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).

Comments

[wagthedog1001]

I don't know what this man is thinking. Maybe that's it he's NOT. How could anyone running for public office, much less president, talk about the health of half of population as if it's not real?

Any thinking woman should be totally offended and speak to all other women in her family about this.

This is THE GAFFE of the campaign and should be publicized accordingly.

[IgIzBliss]

women are MORE than half the US population. this is about how patriarchy works. It seeks to justify men's control over women's bodies, minds, and souls--demanding no less than total surrender. I see that, and I'm a guy. But if there are women and girls in our lives, and if we truly can promote freedom abroad, no pun intended, then how the H can we restrict women's choices here? It just makes the whole Iraq argument look ridiculous. Period. But he's pandering at the same time to the men of the South in particular, and to Christian men more broadly, who literally interpret the Old and New Testaments, taking what they believe to be a God given right to control women very seriously. As with any hegemonic system, patriarchy appeals to women too, often because it allows them to see other women subjugated. This is an old, old story, but it is not universal. Among one ethnic group in Ghana, when the British colonizers arrived, they were shocked, SHOCKED, to see that every other seven years, men and women swapped control of all the major political offices. So this is NOT universal.

Obama can see that the health of women is critical to our nation's health. I cannot imagine how men, whose fathers only produced the first cell of our biology, can be disrespectful of our own mothers, who generated every cell of our being AFTER the father supplied one of the first two. I just don't get it.

[Pupadup4oBama]

When I first read your comment I thought you WERE a woman!
Thank you!

PS liked the pun...:).

[Twinkie]

McCain's airquotes obviously showed that in his mind the well being of these women is just a euphemism for their permissive, satanic, baby-eating lifestyle of wild orgies and drug abuse. Nice work John.

[darker]

Yeah, for JOHNNY COME LATELY MCCAIN, women's health IS A JOKE because he doesn't need to worry about it!

THE RICH CARE NOT FOR YOU but for themselves and their riches$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$$$$$$$$­$$$.
If you have no HEALTH INSURANCE, the rich say, "TOO DAMN BAD, HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!".
THAT'S MCCAIN.

NO THANKS. No more years for republican lies, corruption, DISRESPECT, FRAT BRAT IDEAS, and
CRIMINALITY.

vote Obama-Biden '08

[amaycatbaker]

Very true!

[Ladyvoice]

The look on his face when he did the "air quotes" said it all. This man does not like women. If you need further proof, just look at him when he is with his wife.

I'll take eloquence and compassion every time.

And BTW, Judy... you are a gem. When McCain said Palin was a role model, I almost did a spit-take. Women like YOU are role models, not women like Sarah Palin. What kind of trash is he throwing up against the wall, hoping it will stick??

[zetacplus]

I noticed how McCain interacted with his wife after the debate was over and it really surprised me how cold he acted towards her. When she walked up to him he looked like he didn't want anything to do with her. The hug and kiss wasn't a display of two people in love it just looked too forced on his part. On the other hand, Obama and his wife looked very much in love and in a healthy, loving, relationship. That is probably one of the reasons Obama seems more grounded than McCain.

[wmfor]

Hey, I've been collecting pictures of the Obamas from the Internet, just because this is the first "Presidential" couple I can recall in my lifetime who looked like they were "in love" rather than in business together, the Clintons included.

And the one of Barack playing bumper cars with Sasha is priceless: you can see the love when a father becomes the kid playing with his kid.

[Pupadup4oBama]

He thinks she's a role model because she does what the men in her life tell her to do.
That's a woman's place - to do as the man says.

[peacegurl48]

I think it was the combo of the Air Quotes and the dismissive smirk/snarky laugh that really did it for me...so condescending and sarcastic.

[sociocanuck]

If only this two digit gaffe could translate into a two digit poll decline across the board.

[larry278]

This won't lead to the much needed demise of the air quotation marks gesture yet but it may be the end of the beginning of the demise of the wiggling two finger gesture. People may even say that they are quoting Pablo or this is a quotation from the works of Roy. Yes, I've gone off thread, way off thread. This ends my screed, elitist screed, plea for utopia.

[Pupadup4oBama]

ok, seriously.­..what are you smoking?? :)