McCain's Debate Air Quotes Badly "Misfired"
When it comes to dismissive finger gestures, there is nothing quite like the two-handed "air quote." For pure sarcastic appeal, it beats the much more obvious middle finger every time. But beware what words you put inside those little air quotes. John McCain used the gesture twice during his final debate with Barack Obama and each time it misfired. Actually, you can put "misfired" in air quotes. What I really mean is it blew up in his face.
The first time came when the two were discussing energy and free trade. McCain said, "Well, you know, I admire so much Senator Obama's eloquence. And you really have to pay attention to words. He said, 'We will look at offshore drilling.' Did you get that? Look at!" Those last two words were accompanied by the twitchy-fingered air quotes.
Snide and sniggering, McCain clearly thought this was a gotcha moment. But the words "look at," in this context, do not come close to the kind of evasive phrase represented by, say, Bill Clinton's "It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is." And to build up to this so-called gotcha moment by "admiring" (feel free to make your own little air quotes around that one) Obama's eloquence was sarcastic overkill. "Misfire" number one.
But McCain was on a roll of snide, and his fingers were just itching to use the tactic again. This time it came during a discussion of Roe V. Wade and abortion.
McCain said,"Just again, the example of the eloquence of Senator Obama. He's health for the mother....That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, 'health.'"
OMG, the audacity of health! If you were watching CNN at that moment, you had the added pleasure of seeing just HOW badly this misfired with the focus group of women voters in Ohio. A little graph measuring their reactions to the debate dipped into a death spiral for McCain at that point. I imagine the air quotes made it much more deadly, and not in the way McCain clearly had hoped. The fact that he mentioned Obama's "eloquence" twice, in a sarcastic vein, and that he resorted to his double digit tactic twice (nice symmetry there, if you think about it), might lead one to conclude that McCain had actually been coached to do this, in the same way that he planned to use Joe the Plumber as a touchstone for the little guy. That, too, backfired as we later learned that he not only got Joe's last name wrong, but also the facts of his financial situation. Turns out that Joe the Plumber will actually benefit from Obama's tax cuts.
But I digress. The lesson here is that eloquence trumps snide every time. If you "look at" the reaction of the audience, you'd have to conclude, in fact, that air quotes can be hazardous to your political "health." (Feel free to insert your own gestures here).
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McCain is up to his same old ticks again. On Meet the Press today (10/26/08), he was talking about Obama's tax plan, and put "fairness" in air quotes. It's a very strange and bizarre character flaw (in my opinion). What does he intend to do next, put all good and commendable concepts in air quotes for the next 9 days leading to the November 04 election.
With his deteriorating performance in the polls, maybe "voting" itself will become an object of snide derision and mocking ridiculousness.
Ok, so let me get this straight. It's 2009 during a McCain/Palin presidency and I am a divorced 44 yr old mother of 2. I am working 3 jobs to put money in a college fund for my kids. I am raped late one night while waiting for the bus - I can't afford to run a car anymore. I have to pay for my rape kit and because I have no insurance - I could only afford to cover the kids with my $5,000 credit - I pay for my hospital stay out of the college fund. I get pregnant because I am not in a relationship and not on the pill. I am not allowed to abort the fetus and medical complications arise due to my age. I am brought to emergency in agony one night and the doctor tells me that the fetus can be delivered but I will not make it. I need to tell my children that my "health" is not that important and goodbye my darling children. So I am leaving two, possibly three children motherless. Is this right McCain/Palin? or have I got it "wrong"?
But Senator McCain thought "air quotes" had worked so well for Victor Borge.
If your intent with using "sniggering" was to assert that McCain is right out of the 1700's, you'd be right. Loved your article. Thanks.!
Air quotes pretty describes his "campaign.
McCain does not respect much of anything. He does not respect or like himself...
Well said!
I think it has a lot to do to his father - while being a part of his life, was emotionally absent and an alcoholic. I'm sure his mother was probably pretty cold as well - she looks like she would be, and he always seems to be searching for her approval - even now at his advanced age of 72....how sad is that??
I hate to bring Pop psychology (pun intended) into it, because absent or aloof fathers seem to run through a lot of political biographies: Obama, Clinton, Bush... Then again, maybe a general analysis of Daddy problems could shed a lot of light on the American political animal.
In addition, I don't believe it's possible to overstate the devastating psychological effects of having been a POW for years, and all he had to endure. Cindy McCain makes smarmy self-righteous comments about how he has dealt with it all just fine, he's untroubled by his past -- but I know enough about PTSD to know that the experts didn't know then what they know now about the long-term effects, which can manifest in different ways for different people but commonly include anger and diminished impulse control. Stuffing those feelings is common -- especially in military and police officers -- but not healthy in the long run.
One more point about severe trauma -- without professional help, many people who've experienced a significant trauma can find it difficult to progress normally past that psychologi
That's not to take away from Senator McCain's strengths and true accomplishments, but he's experiencing a time of profound stress which can easily strain the most carefully constructed coping mechanisms.
If these folks gave a moose pile about the health of babies and mothers, the would be backing programs to get prenatal vitamins in the hands of ALL women of child bearing ages. They would want ALL women to have quality prenatal care in order to prevent costly birth defects and disabilities. The poor would have equal access to quality OB/GYN care. Oh dooo not get me started. I worked in a university pediatric rehab hospital for two years and noticed a trend while taking medical histories. Women who were poor gave birth vaginally in spite of labor complications. Women who were poor did not have adequate prenatal care. Women who were poor did not get genetic counseling. Women who were poor and had children with disabilities, STAYED POOR.
Almost as telling is his use of the phrase "pro-abort
I guess he's all for an economic life sentence. No matter what men say, they are not ultimately responsible. It's women who bear and they are normally the ones left to feed and raise. They do it on MUCH less money.
I'm saddened by the demise of the John McCain who served our nation so well. It is indeed hard to watch him become so disassociated from the reality of today. Like many I was very surprised to see him use the finger wiggling and his comment regarding women's health was very unfortunate. The difference between the two men running for the office and what this represent could not be more obvious. I find it hard to believe that even Republican women will hold their noses and pull the handle for McCain.
Yes, John McCain showed his disdain for women very clearly last night. In fact, he showed his disdain for just about everything last night, with his smirks, rolling eyes, and other weird facial contortions. He has a very thin social veneer and we saw it slipping quite a bit last night.
The fact is, late term abortions are almost always done because there is a health crisis for the woman. Most of the time, this is the absolute last thing the mother wanted. Sometimes, a woman is faced with a truly heart-breaking choice of whether to continue with a wanted pregnancy that is endangering her life, or choosing life for herself so she can continue to be a mother to her already born children, and a wife to her husband, daughter, sister, and friend. It is devastating, and for McCain to denigrate it, sneer at the "heath" of the mother, shows how truly soulless he is.
What is the definition of a late term abortion? If a woman's health is the issue, wouldn't labor be induced or a caesarean be done?
Here is just a little info. The wording "late term" can make it sound like this procedure is used during the third trimester. It would actually be done during the second trimester, but statistics show it is a rather infrequently used procedure. "The procedure is also performed in cases where the woman's health is at risk, or when the fetus shows signs of serious abnormalities, some of which don't become apparent until late in pregnancy.
Take, for example, cases in which the fetus develops hydrocephalus (commonly known as water on the brain). Often undetectable until well into the second three months of pregnancy, the condition causes enlargement of the skull up to two-and-a-half times its normal size. It not only results in severe brain damage to the fetus, it can also create severe health risks to the mother if she tries to deliver it vaginally.
Some doctors say D&X abortion is a preferable method for ending such pregnancies without damaging the woman's cervix. (Some) argue that the procedure is never medically necessary, noting that enough fluid can be drained from hydrocephalus babies in the womb to ensure a safe delivery.
(Many) abortion opponents believe ... severely deformed fetuses should be delivered regardless of their prospects for a healthy life. .
Labor can be induced, or the fetus can be removed by caesarian section in some cases."
It sounds like inducing labor or doing a C-section is an option "sometimes" but not every time.
My great grandma, who lived to be 100, had twins die in utero, but back then, they didn't even abort for the health of the mother, even if the fetuses were dead in utero. She had to carry those dead fetuses to term, which not only hurt her physical health, but affectedher mental health as well. She was never the same mentally. I suppose this is what McBush would want to happen again. This is an example of health of the mother!! Another example: a woman has cancer or a heart condition, which makes her unable to continue a pregnancy in late stages. Under this clown McCain, she would have to continue a pregnancy that could keep her from getting lifesaving cancer treatments, or much needed tratments for heart disease. These people make me SICK!! They care NOTHING about women, and McSame/Palin will see how little we women care about them on election day!! Obama Biden 08'
Ms Muller - I soooo agree with you. It was painful to watch. It was as though he'd messed up a kids joke like... "knock, knock...wh
I was embarrassed for him. And yet, saddest of all - it was his best (air quote) performance at a debate.
Your post was both sad and very funny at the same time - kind of like watching McBush's campaign sinking.
I wasn't conscious of seeing the air quote gesture when McCain mocked Obama's reference to exceptions for the mother's health. All I know is that his tone, his utter contempt for the idea of protecting a pregnant woman's health, his implication that this was just an excuse people would use and not a real concern for real people shocked me. I yelled at him. I didn't decide to yell at him; it just came out.
he didn't actually use the air quote gesture for "look into".
I am surprised that McCain didn't use "those fingers" when he referred at least a couple of times to Obama's plan (in his "mind"), or desire to spread the wealth. Every "thinking" American knows that wealth "belongs" only to the wealthy.
Also troubling is the accusatory use of the term - class warfare - as if there hasn't been class warfare being waged against working people (regardless of job classification or level of earnings) since before the Industrial Age in this country. I would go on about the term "middle class", but to paraphrase the late, wonderfully great Bill Hicks, I'll save that for the meeting on the docks.
I think "Class Warfare" is Republican Base Code for "Commie". And you're right that the term is always applied to the mean old David attacking poor, beset-upon Goliath, never to the robber barons pillaging the village.
So--please tell me Obama is going to be running this in a commercial very soon!
Did you see the one Obama ran of the facial gestures - referring to McBush being - well, just like Bush...and then at the end the byte of McBush admitting he voted with him 90% of the time.
Priceless!
Admitting? He was bragging about it. Presumably before he could see the writing on the wall that Butch's popularity was in the toilet.
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