While Barack Obama gets attacked by the media for calling small town folks "bitter," the fact that John McCain reportedly called his wife a "trollop" and a "cunt" is apparently much less newsworthy.
Now, obviously, the second word is not very nice. But "trollop?" Really? When's the last time you heard anyone younger than 95 use that word? (I actually kind of like it, though. I may try to work it into my vocabulary.)
First, a bit of background. Cliff Schecter, in his new book The Real McCain, reports that back in 1992, after being teased by his wife about his thinning hair, McCain's "face reddened" as he turned to her and said, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." The exchange was witnessed by two McCain aides and three reporters, who didn't report it at the time, apparently concerned about the toxic language.
The story was widely reported last month and there was some buzz in the blogosphere, but the whole episode faded away pretty quickly. After it was initially reported, McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker denied the story, calling the book "trash journalism."
Enter Marty Parrish, a Democrat and ordained Baptist minister who used to work for Joe Biden. Parrish decided to ask McCain the question that the press is apparently too timid to ask. He confronted McCain at a town hall meeting recently, asking him straight out, "Is it true that you called your wife a cunt?" (Watch the video here.)
Now whatever you may think about the question, you have to admit that's pretty ballsy. After an audible gasp from the staid Republicans in the room, McCain deftly avoided answering the question by, in his best imitation of a pot calling a kettle black, scolding Mr. Parrish for using such filthy language, and watched as the offending questioner was whisked out of the room by the cops and questioned by the Secret Service. Oh, maybe you haven't heard. Free speech is dead in America. Vastly overrated, anyway, in my opinion.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Baritone
It would be great if we had video of the incident in question - even just audio. But alas.
I honestly don't believe that McCain is going to prove to be a particularly adept opponent for either Clinton or Obama. True, there's a bit of wishful thinking in that statement because, of course, we don't really know at this point.
However, I just have a feeling that McCain may well be overwhelmed by it all come September and October. Will he prove to have the heart or the patience to weather the coming storm?
Many believe that the prolonged battle between Obama and Clinton is damaging the Dem's chances in November. That could be, but I don't believe it will. All of this in-party, in-fighting will be looked upon as ancient history come fall. Certainly, some people will become disaffected - disillusioned if their candidate - be it Barack or Hillary - fails to get the nomination. But I also think that many people, whomever they are backing now, will become re-energized when the fall campaign gets moving in earnest.
McCain has his own demons to deal with. He may be a sexist. His storied short fuse may well get him in hot water if someone succeeds in pushing the right buttons. Politics is a dirty game. Attempts will be made to bait the good Senator from Arizona. It he bites, that could be all she wrote for him and the Republicans in the fall.
There's still a lot of water to flow under the bridge (or over the dam, whichever image you prefer,) between now and November. Many of the issues that are being picked over now may well be long forgotten by then, replaced by new, hopefully more intriguing or at least more meaningful ones. There will doubtless be a lot of ebb and flow.
Go Bar... or, er, Hil... - uh, go Democrats!
Baritone
2 - Dave Nalle
Why do I have to even point out the difference between insulting your wife in a moment of anger and denigrating the entire working population of a state...
Dave
3 - Clavos
Point, Set, Match, Dave.
4 - Patty McCredie
What about his despicable comment about Chelsea? How low can you go to say that about a very young woman? An innocent young woman who didn't choose her parents? (Even if I don't like them, it's not HER fault.) Apropos the respect question? QED.
5 - Patty McCredie
I beg to differ, Clavos. Dave fouled. What's-his-name (Demo with nasty comment about Hoosiers? I assume you mean him?) is not running for president. I don't believe he's going to have access to the black suitcase.
That insult of wife, by the way, is just about as crude as it can get. And without scruple in front of strangers. Very weird if he lost his self-control only over his balding head. What about when the Vietnamese push his buttons in private?
6 - Patty McCredie
Oops, my bad. I believe you meant the "bitter" comment, Dave. Right. He certainly showed no sympathy for those people, if you read his entire comment. He essentially said, "If those people are unhappy in PA, it's their own damn fault."
7 - Ruvy
Looks Like Schechter is truly living up to his name (shekhter means beef slaughterer in Yiddish).
I didn't trust McCain in the first place for reasons detailed elsewhere, but if he acted like this towards his wife in public, he is not suited to be dog-catcher, let alone president of a country.
What about when the Vietnamese push his buttons in private?
Patty McCredie has raised a question that not enough people think about. McCain was a war hero, but the Vietnamese tortured him when he was a POW. How will he deal with them now? Especially if he has the power to nuke them out of existence....
8 - Howard
Compare the language of the average American of 1964, approximating the date of the civil rights laws that include woman's liberation, with the language of the general public of 2008. The contributions of the blacks to the new vocabulary of the public certainly shouldn't offend Obama. I have seldom heard a black person say anything that didn't include a slur of vulgarity in most every sentence in public. Walking on the sidewalks in the cities of America exposes everyone to an incessant cressendo of swearing and vulgarity. Evidently the inabilility of the general public to express themselves without swearing, cussing, and using abusive and vulgar language is at an all time peak. The media has imbued the public with scenes of sexual intercourse, fellacio, and cunnilingus to instuct the public about how they are to be as animals, all with-in the structure of the uni-sex revolution. Sodom and Gohmorrah is right here in the United States, so the "barren wombs", as described in the Holy Bible in prophesy, have evolved with a new age caveat. At this time in history, the act of "making love" is inculsive with spermacides, abortions, and 'kill the growth' sustaining pills. Pinpoint the sex scene in almost every movie, and many TV shows, that focus's on a dialog about pregnancy, and you won't have a pinpoint. As a good man's place in the world is congested with the new morality of business and politics, the aggressive new woman has lost her sense of cleanliness and prudence. Should the cordoned and brainwashed citizen of this millenium have any cares beyond greed, lust, and narcisism? Shouldn't a nation that is blith and self riteous about the degree of killing implicated with "making love", and the amount of death orchestrated world wide by the glory to America mentality, reveal that the undermining flaws of the new America are that of a public that is seathing for more death? It is every where from your hamburgers to the germs on your kitchen counter; in your mouthwash; in your bed. With the woman of the new America, who are now ordained as acceptable sluts, and who will effectively cuss him out as a vulgar, despicable heathen male who is responsible for all her power problems, is it any wonder that she repeatedly delivers a play on words that assimilates his ass with her snatch.
Why shouldn't a dirty people have an ignorant mentality that use's a dirty language? All the girls are doing it.
9 - Ruvy
Wow, Howard, you couldn't reflect my views more accurately. Watching just a few minutes of Jay Leno's "comedy" routine at the beginning of the "Tonight Show" sickened me.
10 - Dr Dreadful
Doug: Are you kidding me??? An outbreak of verbal diarrhea from 16 years ago that no-one thought worth reporting until the public humiliation factor was added at that town hall meeting?
Dave: Are you kidding me??? What does a marital tiff that happened to take place in public have to do with a serious social comment by a presidential candidate?
Howard: Are you kidding me???
11 - Doug DeLong
Howard, dude, how many times have I told you to remember to take your meds before commenting?
I bet you're a riot at parties.
Dr. D:Are you kidding me??? An outbreak of verbal diarrhea from 16 years ago that no-one thought worth reporting until the public humiliation factor was added at that town hall meeting?
I guess when you run for president, everthing becomes more newsworty, even if it happened a long time ago, and particularly if it reflects on your character.
12 - Zedd
Dave,
Please do point out the difference between insulting your wife publicly, using the most offensive word that can be used against a woman because she metioned that your hair was thinning vs explaining why you think a particular voting block adheres to certian institutions.
PLEASE DO!!!
Clavos - Your kissing up is out of control. When was your last meaningful contribution?
13 - Dave Nalle
Zedd, the difference is that one is a bit of private rudeness and the other applies to a broad section of the population. One shows that he gets pissed when his wife annoys him. The other shows that he despises the working man. One is politically irrelevant, the other is not.
If you can't see the difference I can't give you any more help.
Dave
14 - Baritone
Dave,
I have ducked out of most of the recent hubbub here. I'm sure the Obama "bitter" comment has been shred from one end to the other and back again.
Nevertheless.
While Obama's comment was not the most politically correct given his particular circumstances, the fact is that it was pretty damn accurate. If you don't believe such people exist, then you are the one with your head in the sand, or wherever.
I don't know of the veracity of the McCain comment. If true, though, I think it tells us a great deal about him. I know nothing of the dynamics of the relationship between McCain and his wife, but to say such a thing within earshot of others is very damning. Much moreso than anything Obama has said.
Obama spoke a truth. There are a great number of gun toting, bible waving red necks all across this wondrous land of ours. Some wear cleverly designed sheets and pointy caps.
My brother in-law and his wife recently met Barack and Michelle. While it hasn't been widely publicized, both of the Obamas have received numerous death threats - most likely from crazies who would never act on them, but all it takes is one. The security for Obama's appearances is very high. It has the effect of debilitating his campaign, at least to some degree. I wonder just how gracious you would be toward such people?
And Howard? Uh, okay. Don't move. Just hold on tight. We'll get you some help.
And Ruvy? Really! You shouldn't encourage him. It can only lead to more trouble, and frankly, I don't think Howie needs more trouble, do you?
Just an off-thread note: Has anyone here taken notice of the news from the Congo? Penile thefts? What is the world coming to. I understand some hardliners have cracked down on the heinous dismemberors causing the market to go soft. But be wary of any package deals for travel to Kinshasha.
B-tone
15 - Natalie
I have to go; Howard and Doug, with all those sex words, made me wet and horney; got to go ride the pillow for a bit and rub my "Cunt" for a bit. Be back later! Lord, how trollop of me, I should of said clit.
16 - Ruvy
Howard's comment is a bit over the top, but it accurately reflects the terrible decline in morality, both public and private, in the United States that seems to have only accelerated in the seven years I've been absent.
Why shouldn't a dirty people have an ignorant mentality that uses a dirty language? All the girls are doing it?
Go check out Dawn Olsen's stuff on this site, along with the Deceiver ads that appear here. From what I see of America reflected here and elsewhere, I'm glad I left.
Dave Nalle, as usual, misses several essential points.
1. McCain's remark is old, and probably needs to be taken in context of his relationship with his then-wife. If it's the same woman, then we really need to examine McCain's motives closely.
But it is a public remark, by a public figure, the kind of comment that does not belong in PUBLIC intercourse - double entendre intended.
2. He ignores Pat McCredie's insightful comment completely (as has everyone else, it seems). It's worth repeating here. McCain was a war hero, but the Vietnamese tortured him when he was a POW. How will he deal with them now? Especially if he has the power to nuke them out of existence....
17 - Arch Conservative
After what Michelle Obama said about this nation and the pitiful backpeddling and damage control that ensued, Mccain should have called her a cunt.
Since he didn't..............
Michelle Obama is an uppity cunt!
18 - Doug DeLong
Dear Archie,
Thank you for showing us your true colors. You've managed to lower the level of political discourse to an all-time low. Your comment is breathtaking in its crudeness and shocking in the way it reveals the depths of your racism and sexism. I would say "shame on you," but I suspect you have no capacity for shame.
It'll be interesting to see if anyone leaps to your defense.
19 - Zedd
Dave,
Are you alright????
Saying that I understand why you are bitter means that I despise you?
Please make THAT connection. Oh we finally get to see the inner workings of Mr. Nalle's "logic". You have the floor sir.
20 - Dave Nalle
Zedd, Obama's remark did not consist solely of saying they were bitter, that was merely the conclusion. Don't be disingenuous.
Dave
21 - Baritone
Once again, as with Barack's "bitter" comment, like it or not, Michelle was dead on with hers as well.
Ruvy,
Morality is in the eye of the beholder. As a country, the U.S. is no more nor less moral now than at any other point in history. I suppose, as with all human endeavors, we have had some highs and lows, but overall we're much the same now as ever as regards our morality. The primary difference now is, of course, the media - radio, TV, the Internet, instant mass communication.
Pornography and what some consider sexual perversions have existed for literally thousands of years pretty much everywhere in the world. As I write, there is probably more than one Orthodox Israeli Jew clicking on porn sites with one hand and pounding their pud with the other, after which they will spend hours head bobbing at the Wailing Wall in repentence.
Are American's crass and materialistic? Perhaps, but not really any more so than people elsewhere. We don't have the corner on the market. And isn't it a bit of a conundrum that the country you and your close personal friend, Howard look upon as immoral is also the most religious country in the western world? Hmmm! What's wrong with this picture?
B-tone
22 - Clavos
Clavos - Your kissing up is out of control. When was your last meaningful contribution?
Probably a long time ago, I tend not to post anything meaningful; much like you.
23 - Zedd
Dave,
His comment was that they are bitter at what is going on so they distract themselves by doing x y or z. What is the big deal????? Where is he despising anyone???
Please clarify.
24 - Zedd
Thanks Clav
25 - Clavos
De nada, niña.