Baptist Minister Asks McCain: "Did You Call Your Wife A C**t?" (VIDEO)

Update: As reported by Iowa Politics, Marty Parrish signed in to Sen. McCain's health care conference as a HuffPost reporter. Marty Parrish is not a HuffPost reporter or blogger, nor a contributor to HuffPost's OffTheBus. He was not asked to attend the McCain conference on our behalf, nor did he have any contact with HuffPost staff prior to the event.

At a town hall forum in Iowa yesterday, Sen. John McCain was asked about a story from Cliff Schecter's controversial recent book, The Real McCain, which alleges that during a 1992 campaign stop, McCain angrily called his wife a "trollop" and a "c**t" in front of aides and reporters.

Marty Parrish, a business owner in Des Moines, told OffTheBus's Keith Dinsmore that he asked McCain about the incident because he's concerned about how McCain's temper could impact his leadership.

"A guy who would call his wife a trollop and a c--t just because she had ruffled his hair in front of five guys is not only a jerk, but a dangerous hothead if he ever gets his finger on the button."

"And since the mainstream media has decided to give McCain a free pass, I decided to stand up and, if they gave me an open mike, ask the question that the press refuses to touched. Our country is in a serious crisis after nearly eight years of Bush, and America appears to be oblivious to the danger this guy (McCain) poses to our country."

Read the full and extensive interview with Marty Parrish here on OffTheBus, where you can also take a look at the flier Marty passed out at the event.

Here's the exchange from the forum:

Q: This question goes to mental health and mental health care. Previously, I've been married to a woman that was verbally abusive to me. Is it true that you called your wife a (expletive)?

McCain: Now, now. You don't want to... Um, you know that's the great thing about town hall meetings, sir, but we really don't, there's people here who don't respect that kind of language. So I'll move on to the next questioner in the back.

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Schecter himself writes about the exchange at FireDogLake.

UPDATE: It turns out the man who asked the question is a Baptist minister worried about McCain's temper:

Clive businessman Marty Parrish was escorted from Sen. John McCain's town hall meeting by Des Moines police and members of the Secret Service after asking McCain if he had called his wife Cindy an expletive in 1992.

Parrish, an ordained Baptist minister who holds a master's degree in political science, was questioned by Secret Service agents before being released. He was not charged in the incident. Parrish asked whether McCain called his wife Cindy an expletive related to the female anatomy, as has been alleged in the book "The Real McCain," written by Dem strategist Cliff Schecter.

McCain's response got him a round of applause from the crowd: "There's people here who don't respect that kind of language, so I'll move on to the next questioner in the back."

In an interview with IowaPolitics.com, Parrish said his intentions were simple in posing the question to McCain. The former Joe Biden campaign worker stressed he is very concerned about the Republican presidential nominee's temperament.

"We have a man whose temper can get the best of him," Parrish said. "What I am worried about is his temper. Our country is in a serious crisis. This election is the most significant one since 1860. It appears America is asleep -- so I stood up and asked the question."

Comments

[MeatAxe]

Remember those Navy Aviator "Tailhook" scandals a few years ago? In the social upbringing of Naval Aviators of McCain's vintage, there's no problem with the likes of "Trollop" and the "C" word. That kind of talk is "Tailhookese" foreplay.

[akaJohnQ]

Johnny...you are getting a little thin up there.

[tea in the harbor]

Just on the outside, the inside has been like that for years!

[RobertAndropolis]

Wonder if his fellow Baptist minister, Governor Huckabee, shares sentiments with Marty Parrish that McCain, because of his anger management issues, is simply too dangerous to be president. Dems like Huckabee. Obama/Huckabee'08.

[cathye]

Uh, not really. Huckabee smacks to me of the same fakery mold that Clinton is cut from. McSame make be a slimeball, but he's an honest slimeball. Well, he was until he brushed aside this question!

[immkib]

As a true liberal I think this is stepping into the sewage.
Let us not go where the republicans thrive - that's why we are better than them.

[filo]

Being better than them has brought us 8 years of Dubaya and set this country back years. This election is too important. If the Repug's had this it would be all over the airwaves on Fixed news.

[CompliantMedia]

Notice how smoothly McCain quckly changed the subject. He is very skilled at that.

As an example, he was recently asked about Obama's assertion that electing McCain is tantamount to electing George Bush to a third term.

Instead of noting how he is different from Bush, he wnet off on a tangent citing a a National Journal report accusing Obama of being one of the most liberal senators in the U.S. Senate.

Other times he will answer a different question than the pointed one he was asked. But most politicians get away with this. I mostly blame the compliant media for this one.

I look forward to seeing if Bill O'Reilly fulfills his promise to ask him tough questions when he interviews McCain next week.

[Irons]

WIll the real John Mc? stand up?

[Citizenofreality]

This is something that actually deserves attention, calling your wife the "C" word and doing it within earshot of others is an indication of emotional instability.

[heal57]

McCain did call his wife a c**t in public in front of reporters. He's not emotionally fit to be Presdent, and she has a victim mentality and reminds me of a stepford wife. McCain should have been slapped by her and then divorced. He dumped his first wife while cheating on her with Cindy, and his first wife waited for him when he was POW in VietNam. She had a horriffic auto accident while he was over there. He gets a total free pass from the press. He's an awful candidate.

[aztecdiva]

He can't hit her. He can't slap her. She has the money not him. All he has on her is her drug addiction. She stole drugs from her own charity. He was apart of the whole Savings & Loan scandal that nearly bankrupt the US. Of course he doesn't know jack about the economy.

[worded]

McCain's nickname in high school was "McNasty." What should we expect?

[movementdisordersfund]

Thank you for asking the question the media has given Senator McCain a pass on.

[RobertAndropolis]

Press-invited barbecues held at his wife's Sedona compound is a bizarre occurrence at best and shameless tampering at worst. "That's our Maverick," wink-wink. The media are pals with McCain, even Letterman is pal-ing up to him and showing a semi-human side to this dangerous man. Perhaps this everyman thing he's running down on the gullible makes it more difficult to look at him critically. I don't think enough serious inquiry is directed at his temper episodes. There are many temper incidents and they are well documented. And there are sure to be more to come. At 2am do you want his itchy finger on the trigger? (He couldn't wait until 3am).

The thing that causes me to pause is when I reflect back to a couple months ago, the last time he had one of these temper episodes: mid-flight when the women journalist asked him something everyone has by now forgotten, because McCain's clearly angered, drawn-out, discomfort-causing response had us all sit up and take notice and wonder just how this anger would play out on the geopolitical landscape. McCain gave this journalist a full dressing down even though he knew there were cameras rolling; he just couldn't stop himself. Control issues, or lack thereof. "Take that," he always seems to say hubristically. Toss in a BBQ just in time for Spring and pretty soon it's, "What flight? What argument? What are you talking about my friends? My friends? My friends?" I

[akaJohnQ]

If my wife was worth 100 million dollars, I would not be stupid enough to call her any bad name, much less what McCain called his.

[whiteykeepsmedown]

You democrats are fools. Your ripping your party apart. Hillary was your best bet, but you turned on her like Leiberman. She is gonna stick it where the sun don't shine, just like Leiberman. Way to go dems! Even Soros's money can't win you an election.

[Tommygun264]

So I'm betting you think peppering Obama with questions about his former minister is a vital test of character, but McCain's own statements are a non-issue. He didn't answer the question about a statement three separate witnesses have verified he made. Why won't he answer and why does what someone Obama knows have bearing on his character, but McCain's own words are considered irrelevant by the lemmings determined to follow his continuation of Bush's failed policies?

[aztecdiva]

well said!

[heavyrunner]

McCain's candidacy is a farce and if the corporate media was not owned by Republicans it would be treated as the farce it is.

[dindc]

The bottom line is that in my family that word would never had been uttered - Ever. The very idea is alien. My father may have been a jerk but he would have never said that in describing my mother. it is inconceivable. Anyone who defends this idiot for saying that to his wife is a woman-hating moron.

"Trollop'" - Quaint. The C-Word??

That woman is the mother of his children, adopted or not. She is a mother and deserves all the respect due to her just for that.

Unacceptable. I don't care how potty-mouthed of a sailor he is.

[cathye]

That's the same for my family. My father was in the 11th airborne then the 82nd airborne, and I grew up with a potty mouth as a result, but I never heard the C word until I hit college (I had to look it up!) Any profanity from my father was never uttered at my mother, who was bipolar and would shriek like a harpy and throw coffee cups at him during her bad days. Instead he would just sit there sadly, look at me and say, "You know I really do love your mother, deep down."

McCain has a temper that cannot be excused by being from the military.

[TotobiAyokoh23]

Democrats must be very realistic not to throw the baby away with the dirty bathwater, that is, are democrats going to vote for McCain in case the candidate of their preference does not win the Democratic nomination? I do not think so. Here is a guy with a very high voltage temper to call his wife a c**t!

[whiteykeepsmedown]

You are all sick. What do you get from venting on this site. You guys live in your own little world. Old John McCain would whoop your butt if you said these things to his face. Even Obama and Hillary carry themselves with dignity and respect that you all apparently don't get. That's why you hide behind your computer and say things like are posted on this site. Your a disgrace and so is your democratic party that can only win when the other party is messing up.

[NicoleAnonymous]

Before anyone bothers replying to this person - it's obvious they just attention and a reaction. Don't give it to them.

When a child is having a fit and looking for attention the worst thing you can do is respond to them. They will learn.

[whiteykeepsmedown]

Wow, some motherly advice. Try using it in your real life. Its called a dialogue genius. Oh, I guess you huff's aren't used to someone with a different opinion. You just like to hear each other hate the other party (no matter who it is). I thought you liberals were supposed to be educated and smart?

[cyb1851]

Maybe just a tad bit ironic that you come to this site to vent about people venting on this site?

[abby4ever]

Very few parties win when the other party ISN'T messing up---when a party is doing well in the eyes of the voters, the voters generally stay with that party. So what you say at the end of your post is more than obvious.
As for the rest of your post, if we irritate you that much, why don't you just go away?

[akaJohnQ]

We will take a win any way we can get it.

[JSquercia]

Apparently one of the problems with John McCain is he Probably WOULD try to whoop my butt . It is his famous but largely unreported hair trigger temper that SHOULD make people ask themselves is THIS the guy we want with his finger on the Nuclear Trigger . I would say the man had a reason for asking that question perhaps he could have refrained from using the actual word and referred to it merely as the "C" word . You will notice that McCain did not say NO it never happened .
As for winning only when the other Party is messing up , surely you will have to admit that we have had eight years of them messing up on matters from Foreign Policy to Economic Policy . Are you better off now than when Bush was elected ? For most of us the answer is NO .

[NicoleAnonymous]

I've never actually heard anyone use the word "trollop" in my entire life. I think it's clear that McCain is a mysogynistic jerk - he also made nasty jokes about Chelsea Clinton. What kind of man does that?

But I wouldn't make a big deal out of this because it really depends on their relationship and how they interact with each other. Some women swear and call men...rhymes-with-sick...so they're not offended when men call them that. It also depends what the word means to a woman - I think it's a word that is hostile and violent but I respect the right of other women do define it differently.