the senate then they can send Johnnie and his buddies to the woodshed.
The McCain that left the wife who was loyal to him during those 5.5 long years the first chance he got?
The McCain that ran for cover after his plane almost sunk the Forestall to the bottom of the China sea while other men acted like real heroes?
The McCain whose nickname was songbird while in captivity?
The McCain who had his military records sealed and yet requests military hero status without possibility of review?
The McCain who fucked royally and then proceeded to intimidate the POW/MIA families so that he was able to pass forth the legislation that enabled him to seal his fore mentioned military records?
The McCain which graduated almost dead last in his promotion at Navy?
The McCain that crashed one plane per year?
The McCain that was involved in one of the worst corruption cases in US Senate history?
The McCain who threw his family under the bus in 2000?
The McCain with a short temper and a history of bulling witnesses who disagree with his positions when he is part of a senatorial commission?
The McCain who can't remember how many houses he has while the economy is going to the dumpster?
The McCain who has fought tooth and nail for the better part of 2 decades to destroy social security any chance he has?
The McCain who was part of the deregulation mafia which is responsible for the current mess?
The McCain who has a penchant for calling his wife a c*nt and have extra marital affairs with lobbyist?
Is that the McCain you all love and miss? Because... I am getting a chuckle of all these people who are "socked, socked I tell you" about seeing a guy who has always being a fucking prick act like... a fucking prick.
The bright light of presidential campaigns bring out the true soul and character of a person. McCain is the same person he always was. Everyone needs to read the Rolling Stone article about his life. It's not flattering.
Thank you for the reminder!
It is funny that with all total lack of morals that those deeds seem to suggest McCain has that he still has the balls to attack the character and values of Obama. Maybe if Obama didn't have some real ideas on how to run the government he would have had plenty to work with in a smere campaign of his own.
You did forget one thing and probably many when talking about McCain and that is his efforts to put the middle class in an even bigger hole and make the rich like himself even richer.
And he's come to realize it. Here it is obvoious that he knows he's crossed the line.
Damn... I guess you really do reap what you sow. McCain shouldn't have listened to Karl Rove.
This is just bizarre. This isn't an election - it's an utter parody of an election. Don't get me wrong, I'm behind Obama 110%, but I can't help but think we are witnessing the death of the GOP as we know it. It's a mockery and a travesty to know that these two people have whipped the radical right up to the fever pitch displayed here. Who would have ever thought that the party of Lincoln would descend to this.
It is quite stunning to witness.
Bush killed the GOP - McCain and Palin are just the undertakers. This is what happens when you align your party's policies with morality issues exclusively. The GOP used to be fiscally conservative, diplomatically savvy and recognized the need for a reasonably stable working class. This president's administration performed the ultimate disservice to their party by debasing itself to a set of morality issues in the past eight years. This is the legacy of allowing Lee Atwater and Karl Rove to dictate GOP campaign frameworks.
Grabbing the microphone out of a "town hall" speaker's hand to declare that your opponent is not an Arab terrorist after all and will be a "safe" president.
Well done John. And Sarah.
No only is McCain the undertaker, he's the embalmed body, too
(Smiley faces all around ...)
"The GOP used to be fiscally conservative, diplomatically savvy and recognized the need for a reasonably stable working class."
You're going all the way back to Ike to find someone who fits that description.
I'm old enough to remember some of the green eyeshade, fiscally responsible conservatives, but haven't seen any since before the Reagan years. I hear there are still some alive on a nature preserve somewhere.
McCain in this clip reminds me of a (maybe) semi-remorseful Dr. Frankenstein watching his monster run amuck. Or maybe his handlers just told him that his and Sarah's nastiness wasn't playing well and he had to give "decent" a shot. Also, he's been playing on the "I can reach across the aisle" schtick. If he did get elected, he probably realizes he won't get much done with a Democratic congress who just watched him win by painting Obama as a terrorist. Win or lose, he's probably looking to his legacy. He'll want footage of "good McCain" out there to blunt the verdict of history against him.
No, they're extinct now. The wildlife refuge where they were last seen is now the parking garage for a Walmart.
A cursory review of the conservative movement will indicate that they say they are fiscally conservative but their record does not reconcile. Ronald Reagan, George Bush I and Baby Bush all increased spending and deficits. You cannot believe what liars tell you. Look back over the past thirty years of mostly Republican majority and look at the record. They believe in destroying government, deregulation, and padding the pockets of the cronies in the large corporations. Everytime I hear them I scream.
... It is well documented that he ran for the GOP ticket because... he was more afraid of the GOP leadership at that time than the Democrats.
This is, he was more afraid of his own party... and thus decided to run for president in order to neutralize any GOP-loon (Nixon was part of his ticket, so he must have known something).
Also, remember that even though Ike may have been a decent general and an OK president, he presided over 2 minor recessions. He increased the debt to feed the same military-industrial-congressional complex he warned us about. And he presided over a foreign policy that brought a legion of extreme right wing regimes in South America (with their penchant for death squads) and overthrew the Iranian democratic government in order to place the Sha which led later on to the fun and games that has been the Islamic revolutions sparkled over that part of the world ever since.
Truth be told, other than Ike and he had a ton of warts, there have really been no decent Republican presidents in over a century. A lest not forget that the Republican party of Lincoln had very little to do with the current GOP.
... actually built interstate highways! Something to serve all of the citizenry! How dare he!
He would be aghast at today's rotten, fetid GOP.
And, amazingly enough, so would Barry Goldwater.
But Sarah didn't stop anyone in their tracks when they made such comments. And with past as prelude, it'll be a few more days before she gets the memo.
Bush killed the GOP - McCain and Palin are just the undertakers.
=======================================================================
With that simple phrase, you just described the last eight years perfectly.
Well done, sir.
McCain's campaign would have been a good chapter in David Lynch's Twin Peaks.
Watching McCain pull that microphone away from that woman was the defining moment in the end of the Republican party as we know it.
Exactly right. McCain and his party are toast. The fat lady in the fright wig has sung.
That was a wig? It looked like her hair barely survived an encounter with the Hadron Supercollider....
Great comeuppence for the two of these morons actively inciting violence all week.
What he has shown all of us is that he's now totally incapable of controlling his own wingnut base (is there anyone sane left?) so how the hell can we trust him to control crises in this country?
Short answer: He's totally incapable and has shown it to the world this week.
Too bad - you and Palin and Fox News and the rest of the right-wing hate machine have unleashed a monster.
What are **YOU** going to do about it?
If that-thing-we-dare-not-speak happens - it will be on your shoulders.
baby jesus is already hearing the calls from McCain
baby jesus predicts the last tactic will be repenting to baby jesus on the stump
On these two points I have to give McCain some credit. I have VERY strong disagreements with him but he at least HERE stood up and spoke the truth. I have felt for a long time that if we had him instead of Bush in 2000 we'd be in a much better place today Of course, McCain in 2008 is not McCain of 2000 nor is the country in as good a place as it was then. But at least he told these nuts the truth here.
And if anyone needs to be afraid of any candidate it's Sarah Palin. That lady scares the hell out of me.
why give him credit for telling them to back off? He allowed things to get this bad, and now Dr. Frankestein is powerless to control his freakish monster. He should *really* suspend his damn campaign, PERMANENTLY, and formally bow out of the race, apologizing to americans and barack obama for the hate and fear his party has propagated and sewn throughout our collective minds.
I think he said the right things but I don't think he deserves credit for doing what he should do. If he had agreed, even passively, he would be wrong. These are flat out lies and not oppinions on possible outcomes of future policy and do not deserve even any amount of recognition.
It reminds me of a little boy who stands at a fence and teases a dog over and over with a stick. When the dog jumps the fence and bites the little boys, he runs home crying. Everyone makes over him because the bad old dog bit him.
John, stop teasing the dog. If it bites you, it's your own fault.
finally, this is what I've wanted to see fellow C&L'ers talk about since the news and videos of this started breaking. I can't believe the GOP has essentially relegated itself to a Nazi-lite gathering of bigots and rabid maniacs who foment violent emotions, then can't control them when they get out of control. I think McSham/Palin's actions earlier this week are akin to shouting fire in a crowded theater and I wish we could hold them accountable for possibly inciting violence against a national figure, in this case the soon to be President, Barack Obama.
pouring gasoline on a fire in a crowded theater.
While it's true that McCain has been working hard to whip this mob into an angry lather, you have to give him credit for at least doing what people have been saying he needs to do--point out that Obama is a good person with whom he disagrees, and not a one-man sleeper cell. Maybe a tiny bit of McCain's vaunted maverick-ness is rising against the right-wing puppet-masters who have been controlling him these last months. Good for him
I'm still voting for Obama
I give no credit to a person who shouts "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, then tries to calm people down, 'cause he's such a good guy, as they trample each other during the stampede to get the F outta there.
McCain is basically saying, "I'm not saying that there is a fire in this building. I'm saying that we need inspections since we can't know whether this building is right now on fi--- Hey? Where are you all running to?"
it's more like mcshame's realized that by shouting fire in a crowded theatre, he's generated enough rage-induced friction to create an actual fire... and now he's realized that he's gonna wind up getting burned...
you have to hand it to him. he said what had to be said. he's gonna get his ass handed to him in november so maybe he's just cutting his losses...
American TV and radio have reaped a culture of ignorance. There are people in my life, acquaintances and colleagues alike, that still aren't sure about Obama, they say he "scares" them, and I'm in Boston? I always tell them to believe what they see.A nation crumbling, hated by former allies, torture, preemptive war. Usually, they're eyes glaze over. Sigh....
... and honestly, WTF?
A bright, nice looking, cordial guy, oozing confidence with tons of class and intelligence to match... that is a scary feller right there!
Sure, I don't agree with a lot of his policies since I consider him to be too moderate conservative for my taste. But I would never consider Obama as a "scary" person.
The current idiot son of an asshole in the presidency during one of the worst economic meltdowns in our history, or the insane grandpa McCain making fun and singing about bombing the shit out of a country... now that to me is fucking scary.
Oh c'mon, it's not so hard to figure out why they are scared... it's because someone they give some amount of credulity to told them something to scare them (Obama is a Muslim terrorist, Obama is the Antichrist, Obama eats babies, whatever). It's not like there hasn't been an organized fear-mongering campaign in effect for the last 20 months... and to some extent, it works.
Of course peolple would believe Obama is a muslim or a terrorist. His skin isn't white. This scares the rascists and ignorant rednecks in this country. Look at the states that McCain is winning. That explains alot. It is hard to believe that there are still pockets of that kind of stupidity but it doesn't suprise me since Bush did get elected to a second term after total incompitence during the first.
mcshitstain supporters = white trash morons
McCain learned a lesson today about integrity. Integrity isn't like a garment that you take from the shelf and wear when it's convenient, and then put back on the shelf when it's not. You either have it with you all the time or you don't have it at all. McCain proved that axiom today. He has no integrity.
Amen. Very very well said. "What you sow is what you will reap." Mccain, unfortunately, has dug a grave for himself. Indeed, consistency and integrity are very indispensable traits for a politician to succeed. You cannot just say something and then retract it after a few days. Otherwise, people will get the impression that you're fabricating stories or you're fickle-minded. We have to have a very level-headed and sensible US President and not someone who flairs up, stokes anger, and then, all of a sudden, pacifies people just because it has a negative effect on his candidacy. Considering the financial turmoil that we're experiencing right now, we need a president who has enough patience, who thinks first before he speaks, and who ponders the consequences of his actions.
They created, feed and raised it.
There are a lot of angry people coming out about these tactics. If something happens to Obama there will be no excuse. They can never say they didn't expect it. History proves otherwise.
Compare the two campaign events here. The McCain camp has nothing else. If he really wanted to put country first, he would quit now and take his "power abusing" sidekick with him.
For a little comic relief look here
Yeah, it's ok, I suppose to see Gone InSane telling fools like this that Obama is decent. But, ever the soul-selling flip-flopper, he's coming right back and announcing that Obama is attacking his crowds!
Remember when people were saying that Obama was so much like Hitler for the crowds he was drawing for his speeches? And how everyone naturally overlooked the content and message of those speeches? Well, the Hate Talk Express is on its way to giving us a way to break Godwin's Law.
this is so surreal
This is deep. Even though I appreciate the sentiment as expressed by McCain it continues to underscore his erratic behavior. How do you go from spending millions to label Obama a terrorist to "he's a decent man who I disagree with"? John McCain is clearly a deeply conflicted and anguished man. I pity him.
You're absolutely right. It gives me the impression that he's not mentally stable. What a pathetic nation the United States will be if he wins...
He's got the simple minded folk all spun out.
They don't know what to think now.It's due largely with not thinking for themselves. Or being unable to think for themselves.
McCain and Palin are going for the gold in the Drammies..
You see, the thing is Mccain knows he's lost. And must return to the Senate. And the guy he's been calling a liar, terrristand all the other inuendos, Will be his boss.
McCain waited till he saw there was no political ground to be gained by these attacks. So now he's trying to do the right thing. Too Late Johnny!
And take that(#!@!$&***^!!!) and throw her out. Trash day is on Wednesday.
That's exactly right. McCain just succeeded in confusing even more all of these idiots that can't even begin to think for themselves anyway.
What are they to make of all this? I mean, just a couple of months ago Obama was an "out-of-touch elitist", a month ago he was "inexperienced", and now he's a "terrorist". WTF?
So when this inexperienced, out-of-touch elitist, Arab Muslim terrorist becomes President next month, what in the hell are all these lunatics going to do?
Here's an idea. Exile. Go live in Antarctica, or better yet, Alaska. That way you can be close to your beloved maniacal Governor and stay as far away from the rest of us as possible.
This is OUR time. No room for nutjobs here. Normal people will rule again and finally begin to erase the painful memory of the hell that was the last 8 years of George Bush.
Goodbye crazies!
Exiling all those non-thinkers to Palin's backyard is probably do an even worse number on the wildlife...
I am not a McCain fan. However, I watched something come over his face as that woman was talking - it was as if he suddenly understood - got it - that this campaign has taken his integirty, his honor and when he took the microphone from her - it was as if he was taking back his campaign.
Palin - is the same kind of sociopathic and narcissistic personality that Bush is - however - she has only a finely hones political intelligence - no intellect at all - the kind that gathers the mob, passes out the pitchforks and lights the torches.
He knows precisely what he's doing. But that only makes it worse. Yeah, the fucker has misgivings about running this kind of campaign, but he figures he has to do it. And, as I posted above, he's learned no real lessons, and the campaign is already attacking Obama for attacking his crowd of rabid lunatics.
Great campaign angle there. Fire all his advisers,especially that Tucker Bounds....Drop Palin....and scream into the crowd "I'M MAD AS HELL AND....
McCain has wanted to be president for more than 8 years. His new tactics are reinforce that idea. Do not be fooled by him taking back the mic. Nothing has changed. He put out press statements telling people to stop with Obama's middle name, but they continued. Him taking back the mic and telling everyone Barack is a "citizen" is only so that he can hold that up this weekend claim to be a good guy on the morning talk shows. He and Palin will continue their line of attack over the next few weeks.
I watched his face when a guy yelled out "terrorist" when he said Obama a few days ago. McCain's face changed: he looked out at where the voice originated, and squinted in surprise- then he looked away. He's known what he has been doing is wrong for at least 2-3 days. He didn't stop then, he won't stop now.
I saw this just minutes ago. The crowds at the Palin/McCain rallies are getting scary. People screaming traitor and "KILL HIM". "Kill him"? Really? This is a product of the vicious accusations Palin has been screaming in the retirement communities. In 26 years of voting, I've never heard such violent crowds. What's it like to sell your soul?
I seriously think many of these Repugs are most offended because a black man chose to run for president- that fact alone is what offends these bastards.
I wonder if it dawned on Johnny that he might have incited violence against Obama.
This is as far as I want to go with this comment.
We all know what I'm talking about.
Well Johnny, if it happens. You're to blame bud. You stirred up this fire. Now you have to put it out. But you can't now. It's too late.
Or on the USS Oriskany.
He always does.
The USS Oriskany was scrapped several years ago. There are only four Essex-class carriers left, the USS Hornet (Alameda, CA), USS Lexington (Corpus Christi, TX), USS Intrepid (New York City), and USS Yorktown (Charleston, SC). All are volunteer-run museum ships.
It wasn't scrapped, it was sank as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico.
Great documentary about that on the Discovery channel- she's now the largest man made reef on earth..
Take all the Republican McCain supporters and what you have is an absolute freak show , the worst of the worst including your pea brained Christians who mindlessly sucker again and again for the Republican party being the Christian and family values party ( and no , not all Christians are pea brains ),the paranoid cowards who think there is a terrorist behind every door , the Neanderthal tribal war mongers , nationalists that would make Hitler proud ( " it's us against the whole world " and "our soldiers are defending our freedom" , other than the noble cause of trying to secure ( steal ) Iraqi oil how is invading Iraq who had nothing to do with 9/11 or Al Qeida and killing upwards of a half million Iraqis , making four million of them refugees "defending America" ? ), neocon cowards and freaks , war loving dominate and control the world Robin Hood's in reverse and of course the hate mongers and racists , dueling banjo morons ! And finally Sarah the Moose Hunter with all the intellect of your typical regular at the local bowling alley cocktail lounge , the Republican poster child Ann Coulter wanna be friggin running for VP of the United States right behind Uncle Fester McCain who could keel over any day ! They've all come together under the Republican banner , one huge freak show .
Yeah, I just wrote the same thing before seeing your post.
I think McCain finally realized (or was told) that his race-baiting, hate-laced attacks were being unleashed from the wrong people (he and Palin) and they need to let their surrogates do the scurrilous dirty work, lest they be blamed for it.
Race has been a surprisingly little mentioned issue during this election; the stunning fact that a black dude is in the position he is in is a testament to how far America has come on this issue, but has blunted awareness of the fact that racism is (of course) alive and well. And of course, all the racists in America will be behind McCain - I'm not suggesting in the least that McCain supporters are racist, but once again, obviously ALL the racists in this country will be behind him, and here we are with less that 4 weeks to go and McCain is trailing.
We are about to witness very openly the ugliness of the American underbelly.
Good news is, Obama is making a lot of racist "fence sitters" into normal people.
I think this about-face is a ploy to gain sympathy. I have none, sorry.
Sympathy? Hell no. He is tryig to stop getting blamed before something happens.
That's worth mentioning. It looks like McCain is tripping on his own lowered bar.
What... Arabs can't be decent, family people?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught onto that gaffe. It just adds to the pain of the whole thing. I can't wait until the Arab American lobbies get hold of that one.
Johnny boy, yet again, you're going down in flames.
Look at the GOP operatives that attacked the people trying to count votes in Florida. Look for Bush's GOP Supreme Court to step in and say death threats are fine as long as they are directed towards Barack Obama... Oh, and this case should not be used as precedent.
McCain town halls are turning into Klan conventions.
not KKK, that's too clandestine. These are the bierhal-putschs a la the NAZI's... these are the unthinking, xenophobic, racists rages that swell from the grounds up. These rallies are the stuff coups, assassinations, and racial genocide are made of. Ghastly stuff.
What a surprise... A bunch of Radical Right Wingers at a Radical Right Wing event? Say it ain't so Joe, say it ain't so....
Sorry McCain, but Fuck You! Lay in the bed you and that bimbo created.
Once you’ve unleashed the rabid hounds, it’s too late to call them back.
8 years of bush has given social conservatives a false sense of relevance.
The only reason he did this was becasue he knows if something happens to Obama he and Barbie and his campaign will be blamed. He was spewing this hatred for weeks. Finally it caught up with them. I wonder if Barbie will tone it down. That is if she is still on the ticket.
Palin has an IQ of 83. She is 4 points away from being "simple".
On the upside?
By the Trooper Gate Report it would appear Todd runs Alaska.
With an IQ of 83 people are also considered "simple". Palin is simple.
Palin's SAT scores:
http://www.mediatakeout.com/2008/27277-lmao_s...
That 841 would actually correlate to an IQ of anywhere between 89 and 96. That being said, 1) IQ is bullshit and 2) The SAT is equally bullshit.
Personally, I think she's got a little case of the dumb, but I'd base that on her statements and actions, not some test she took when she was 17.
No, I think the reason he said what he said was that the woman got specific. She said that he was an Arab. McCain needs to be vague about the whole thing, so that loonies in his audience can fill in the blanks themselves. But if they say the specifics out loud, and he doesn't immediately denounce it, he's done. He's next to done right now, but that would be it. He'd be out of all the good graces of the entire Senate. No way he could say, "You're right, ma'am, he's an Arab and a terrorist." He has to keep it to, "What do we really know about him?"
McCain may have finally started trying to quell the rage (he was probably warned about the potential consequences to his campaign if someone went postal), but I'll bet Caribou Barbie comes out and fans the flames. That woman just doesn't give a rat's a$$.
Step 1: Have McCain stoke the flames of lunacy, and incite violence.
Step 2: Allow Obama to win the election.
Step 3: Wait for one of the lunatics inspired by McCain/Palin rhetoric to assassinate Obama.
Step 4: Have Bush declare a Constitutional crisis, since there is no Constitutional provision for what happens if the president-elect dies prior to taking the oath of office.
Step 5: Send in the domestic troops.
He knows he'll have to face 99 other Senators come Nov.
Good luck with that Johnny.
Especially when the Dems take a solid majority. Which you just helped them accomplish.
If anything happens to Obama. The GOP will go extinct. As well they should.
Maybe the secret service told him to back off.
You might be on to something there. It's not like this is the first time this has happened.
you can almost see the people scrunch beneath his feet. if he doesn't get on solid ground a giant burst of steam is going to blow....maybe
In fact, one of his own former strategists indicated such. One, you have a national security issue brewing here. McCain's supporters have become so extreme that some of them could resort to domestic terrorism at some point. After all, it doesn't take a genius to rig up sort of explosive device. Second, McCain has a political problem to deal with. The more extreme his supporters become the more other people will move towards Obama. True, McCain's own attack ads and commentary has lead to this but I am glad to see that he is at least trying gain some control over his supporters.
Fuckin A I'm glad too but I'm angry McLame and Falin has made it come to this. that's the point here.
Sickening. I'm thinking in a moment of clarity McCain realized where he was headed to in history and didn't want to be that guy. Too late McCain.
Ya know, I'm getting a little concerned about security and safety when people go to vote. There is just way to many nutjobs out there now. I don't worry about me or my safety, but I am concerned about my wife's.
I'm taking Nov 4th off. I'm making it a holiday in this house..
I suggest doing the same in yours.
eom
In California, we can vote from the comfort of our own homes. As "absentee" voters, we can pick up the ballot when it's ready, take it home, study everything, select our choices, and bring the ballot back to the county registrar any time up until the day of the election. Other states should introduce something like it. It would make things run better and safer.
Indeed, if I were a member of a racial minority, I would worry about heading to the polls. I'd still go, of course, but yeah, there will be trouble. We all need to be monitoring the polling places to make sure the law is followed and that people who want to vote get to vote.
I think I'll put in a few hrs at mine. Just a few, to get a feel for it.
All the GOPERs that I've talked to say they're going to pass on this one.
But it only takes one to create a mob mentality.
You might want to change that to the day after in case Obama loses. Seriously.
Hell, I might take the whole week off. Either way, I'm not working on the 4th.
No maam, he's not an Arab; he's a *decent family man*... ?!?
wtf?
So i'm still pissed off, but now for a whole new reason.
yeah, I caught that too. It's almost like... wtf is wrong with being "an arab"? If Barack were an Arab, does that mean he's not a decent family man? Does it automatically mean he's a terrorist (well, we know what the answer is for your typical run of the mill reich-winger)....
Still, I hate the implication that Arab = terrorist/nutjob/fundamentalist when, as we are seeing, "McCain supporter" is possibly closer to those traits than anything else......
Yes, its one more aspect to this idiocy that these assholes have propagated. They simply do not think about what will happen if they do certain things. Assholes.
Yeah, I'm surprised no one's mentioned that angle. He made a distinction between Arabs and decent, family people. What a bastard!
As if the last seven years didn't drive enough Arab-Americans towards the Democrats....As a Michigander I feel a bit safer knowing there's another minority bloc that we can count on to vote against the GOP.
Republicants in general think in terms like "towelheads" "terrarists" and "islamofascists". They can't even imagine that there are decent moderate or even progressive Muslims on this planet. What a despicable bastids. Fear mongering idiots.
"I have read about him. He's an Arab".
"No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen..."
As opposed to an Arab that isn't a decent family man? Because Arabs can't be decent family men? What?
Both question and answer are ridiculous, and this is why I'm glad I live in Canada. Sorry, but I couldn't stand this every four years...
I'm inclined to give McCain himself the benefit of the doubt that he personally wasn't saying that an Arab couldn't be a good family man. Many of his racist supporters on the other hand would probably have their heads explode while trying to balance that "paradox."
"Well Ma'am, there is nothing wrong with being an Arab, nonetheless..."
I'm sure Obama won't take advantage of it directly, unless perhaps he's asked about it in an interview or something, but I'd like to see his surrogates or people on the ground work this angle in areas with large middle-eastern populations.
I doubt McCain actually meant it that way. I think it wasnt a direct response to the womans question but rather a general response to calm his dangerously misinformed supporters fears
Republican supporters like these are truly what we call here in Canada, the "Ugly Americans."
I've driven through there many times. Each time the tourist info at the border gives me a detailed map. I use it as a way to meet Joe Canuck. I just pull off the road and pretend to look at it, and within 30 seconds, I'm in a conversation about where I am going, why i want to go there, and how i will get there.
I wasn't worried about the McCain campaign using over racism/hatred against Obama cause I knew it would be a generally losing proposition. America is a very racist place, but most people don't like to think of themselves as racist, thus the more overt the racists overtones by repubs, the more middle-ground he'd lose. Factor in that the right is demoralized already its a losing strategy. I'm guessing McCain is realizing this is getting out of control but also realizes if he seriously tries to stop it, he'll be accused by his own base of being a ni**er-lover. Lose/lose for McShame.
I really think that first guy who asked a question is a plant. No way is he just your average audience member. The woman, with her totally moronic statement about Obama being an Arab, probably is not a plant. But that first guy.. his question just seemed very specifically formulated.
Her head looked like a plant, or maybe she just put her head in the blender one too many times.
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