Angry White Man: Different Rules for McCain?
We have all witnessed Hillary welling-up in public on the campaign trail. Her husband's interaction with an ABC reporter has been widely blown out of proportion. Even Obama, who has attempted to maintain some level of cool, has been the subject of fervent body-language speculation when he did not join hands with his opponent.
Now, we are seeing talk of John McCain's temper mentioned in major news publications. It is interesting to note how this aspect of McCain's character has been handled in the media, especially when compared to the competition from the "other side of the aisle." It will be even more interesting to witness how this subject will, or won't, affect his campaign.
It is difficult to forget the media frenzy that surrounded Howard Dean's now infamous Iowa rallying speech. The unrelenting coverage is one of the few political entries of recent years that give a head-shaving Britney Spears or jail-bound Paris Hilton a competitive run for network air-time. Dean may have never been accused of being calm and controlled, but did the action warrant the response? Many would consider this singular event the catalyst that effectively snuffed out Dean's presidential aspirations.
So, how does McCain's questionable temper compare to the emotional exhibitions of his rivals? The obvious difference lies in how much of an impact emotion plays in the life-line of each candidate. And the playing field is not exactly level.
Hillary will always be plagued by questions of gender. Regardless of how progressive we hope to be as a nation, we cannot deny that sexism continues to seep into the political sphere. When Hillary displayed a sensitivity she has worked so hard to combat, it made people uncomfortable. Or did it help her in the primaries that followed? In some spheres, her success was attributed to that same incident, as subtle as it truly was. Then she was accused of staging the whole thing for political gain. She's damned either way.
Yet, public reaction to displays of emotion is not limited to gender. Bill Clinton's run-in initiated calls that he be relegated to the sidelines of his wife's campaign. Obama was labeled un-sportsman-like when he may have only been guilty of not seeing his competitor extend her hand. The real difference between the way McCain's emotions are handled compared to these other examples may very well be a matter of party affiliation.
Republicans have often been viewed as the "strong-arm" party, while the Democrats have been labeled "softies." However unjust these labels may be, they exist. Remember the "kind words" Dick Cheney had for Sen. Patrick Leahy? It didn't exactly shock anyone. Likewise, to some degree, McCain's temper is excused. He is often referred to as a "maverick". A maverick is not expected to play nice though he also enjoys some degree of respectability. The Republican base understands this, and even those he has butted heads with may very well turn around to show their support.
But what of the Democrats? Dean's supporters scurried and jumped ship at the first sign of trouble. We can only hope that this is not indicative of what may come should the Democratic nominee face similar press. Perhaps it is best that the Democrats come to terms with the label that has been thrust upon them in order to overcome it.
McCain's expletive-filled outbursts might garner some attention now, but is it enough to keep him from the White House?
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"When Hillary displayed a sensitivity she has worked so hard to combat..."
Oh please, Lady Macbeth would be envious of such a display of "sensitivity" !.
Please, make it stop, I'm laughing so hard, my ribs hurt!. Hillary-bot, sensitivity, oxymoronic.
If the media looks back at every debate &rally that Hillary has done , she has used Obamas words just as he used them . What do you call this ?No one said a word, where were the Pat Buchanans,Finemans and all the other talking heads . The media should try harde to not salvate when they play the game of got you . Especially Chris Mathews, he slobers anyhow.
Call McCain the new leader of the Angry White Men. Nickname him Yosemite Sam. We gotta make these Republicans look as ridiculous as they really are. Make them the cartoons they are.
While the media are trashing out OBAMA , they will allow McCain to ease on in . Yes it is quite obvious that McCain has a ferious temper . Not only that his body movements are terrible . Will he be able to handle being president just for 4yrs much less 8.If the media continue to be side tracked with mess about OBAMA they will cheat the american people again out of having their chose of president in the WH. The endorsement of McCain yesterday from the past president was not a pretty picture.Co
Since the segment of our population that votes Republican thinks that Archie Bunker was an idealized form of Man, I'd say the more angry, racist, sexist, xenophobic, dismal, hateful and strange McCain acts, the better for him in the primary.
Fooollloowww the MONEY! $$$
McCain can get as mad as he wants; because he will support the corporations bottom line! And the Corporate Media will shield him!
Dean was challenging their right to obscene profits at the expense of the PEOPLE!
Remember "WE, will take back America"!
His SUPPORTERS didn't desert him after the "scream"
We were furious...
What took him out was lack of money at the end of February, '04!
Someone in his organization failed him on budgeting! He had a reputation for running VT with a very sharp pencil, but you can't keep an eye on the books when you are campaigning all over the country staying in motels etc.!
His ideas live on..I heard Clinton say the other day "We will take back our country."
And notice who was marginalized, EARLY, this time around. Kucinich, Edwards, Gravel, Paul, ALL vowing to oppose the BIG CORPORATIONS.
It's time for us to examine what is happening to our lifestyle and start boycotting the corporations that are running our lives instead of focusing so intently on this Presidential camnpaign which THEY are also selling us.!
This will be an interesting election for baby boomers. A young man has passion while an old man is grouchy. The agist and youth worshiping society in which we live is going to come face to face with an older, politically active, and voting population. The activists, right and left, of the 1960's are now hitting social security age and don't go peacefully into the night.
...well, with the 'airhead ensemble " of katie couric, brian williams, chris matthews etc. defining political debate as a people magazine celberity popularity contest and the corporate media BY DEFINITION owned, operated and crafted in content to promote the corprate/plutocracy zeitgeist, what else do you expect?...
I think it will hurt him. It's the one trait that bothers me about him.
Let's be honest, McCain had his temperament questioned in his last run for the white house by a "whispering campaign" by some of his fellow senators. Good old Elizabeth Drew went after them and they all dove under their desks. The problem is that this is tied to his POW history. It's considered indelicate to approach him on his temper. To be crude about it, if he had PTSD would he be fit for the office? You think the press wants any of the grief they'd take for looking into that? Nope.
Words are important! Obama is so weak, his followers have to carry him. He's their savior, so they don't mind.
Well - The Democratic Party can't afford "to carry" Obama. He can never beat McCain, not even as a democrat. We've got to drop him FAST!
Stand on your own feet Obama. Speak your own words.
Rather off topic.
When I saw "angry white man" - I thought of Bill Clinton...
Somrtimes there's a good reason to be angry.
I wonder if the hoopla over Dean's exhuberance come from the centrist Democrats that took this opportunity to go for a more "acceptable" candidate like Kerry. This same scenario could be repeated if the super delegates determine that Obama is just not the candidate they want to run in November and give us Hilary instead. She is the one who was "supposed" to have been coronated from the start. Dean, like Obama raised hopes, expectations and was taking the party in a new and exciting direction from the Clinton faction and their right of center politics.
Dean started something (that's been boiling up) it simmered, Ron Paul turned the heat up, Obama blasts it, but @ the end of the day it can't be stopped.
The media have much to answer for in the past 4 years. Their overblown reaction to Howard Dean's enthusiastic cheer in 04 killed his campaign. They ignored John Edwards during the present campaign, until he gave up and brought his candidacy to an end. Many media outlets have been hypercritical of Hillary Clinton and everything about her---her looks, her clothes, her ideas, her unshed tears, her visions, everything. And now they will give a pass to John McCain whenever his violent temper sufaces. Why, I wonder? Perhaps because he is a representative of the power elite in the USA, the angry white men.
Exit polls in recent primaries show that white men have largely supported Barack Obama. I suspect that in November these men will vote for John McCain, who is one of their own.
Talk to anybody who worked around the Clinton White House and you will hear all kinds of stories about Hillary's profanity-laden outbursts. It's not limited to McCain or the other males in this campaign. I've talked to someone who worked in the White House and Hillary didn't even like some people making eye contact with her in the halls.
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