-
It's that time of year again - our ISP is asking for money. If you have some spare change, please click the Donate link... Thanks!
- About Us
- Search
- Need Help?
- Donate
- Login/Register
Latest Entries
Actions Menu
Blog Roll
- 4F Facebook Page
- Turn Up The Night with Kenny Pick
- Stephanie Miller Show
- The Tim Corrimal Show
- The Rachel Maddow Show
- Angry Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
- Thom Hartmann Program
- Turnips! Fans of Turn Up the Night Facebook Page
- Snopes.com
- Factcheck.org
- Official White House Page, if you must.
- The Brad Blog / Green News Report
- The Poorly Written Political Blog (Joe Santorsa)
McCacca
Author: BobR
Date: 10/08/2008 12:32:50
"THAT one"...
It was a tossed off comment in the middle of a sentence. It wasn't the centerpiece of McCain's response. During the debate, McCain was trying to make a point, and - to distinguish himself from Obama - pointed in his direction (without looking at him) and referred to Obama as "THAT one". It was dismissive in a very insulting way and it highlighted McCain's disdain for Obama.
See for yourself:
Could this be the "macacca" moment of his campaign?
For those with short memories, in the 2004 election, former senator George Allen (R-VA) pointed at a member of the press and said "say hello to Maccaca over there". That particular member of the press was NOT white. This dismissive tossed-off comment highlighted Allen's casual bigotry and arrogance, and may have cost him the election.
In McCain's case, it is just another clear instance of his disdain for Obama. He certainly didn't help himself post-debate when he ignored Obama's friendly overture of a handshake:
(note: not the first time McCain tried to avoid a handshake from Obama...)
These may be little, but they offer glimpses into the soul of McCain, and the view is not pretty. They display an angry little man, furious that he is being beaten by someone he clearly considers his lesser. Whether that opinion is based in bigotry, Obama's age and short time in DC, or is just a result of McCain's inflated self-importance cannot be known with any certainty... but it certainly reflects on how his temperament would affect his potential presidency.
His supporters are worse, of course, and there seems to be a certain downward spiral of decency and decorum as the hatred feeds on itself. At a recent McCain rally, a supporter clearly refers to Obama as a terrorist, and McCain just goes with the flow:
(bold-face mine)
Where McCain opens the door and lets the miscreants in, Palin grabs a bullhorn and hollars "get yer red meat her, yoo betcha!". As noted by Dana Milbanks:
That last comment is telling. When a politician exudes hatred, his (or her) supporters take that hate and amplify it and spew it back out. These audience reactions are a direct result of McCain and Palin winking and saying "it's okay to hate. Look at me." It's a license to kill. Fortunately, the secret service is taking that "kill him" comment seriously and are investigating.
So while the ugly core of McCain's supporters will abosrb the "THAT one" comment and use it as fuel for their hatred, one can only hope that through media and word of mouth, McCain's casual dismissal of his opponent will open the eyes of the undecideds, and help them realize what sort of person McCain really is.
Unpresidential... hateful... racist...
McCacca.
It was a tossed off comment in the middle of a sentence. It wasn't the centerpiece of McCain's response. During the debate, McCain was trying to make a point, and - to distinguish himself from Obama - pointed in his direction (without looking at him) and referred to Obama as "THAT one". It was dismissive in a very insulting way and it highlighted McCain's disdain for Obama.
See for yourself:
Could this be the "macacca" moment of his campaign?
For those with short memories, in the 2004 election, former senator George Allen (R-VA) pointed at a member of the press and said "say hello to Maccaca over there". That particular member of the press was NOT white. This dismissive tossed-off comment highlighted Allen's casual bigotry and arrogance, and may have cost him the election.
In McCain's case, it is just another clear instance of his disdain for Obama. He certainly didn't help himself post-debate when he ignored Obama's friendly overture of a handshake:
(note: not the first time McCain tried to avoid a handshake from Obama...)
These may be little, but they offer glimpses into the soul of McCain, and the view is not pretty. They display an angry little man, furious that he is being beaten by someone he clearly considers his lesser. Whether that opinion is based in bigotry, Obama's age and short time in DC, or is just a result of McCain's inflated self-importance cannot be known with any certainty... but it certainly reflects on how his temperament would affect his potential presidency.
His supporters are worse, of course, and there seems to be a certain downward spiral of decency and decorum as the hatred feeds on itself. At a recent McCain rally, a supporter clearly refers to Obama as a terrorist, and McCain just goes with the flow:
McCain asked the crowd "who is Barack Obama?" Immediately you hear a supporter yell "terrorist." McCain pauses, the audience laughs, and McCain continues on, not acknowledging, not chastising, not correcting. Oh, but McCain does say in the next sentence that he's upset about all the "angry barrage of insults." Is McCain losing his mind, or just a liar?
[...]
We'll hear it said that McCain can't be held responsible for what people in his audiences say. Right. Cause it's never happened before. Oh wait, it did. When an audience member asked, speaking of Hillary Clinton, "How do we beat the bitch?" McCain said it was "an excellent question." McCain fosters hatred and negativity by not standing up to it. He should know better. It's appalling and is destroying whatever is left of his reputation
Where McCain opens the door and lets the miscreants in, Palin grabs a bullhorn and hollars "get yer red meat her, yoo betcha!". As noted by Dana Milbanks:
Barack Obama, she told 8,000 fans at a rally here Monday afternoon, "launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist!" This followed her earlier accusation that the Democrat pals around with terrorists. "This is not a man who sees America the way you and I see America," she told the Clearwater crowd. "I'm afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country." The crowd replied with boos.
[...]
Worse, Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."
[...]
The reception had been better in Clearwater, where Palin, speaking to a sea of "Palin Power" and "Sarahcuda" T-shirts, tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground. "One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," she said. ("Boooo!" said the crowd.) "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,' " she continued. ("Boooo!" the crowd repeated.)
"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.
That last comment is telling. When a politician exudes hatred, his (or her) supporters take that hate and amplify it and spew it back out. These audience reactions are a direct result of McCain and Palin winking and saying "it's okay to hate. Look at me." It's a license to kill. Fortunately, the secret service is taking that "kill him" comment seriously and are investigating.
So while the ugly core of McCain's supporters will abosrb the "THAT one" comment and use it as fuel for their hatred, one can only hope that through media and word of mouth, McCain's casual dismissal of his opponent will open the eyes of the undecideds, and help them realize what sort of person McCain really is.
Unpresidential... hateful... racist...
McCacca.
