McCain Takes a Stab at Decency, Punctures Own Lung

By Daniel Miessler on October 11th, 2008: Tagged as McCain

angry_mccain

It’s being reported in a number of places that McCain has attempted to defend Obama’s decency at a couple of his hate rally’s recently. I actually applaud him for this, but only with one hand. Check out this exchange that took place in Minnesota:

Woman in Crowd: “I’ve heard that Senator Obama is an Arab.”
John McCain: “No ma’am, he’s a decent family man, and a citizen.”

Zug Zug?

So, being an Arab and being a decent family man (and/or a citizen) is mutually exclusive? That’s like saying, “Hey, I heard Obama was black!”, and “defending” him by saying, “Nah, he’s a pretty good guy.”

I applaud him for standing up, but his attempt at being decent turns my stomach. It’s kind of like his smile: you know what he’s shooting for, but it never fails to creep you out.

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Viewing 9 Comments

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    Wow Dan, really? Is this how pathetic you've become? You know actually what he meant.


    Do you go off every time Obama says there are "57 states" or that he is a Muslim? How about Ron Paul and his NAFTA superhighway?

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    • v

    Dale, you continue to attack me, and perhaps with a few exceptions you continue to be wrong. If someone says Tiger Woods is smart for a black guy, and I call that an ignorant statement, you seem to be the guy that comes and says, "Aw, come on! Leave him alone! He was just trying to pay him a compliment."


    Well, that's not a compliment.


    And neither is denying that someone is an Arab based on the fact that they know them to be a good person. I do condone his attempt to give respect, but the way he went about it reveals a lot about the quality of his character--in a negative way.

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    So, after saying Obama is a decent person, McCain apparently got booed (maybe a different instance than the one you're posting about--not sure).


    Link:
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081010/apon</e...>

    When McCain himself has to correct the ignorance of his supporters, even if he does it poorly, I think this shows something about his supporters. I also think it has to occur to McCain just how frightening this ignorance is.

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    A source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llef8ZRTWQo


    First I have to defend the Republican party. They do have complete redneck morons in their party. But so does the Democratic party. So does the Libertarian party. There a completely idiotic "undecided" out there too. It shouldn't have to be said that only a very few (albeit vocal) minority think Obama is muslim/arab/whatever.


    I think McCain is preparing his party for an Obama victory, I think it is a safe bet to call the game for Obama (but not a done deal). Obama isn't the devil and neither is McCain. You have to give McCain some credit for trying to convince some of his supporters that the world isn't going to end when/if Obama becomes President. I am sure Obama would do the same.


    Now about the actual videos: It doesn't look like McCain himself is being booed. It looks like his supporters are booeing the idea of Obama becoming President. In a separate incident (20 minutes later) McCain pulls the microphone away from a woman who says she can't trust Obama because he is an Arab. McCain then, responsibly, cuts her off and assures his supporters that Obama is not an untrustworthy "Arab". It actually makes much more sense when you watch it on video and see the context. I think he could have done a better job defending Obama by pointing out he is actually a Christian, but why would he want to help Obama more than he really needs to?


    If you ever wonder why McCain's campaign ads are all negative, ask yourself if the Obama campaign even needs to pay for their own negative ads. There are enough negative, smearing, FALSE videos by supporters on youtube, digg and reddit for the Obama campaign to just sit back and enjoy from the sidelines. I think McCain supporters send more negative, FALSE emails but they don't get the reach that youtube videos do.


    I don't mind Obama, I'd prefer a more libertarian, moderate, conservative President, but it won't be the end of the world. What scares me is the liberal Democratic congress and the millions of democrats who think that Bush and McCain are evil idiots bent on world domination/destruction, and now those democrats will feel vindicated by Obama winning. I fear the day when readers on DailyKos, Digg, Huffington Post become the "winning" party.

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    Another great comment, Shane. You really should be blogging.

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    Yeah Shane, you should be blogging. I'd read yours over Daniel's any day. There is something to thinking about what you are writing and seeking some sort of balance. Dan could go back to writing about security items.


    Dan, you definitely didn't watch the video objectively. You only look for things to support the way-the-hell-out-there view you have developed. You speak of Mouth Breathers but have become one yourself.

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    Dale, you refer to my way-the-hell-out-there view. I don't think this means what you think it means.


    The Republican party itself is starting to say the same things I am on this topic of promoting hatred and not encouraging respect enough at these rallies. McCain is lose support very quickly for precisely this reason. It's a turn-off--even for people in his own party.


    All I'm doing is saying that the gesture was good, but that he didn't pull it off because he didn't address the issue head-on due to the potential for political backlash.


    Oh, and by the way, if you dislike my site so much, just don't come anymore. I have your email address; I'll email you when I post technical content and then we can all be happy, o.k.?

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    Why isn't it what I think it is? While you are able to find reality every now and then, most of your posts (and I'm talking the trend, not a single post) reflect an absurd hatred for McCain and an almost fawning over Obama (just like Paul). Instead of challenging your views or, at a minimum, trying to see the other side, you seek only confirmation. Why not try turning that cynicism on both sides?


    Yes, some Republicans don't like the negative turn McCain's campaign has taken. I don't either (well, I'm not a Republican) but this is politics and is usually what happens when one person is behind in the polls. Obama doesn't really need to get into it himself because he is trying to project he's above it all. He lets his campaign run negative and misleading ads and then there are the outside groups and sites like DailyKos. There are individual sites like yours as well.


    McCain was visibly irritated at that lady and started to grab the mic away as soon as he realized what she was saying. He simply didn't answer the question the way you wanted. Given your track record, had he done so, you probably wouldn't mention it here anyway.


    I'll probably stick around for a while, should McCain win, it'll be fun watching your head explode.

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    I dont know if the word "sarcastic" defines the very respone/attitude of McCain. or maybe its a blend of sarcasm, arrogance, fear of lossing or desperation. I would say it probably the later.


    Then there is a issue of reading-too-much-into-a-situation. Who defines how much what we make of something. How do u justify it. I would justify it by reading/looking at the track record of that person. In which case McCain is guilty as charged by Danny.


    Dale: Although I think Daniel blows hot wind when he talks about religion but I have to agree with him on this one.


    --
    Outsider

 

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