McCain On Obama, Nuclear Power Safeguards: "Blah, Blah, Blah"

During a rally in Northern Iowa University this morning, John McCain made a strange remark that only serves to cement the notion that he does not respect Barack Obama:

When I'm elected president We're going to stop spending $700 billion to buy oil from countries that don't like us very much," John McCain said at Northern Iowa University this morning.

"You know, the other night in the debate with Senator Obama, I said his eloquence is admirable, but pay attention to his words. We talk about offshore drilling and he said he would quote, consider, offshore drilling. We talked about nuclear power, well it has to be safe, environment, blah, blah, blah."

While McCain is targeting Obama's eloquence as empty words with his "blah, blah, blah" comment, it's curious why he would use safeguards for nuclear power as the vehicle for this attack. The line makes McCain seem not only callous but also dismissive of a very real concern regarding nuclear power. It recalls the moment during the third presidential debate when McCain used air quotes while discussing a woman's health as a factor in her having an abortion.

Comments

[Hans Meiser]

You don't need words to describe problems! What you need is Bob Loblaw!

[GaModerate]

I am a nurse and that was not a coherent statement from McCain but a clear signs he is in the early stages of Alzheimers. I am not kidding, if you listen to the statement it goes from coherence to gibberish. I have seen this alot in alzheimers patients. You can be talking to them and all of sudden they blurt out gibberish like what just happened with McCain.

[wingman1]

I'm commenting on the photo above, not the article. Advisors at the McCain campaign have realised McCain's age is turning off voters (especially with their wingnut VP candidate stepping in if Mac snuffs it in office), and is trying to dress him younger to remake his image. I can just imagine the discussion: "let's show the outdoor McCain...bring out his natural dynamism" etc etc. Hence the "open neck checked shirt" look of the last fornight. And now the "black jerkin" (above). But they're getting it hopelessly wrong. These duds just make McCain look like Grandad at the Disco. And deeply unpresidential. They've lost it.

[radnip]

I love Palin's rebellion. She's so clueless, but please, can we get more of her being herself? Love it.

[AZTrueBlue]

Nuclear power is very, very expensive.
Arizonan's have had expensive power since Palo Verde, the largest site in US, was built.
McCain knows this, even though Cindy pays the bills.

[AZTrueBlue]

It's like the US has had collective memory loss when it comes to nuclear power.
This is crazy.
Nuclear power is very, very expensive.
Arizonan's have had expensive power since Palo Verde, the largest site in US, was built.
McCain knows this, even though Cindy pays the bills.

[radnip]

If we're smart, we'll have all the alternative power we can use before nuclear can even be able to begin building, much less come online.

[alienobserver]

Just watched the video of that comment, disgusting, the crowd behind him went crazy, cheering and waving their flags when he said the blah, blah, blah part. It only goes to underscore the complete lack of intelligence (and class, may I say) of Johnny Boy and his pre-historic supporters. I just have to console myself with the thought that their time is almost up -bring on the VOTE!

Bring back humanity - vote the Big O

[quasar]

The Blah Blah Blah Express.

[olderdem]

“blah, blah, blah”. What an articulate President McCain would have been in trying to inspire Americans.

[apoyo]

It's pretty sad that he would discount safety.

Isn't national security encompassing? Securing the nation both from the inside and the outside.

[SFkid]

I was a prisoner of war, Blah, blah, blah...

[RobHughey]

I think it's worthwhile to vote for Obama simply so we don't have to hear this man say "my friends" over the next four years. I don't think I could handle that without my head exploding.

I can't help but think of that ol' Canadian joke. "I'm not your friend, buddy. I'm not your buddy, pal. I'm not your pal, friend."

[NationalTreasure]

Back in the spring McCain was at the Denver Petroleum Club and told folks that he was going to stop the storage of nuclear waste at Rocky Flats and ship our nuclear waste to foreign countries.

This morning McCain made another one of his big economic speeches and said that he was going to get government out of the mortgage business and then a second later he said that he has a plan to save homes and buy up mortgages.

McCain is so disconnected from what he says it is hard to believe that he even has a grasp of reality.

[RevSpaminator]

In the immortal words of Captain Kirk, "NO, BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!”

[mervr1]

Eight more days Beavis and you can get to steppin!

Blah Blah Blah will be wah wah wah I thought we had him right where we wanted him.

[newshawk14]

If McCain had any brains, which he doesn't, he would be advocating fast neutron reactors, instead
of the conventional slow neutron reactors. The difference is having to store the wastes for 300 years
instead of 20,000 years.

[DeniseD]

I have never heard of fast neutron reactors. What isotopes do they use? Obviously, from your comment the 1/2 life is much shorter, but does this mean that the fuel rods have to be replaced more often? It doesn't sound like it would much help if we are just producing more nuclear waste. Three hundred years is still 10 generations. Where will we store it all?

I still hate the thought of nuclear energy. It simply isn't safe no matter who makes the argument. Does anyone remember Chernobyl?

[newshawk14]

The main difference is the moderator, which is water in conventional reactor
and slows the neutrons down. This allows both fissioning and capture to take
place, which creates transuranics (elements with a higher atomic number than
Uranium). It is the transuranics that need to be kept safe for the 20,000 Years.
A fast neutron reactor usually uses liquid sodium as the moderator, and the
fast neutrons fission the transuranics as well as some of the U238. The
fission products all decay in 300 Years. I believe all nuclear naval ships use
this type of reactor. Fuel rods actually last longer.