Flashback: Steve Carrell Nails McCain On Pork-Barrelling

As I sit here in LaGuardia with the McCain-Palin ticket bleating away in the background, I'm hit with a bit of deja vu — mostly because I heard their speeches yesterday in Lebanon, Ohio so I am pretty sure that, just like Sarah Palin's speech is pretty much word for word, I'd bet that McCain's going to reiterate the same points that he made yesterday — including his attack on his "opponent" that he's never stood up to his party (which isn't quite true when you consider that lil' ol' Iraq war vote, but also, McCain's party was the party of the Bush administration so therere *may* have been a bit more to stand up for, which I'm sure he can be proud of having done approximately 5% of the time. Sheesh.

But also, and more to the point, no doubt he will go on about how he will veto pork-barrel spending and rein in earmarks and how he's always been so maverickly anti-earmark and pork-barrelling. As a matter of fact, he has not — and back when the media was allowed to question him without passing a strict prior deference-and-respect test, a certain sharp-eyed journalist caught him out on that. The year was 1999, and it was Steve Carrell with the Daily Show. Charlie Gibson, take note:

Here's some backstory to this clip, from the New Yorker's "Annals of Entertainment: Is It Funny Yet?" by Tad Friend, from February 11, 2002:

"In late 1999, one of the show's correspondents, Steve Carell, boarded Senator McCain's campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express, and asked the candidate to name his favorite movie and his favorite book. Then, with no change in his expression, he asked McCain how he could reconcile his criticism of pork-barrel politics with the fact that "while you were chairman of the Commerce Committee, that committee set a record for unauthorized appropriations." For a long moment, McCain was speechless. Carell started laughing. "I'm just kidding!" he said. "I don't even know what that means!"

"That's a true fact, that question," [then-head writer Ben] Karlin said. "And McCain was caught in the headlights. But we punctured it with a joke, so all you're left with is funny and awkward. It's bittersweet."

For months after the interview, McCain played a tape of the exchange with Carell on the Straight Talk Express's video screen — a decision that does him credit.

Guess he lost the videotape or something.

Comments

[BluePride]

Obama brings back the feel of Bobby Kennedy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVwpMB8QAUU

Before I heard Wil I. Am's I made this w/ the Pointer Sisters' Yes, We Can Can

[GuidedByEwoks]

I miss the old John McCain.

[comeonnow]

Is that Mike Murphy at 2:42? Holy cow.

[ully]

when is Obama going to talk about the money he received ($126,349) from Fannie Mae?
will he ever talk about Charles Rangel (D-N.Y)? ? ?
watch his eyes ?? trustable ???
ask to press,media,did they know who's behind the wall street fall down ?? ask Nancy pelosi ?? are democrats ? ? wallahuallam ! ! !

[grata2ude]

the McCain-Palin campaign manager, Rick Davis, "served as president of an advocacy group led by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" that worked to cripple regulatory initiatives in Congress and protect the two institution's "healthy profits." So McCain......explain this to us

[yoli647]

ully is what you want to know, why don't you wonder about McCain's Savings and Loan, Keating five, and all the bull*&&, they got away with, and you are worried about Obama's $126,349 and Charles Rangel, please. I smell a little of racism here, you know. We minorites always voted for whites, never complaint about it and did our duty to this country even though the whites always had the power. OBAMA/BIDEN '08!

[kingv100]

yeah, forget all this stuff about McCain, Obama's eyes aren't "trustable (perhaps you mean "trustworthy"?)" . Who's behind Wall Street? I dunno, deregulation? maybe? but Obama has untrustable eyes, unlike McCain's peepers. What a sophisticated country this is.

[fedupinpa]

I wouldn't care if Barack Obama was a purple elitest martian communist with three heads after the last eight years I just can't vote Republician. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Fool me three times I must be a complete ******* idiot.

[TrooAmerican]

YES!

[fishsandwichesr2good]

"lil' ol' Iraq war vote"? Um, you are aware that Barack didn't cast a vote authorizing the current Iraq war because he wasn't in the US Senate at the time? Perhaps you're referring to Biden (you know, Barack's running mate)? Wait, that's right. Biden voted for the war. If Iraq War #1 was the "right" war and the current Iraq War #2 was the "wrong" war, why poor ol' Joe is zero for 2. Maybe you're alluding to Barack's vote against the surge? You do know that Barack has called the surge successful beyond anyone's imagination? I've never seen a politician try to get so much mileage off of a legislative stance that never happened.

[MiddleRoadLiberal]

They're referring to the fact that even before he became a member of the Senate Obama was outspoken against his own party on the matter of Iraq.

[Arguman]

I love the excahnge at the end. Classic. And wow Cindy actually looks naturally hot with some gray and no/little plastic surgery/botox

[notb observer]

Damn, I must have missed that one ! I love Steve Carell, so it's still pretty hilarious despite the fact that he dropped the ball ! Don't forget however that in '99, McCain was the media sweetheart, so it's not surprising he got off so easily. Still, it would be funny if some 527 picked up the clip and ran it again !
Meanwhile, I'm hoping that the entire staff of The Daily Show and Colbert Report have been co-opted by the Obama campaign during their off-air week, to help produce the ads we'll be seeing until November. Now that's what I'd call edu-tainment !

[McCainWho]

Can the United States cope with a Sitting President with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? WOW! This is really a national security issue that must be addressed by our Law Makers. PTSD is a major concern for our Nation's war-time Vets both young and old. Just look at the definition of PTSD on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTSD.Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events that threatened or caused grave physical harm. It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone's actual death, a threat to the patient's or someone else's life, serious physical injury, or threat to physical or psychological integrity, overwhelming

Release John McCain's Military Records

[cnobody]

i remember this bit! wow, cindy looks like an actual human being instead of an adult version of one of the "Village of the Damned" children.

[BannedFromCommenting]

Isnt it amazing how different Cindy McCain looks too?

She went from quite pretty and First Lady like, to this frosty blonde with an orange tan and high end clothing.. she I am sure inside is the same but why the outside change? Did McCain tell her she was looking like an old lady with her short gray hair? I thought she looked classy.

But I still am Obama 2008!!! No more Righty Whiteys!!!

[Opsimath44]

If he was a tree... he'd be a root?

And Palin named her son Trig Van Palen because it sounds like Van Halen?

These are not serious people.

[Opsimath44]

First, Rick Davis says that this election isn't about issues, it's about personalities.

And then this:

John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said the campaign is entering a stage in which skirmishes over the facts are less important than the dominant themes that are forming voters' opinions of the candidates.

"The more the New York Times and The Washington Post go after Sarah Palin, the better off she is, because there's a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she's new, she's popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent," Feehery said. "As long as those are out there, these little facts don't really matter."

Little facts? Don't matter?

How in the world did The Daily Show and the Colber' Repor' decide to take this week off, when the country really needs them?

[BannedFromCommenting]

Stephen Colbert is on, and trust me, he takes more digs at the McCain campaign than the daily show does.. he just does it in the two faced sarcastic way.. its great!!!

[FW]

October surprise

Hillary replaces Biden for VP!

[dbeden]

Your spam-trolling needs to stop

[Phenomenal1]

October surprise

Palin convicted of abuse of power!

[Jandie]

I think we can expect the same when Charles Gibson interviews Palin this week - He will ask her truly interesting questions, which all citizen will want to know and then when he sees her squirming he will say..."I was just kidding Sarah....what would you like us to know about you, please tell us what we want to hear...forget the facts and the hard compromising questions....it will be whatever you want."

Are there any "good" journalist around any more? Some with "cojones' maybe? Not afraid to ask the important questions and not afraid to be journalist, maybe a "Maverick" journalist? If there are still any out there - PLEASE WE NEED YOU!!!!!!