Why Crazy Grandpa McCain Will Be Our Next President

I watched Obama's speech last night and was deeply moved. I came away feeling like he would make a great president. But because of the ranting of Reverend Wrong, we're never going to find out.

Look, some old black guys are angry. I can't say I blame them. They've seen some awful shit. But here's the simple truth: if you're a black guy running for president, you can't have as your spiritual advisor a guy who makes Flavor Flav look sane.

Reverend Wright is Redd Foxx after seven Courvoisiers.

He's Martin Lawrence suffering from "exhaustion."

I sit in awe that the Democrats are dangerously close to pulling off the impossible: unable to get someone from their party elected after George Bush bent the country over the kitchen table and had his way with us for eight years.

Watching Obama's speech last night, I couldn't help feel that it was too little too late. And I didn't believe him when he said he never heard the man with whom he had such a close relationship utter anything of the sort. If this is true, someone better get the good pastor some medication because he has very suddenly and inexplicably lost his mind.

See, the reason I think that Obama has become is unelectable is that this is more than a race issue now. Sure, calling America the United States of KKK is extreme and not very clever, but it's worse than that. It gives the Republicans the ammo they need.

I can just picture Karl Rove's fat little fingers unwrapping his fresh new pack of Fear Cards.

Obama is a master at deflecting this stuff. But I worry that this is deeper than a mere "distraction." This reverend officiated his wedding, baptized his children, and taught him spirituality. It's going to be a tough sell in the general election that this is "off point." I promise you it will be on point for the Republican attack machine. By the time they get done with him, they'll have white America thinking Obama will turn Air Force One into Soul Plane.

This is not just going to go away by giving a speech. Because in America, we're okay with extremism as long as it's shoved down our throats by white guys hiding behind the flag or the Bible.

I'm not saying it's going to be a land slide win for McCain if Obama's the guy, but McCain will beat him. And so if the Democrats want to put forward the person who has the best chance to beat McCain, we need to take another hard look at Hillary.

Or else come January, we should prepare ourselves to hear John McCain shouting from the windows of his new home, "Hey you kids, get your stinking ball off the White House lawn!"

Comments

[Pandu]

Among the three, I would vote for Obama. I'm not sure Clinton would make a better president than McCain. If it was between the two of them, I'd have to sit that one out. There's no point guessing.

[Handi]

It's nice to take the mental high road, and enjoy and admire Obama for his speaking ability, and his apparent sincerity.

This is not about the Obama speech. It's about the long term cancerous effect of his preacher's comments and the fodder it gives 541 and RNC advertising gurus.

A huge number of Americans proved themselves stupid by falling for the Bush/Cheney ad campaigns TWICE.

Yes Virginia, Fear Factor is MORE than a dumb television series. It's an advertising catagory.

[tjfxh]

The Dems have done it again. Shot themselves in the foot and lost an election they could not possibly lose. Unless the superdelegates step in and pick a white man who can beat another white man.

Face it. America is a racist, anti-feminist nation committed to white male dominance, and will be for another decade or two, until the demographics change. Then a white man will have a hard time being elected for quite some time.

[monique]

You are exactly right. There is no way middle America is going to elect a black guy from a radical black church. And why should they? Why should the white man vote for someone who attends an anti-white church?

I wouldn't vote for someone from a far-right wing church either. I wouldn't attend a church that spoke badly about whites, blacks, gays or lesbians. I would walk out.

It is the fault of the press. They were so in love -- and still are -- with Obama, they completely failed to do their job. They didn't bother to check him out. This should have been uncovered a long time ago.

[Sundei]

Then I guess we will have Grandpa McCain as the next President...

Hillary can not win without the Black vote...

The much anointed Hispanics and White women can't deliver her to the promised land...

Chris...we'll just all go down together!

[thefixisin]

I am a lifelong democrate and a white man, this is my take I have always voted for the nominee and was going to this time. Not now if it is Obama I will vote for the Green party if I have too.If Clinton is not the nominee my vote is lost I can't vote for a racist anti-american like Obama.

[tbone99]

Reverend Wright is Redd Foxx after seven Courvoisiers..

Hilarious

[ragtopdodge]

All we need is a 527 ad to show McCain embrace Falwell...then shoot to the clip of Falwell saying we deserved 9/11.

CASE CLOSED!

[Rule Of Law]

Dead spot on! I love it. Send this idea to the obama camp, pronto!

[monique]

I don't think McCain attended Falwell's church for 20 years.

And he didn't call him his "spiritual advisor."

[jollyelle]

McLame was honored to have the support of John Hagee and Rod (destroy Islam)Parsley was considered his "spiritual guide" .

[TN]

If you haven't noticed, the ordinary people of the U.S. vote for who they think is best. They are not like some congress members, who stick their thumb in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. That is the very kind of mind frame that got us in Iraq. When we stick to our principles and vote our heart and mind we truely get the best candidate, but plotting and stratigizing moves us far from the mark we were reaching for to begin with.

[SamThornton]

That's funny, I had an entirely different idea about where Congress members were sticking their thumbs.

[tbone99]

Is that how you explain Bush? TWICE?

[shano]

Another look at Hillary? Where? When she went on the 700 Club?

Jesus help us.

Obama gave a GREAT speech on Iraq and foreign policy in Fayetteville today. He LEADS on the issues. Hillary and McCain can only follow.

Time heals all wounds, Chris. And we have already moved beyond this issue of Rev. Wright.

I suggest you do too. Because anyone who is going to be swayed by the Wright issue would not vote for Obama or Hillary anyway, all the secret and not so secret racists and sexists out there. There is a new generation in America. Like it or not, we want to move beyond the old msm tricks of the past and have an election based on the issues, not the spin.

Did you not like Obamas criticism of the media in all this? Because he is calling you out. and you must answer for your own sins.

[greejambri]

Mr. Case, you are APPEALING TO FEAR HERE, and I will NEVER again vote for a candidate out of fear of his/her opponent. Barack Obama is the ONLY candidate I am willing to vote for in the GE, NOT because I fear John McCain and the Republicans, but because I KNOW Obama will make a damn good president, and take this country and the world in a new, positive, inspired direction. If I sold out all my principles and beliefs and voted for Clinton, if she somehow bullies her way to the nomination, I would not be able to live with myself, so I won't do it. Besides you make the mistake of assuming that somehow Hillary Clinton would be different or better than John McCain. From what I've seen of her voting record and how she is conducting her karl-rove-inspired campaign, I do not believe there is any real appreciable difference between the two. Maybe she wouldn't pander to the religious right as much as McCain, but that's about ALL, in actuality, that would be different. If you take this woman at her word about how she says she would govern, I suggest you're very naive. If the Clintons have shown anything this primary season, they have shown that they will DO and SAY anything to win, including tearing down the Democratic party and the presumptive nominee, Barack Obama, in the process. You want to vote for THAT type of candidate???? I don't and I WON"T!

[AustinDemocrat]

I feel exactly the same way. Thank you for your great input.

[tbone99]

...."Maybe H.C. wouldn't pander to the religious right as much as McCain, but that's about ALL, in actuality, that would be different."....

Greejambri- sometimes in politics we're lucky to get anything

[IthacaParent]

Senator Obama's speech was truly courageous. An example of American Leadership at its very best.

But how many swing voter's will actually ever hear the entire speech? The speech's strength comes from its thoughtfulness & its heroic truthfulness, but these are only fully apparent from the totality.

Encourage your friends to watch it. All of it. Having read it before watching it, I am certain that it portrays his ideas much more clearly when heard.

[CHGORUNR]

"It gives the Republicans the ammo they need."

Yes, thanks to the Clinton campaign's Rovian tactics, The Clintons and their sycophantic surrgoates have essentially saved the Republicans millions of dollars in advertising... all teh Republicans ahve to do in the Fall is cut & paste Hillzilla's nasty-ads against Obama.

BTW: There is PLENTY of old & new ammo for the Republicans to use against The Clintons, should they be successful at stealing the Democratic nomination.

A point, I know all you Hillary-lovers are in denial about.

As for the inane suggestion that "we need to take another hard look at Hillary,"
that is difficult to do considering she has not 1) produced all here tax returns for the last 8 years; 2)Produced her lists of earmarks; 3) Generated a complete lsit of ALL the donors to Bubba's library; and and 4) Produced ALL of her documents as First Lady--- including ALL of the hard-copy and emails, etc. relating to her behind-closed doors health-care reform debacale.

Not to belabor the point, but if the The Clintons manage to STEAL the Democratic nomination, then, yes, McCain will win in November. I, for one, am one Independent voter, who happens to be a an over-educated white male, who will not vote in the presidential election if Hillzilla gets the nomination.

P.S. What is preventing you, Chris, from, truly tkaing at hard look how much poltical damage Hillary has caused/ will cause the Demcoratic Party in Novmber? Denial is no excuse. Neither is ignorance.

[TN]

WAIT!!! REPUBLICANS DON'T NEED AMO, THEY MAKE EVERYTHING UP!!!

[AustinDemocrat]

"BTW: There is PLENTY of old & new ammo for the Republicans to use against The Clintons, should they be successful at stealing the Democratic nomination."

Yes, you failed to mention this.

[tbone99]

H.C. didn't make Obama go to that church for 20 years or PUT WRIGHT ON HIS CAMPAIGN as an advisor. Can you actually face the fact that B.O. is lacking some crucial political judgement to have done so?

[nomobull]

for the five hundredth time that church is more than the pastor. he is retired.do you want to be judged by your actions or the words of others.

[Loukas]

Barack Obama will destroy John McCain in the general. No contest.

[cocote]

First--McCain has accepted Obama's rejection of Wright's words. So has, as most of you have seen, Mike Huckabee. Of course, that won't keep the right-wing smear machine from bringing it up and the MSM from echoing it ad nauseum. But if more democrats did what Huckabee did, what McCain did, what Obama did (in the speech and in that ABC interview last night), we'd be better off. We should question over and over the premise behind the gotcha questions posed by the likes of Sean Hannity. And we should do that anyway as Americans, regardless of this election.

Second--to those that say because of Wright he loses, or that he should just flat out condemn Wright (rather than just his words), I call your attention to a different part of the videos that have been circulating. Namely, all those people who are applauding Wright and who are also American citizens. Many, I'm sure are democrats. So, are they all in your estimation deluded? racists? evil? Doesn't what makes them applaud at least need to heard. Or is that the only democrats that count now are white working class people in Ohio and Pennsylvannia.

Obama tried to speak to them too, referring to their concerns and their anger and their resentment as legitimate and understandable if ultimate (like black anger) insufficient in meeting the challenges that face us as a nation. He spoke to them as peers without pandering.

Compare that to the cynical fund-raising message that Bill Clinton sent out yesterday. The subject line said simply-- "Obama's Advantage." Tell me, on the day of Obama's race speech, what do you think those simple words evoked? And how did the email end: "help level the playing field, donate ....". Help level the playing field. A subtle, coded message that attempts to play on white resentment or fears about things like affirmative action. So, while one candidate steps up to the challenge of handling inherently difficult, sensitive issues; the other takes the low road, subtly playing on disunity and misunderstanding.

I didn't vote in my own primary (was unexpectedly out of town) and really, I was relieved, because I found myself unable to decide at the time, and Clinton was going to win anyway (NY). Since then, I've decided to support Obama, but have always said that I'd vote for Clinton if she was the nominee. Some of her pro-McCain/anti Obama comparisons have given me pause. But funny, that simple and cheap email from Bill--"Obama's advantage"--"level the playing field"-- on the day of a courageous statement by Obama--gives me still greater pause.