All About McCain

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

While raking over the coals wouldn't bother me, I have a feeling that what he was trying to say was that we are somehow past the day when countries invaded other countries to amass territory and build empire.

Or to fight for control over oil?

[Strangler Lewis]

Well, clearly there's control control, and then there's liberating control. Which is what we do.

[Tenigma]

CNN.com has an editorial by Jack Cafferty today called "Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush?"

Obama's campaign has been saying that voting for McCain is to vote for another 4 years of a Bush administration ("McBush"), mostly because there wouldn't be a lot of change in the war, etc.

But this editorial is a little different. Its thesis? That McCain is a STUPID AND SHALLOW as W!! Hilarious. Examples:

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we've all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand.

Asked about his greatest moral failure, he cited his first marriage, which ended in divorce. While saying it was his greatest moral failing, he offered nothing in the way of explanation. Why not?

Throughout the evening, McCain chose to recite portions of his stump speech as answers to the questions he was being asked. Why? He has lived 71 years. Surely he has some thoughts on what it all means that go beyond canned answers culled from the same speech he delivers every day.

He was asked "if evil exists." His response was to repeat for the umpteenth time that Osama bin Laden is a bad man and he will pursue him to "the gates of hell." That was it.

He was asked to define rich. After trying to dodge the question -- his wife is worth a reported $100 million -- he finally said he thought an income of $5 million was rich.

One after another, McCain's answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has -- virtually none.

Do we really want another stupid president to make fun of? Or a smart, intellectually curious one that we can disagree with? I'd choose the latter (because some of you already know I am a big Obama fan even though I don't agree with all of his stances on issues).

[scaeagles]

That piece is a misrepresentation. As one example of that, here is a clip of the 5 million remark. That was clearly taken out of context, and after McCain made the joke, he even said he was sure it would.

The Osama wasn't the entirety of his answer on evil.

And while Obama is a much, much better speech giver than McCain, McCain is far better than Obama without the teleprompter.

[Alex]

I disagree. McCain is better at giving his stump speech without a teleprompter.

But at this stage we've all made up our minds and read everything so as to reinforce what we already think? If you like Obama, slow answers and stuttering when answering questions is a sign of thoughtfulness and giving consideration to what he is about to say. If you don't like him it is a sign of bumbling and confusion.

If you like McCain his starting answers with jokes is a sign of wit and playfulness and if you don't it is a sign he doesn't take things seriously and is trying to deflect from the shallowness of his consideration.

I'm just still at the stage that more than anything I fear even four years (or the horror of eight) of listening to him say "my friends" every 4.3 seconds and the even more horrible prospect of hearing every two-bit impersonator doing it. I don't hate him, I just don't like him; he is then further penalized for being a member of the party that should be ejected from the game for too many fouls.

[scaeagles]

But at this stage we've all made up our minds and read everything so as to reinforce what we already think?

Indeed. Agreed.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Tenigma

That McCain is a STUPID AND SHALLOW as W!!

Ugh, what a smear piece. Even if I agree with some of the "analysis", the rest is just so much dirty play. *washes hands*

It'd be nice if these editorialists bloggers got inspired by the concepts Obama talks about and rose above this kind of stuff.

[Alex]

Haven't read the piece so no opinion on its points but Jack Cafferty is a generally very well regarded news analyst and commentator with a pretty distinguished career.

He isn't a partisan hack (though that doesn't necessarily mean this particular piece is any good).

[lashbear]

I LOVE McCain... they make the BEST potato wedges..


....oh, not that McCain? My Bad.

[Tenigma]

Originally Posted by lashbear

I LOVE McCain... they make the BEST potato wedges..

OK, "seasoned wedges with skin on" just sounds soooooo..... wrinkly. lol

By the way Alex, you're right--Drudge had a link to an editorial at Investor's Business Daily (something like that) where it was completely flipped. They said the forum was proof that Obama is terrible without a teleprompter, while Mccain had all the right answers.

So in some people's views, taking a little longer to come up with thoughtful responses in the form of complex sentences is a sign that someone is unsure of themselves... while someone who has a bunch of memorized motto-like phrases in a can is da winnah!!