The Coming Storm (or, why McCain as Nominee is Great for Democrats)
Several weeks ago, I was clicking through John McCain's presidential campaign website. In the "Events" section I found a listing for a June 13 Townhall Meeting in Pemberton, New Jersey; I decided to attend.
McCain did not pick me out of the crowd to ask a question on live TV, but I was able to speak with him as the event wound down.
Right after the speech, I knew McCain would work the rope line. Since I was in the front row, it only took me about three steps to get there.
I spoke loudly:"Senator McCain - I noticed you aren't wearing your flag lapel-pin. May I give you mine?"
McCain: "Yes, sir, you can" (what else was he going to say? - he really wasn't wearing a flag pin.)
now I had him front and center...
"Senator, I spent four years in the Marines"
McCain: "Thank you for your service."
"Oh, no sir, thank you for yours. I have a feeling this is as close as I will ever come to pinning a medal on you." (said as I'm fastening the lapel pin) "Senator - you know our motto is Semper Fidelis - always faithful?"
McCain: "Oh yes, I do"
"Well have you always been faithful to Cindy McCain?"
Deer-in-the-mother-fucking-headlights.
McCain: "Oh no... that's not what I'm going to talk about."
"Have you been faithful to your wife? You won't answer? C'mon - how 'bout a little of that straight talk?"
(crowd beginning to get angry - hissing)
McCain: "Young man, I will tell you that I have a son serving in Iraq in the Marines."
"Yes - I know. I know a lot about you. Have you cheated on Cindy McCain? Why won't you answer?"
McCain turned away.
(All of the aforementioned was caught on film and microphone by the networks. As far as I know, it has not been released and probably won't be. [When I asked Senator Allen - after the macaca incident - if he ever used the word "nigger" and why he kept a Confederate Flag and noose in his office, the NBC camera guy caught the whole exchange. It, to this day, has never aired in its entirety. The only reason I know it exists is that the video (without the sound) was shown to provide context to the later incident in which Allen's goons threw me to the ground.])
Of course, I could have asked any number of other questions. I had thought of a few:
"Senator: there's been a lot of media chatter about Barack Obama having difficulty wooing women voters that formerly supported Hillary Clinton. The unspoken assumption is that they will cross over and vote for you. Do believe this assumption holds water considering the fact that you left your first wife - a former swimsuit model - after she was disfigured in a car accident and put on a few pounds?"
"Senator: You've pushed back against the assertion that you want to stay in Iraq for the next hundred years. You've said that as long as we aren't taking casualties, a presence like that in Korea or Germany is fine with you. You've said the surge is working, that casualties are down, that we are winning the war in Iraq...
In the end, it sounds to me like you are saying that if we win the war in Iraq, if we aren't taking casualties... we stay... (after all, according to you, bringing the troops home isn't important...)But...
If we get our asses handed to us in Iraq - if we suffer a lot of casualties - we must win the war, so... we stay...
You haven't shared with the American people what conditions must prevail for American troops to come home. Can you set forth the conditions you would require to pull all combat and combat support troops out of Iraq?"
I chose to forgo these questions in favor of the one I asked because once I decided to attend the event, I reached out to contacts in Washington for advice. After several conversations, a pattern emerged.
Not long ago, the New York Times reported the story of McCain's relationship with the sultry lobbyist, Vicki Iseman. McCain surrogates furiously denounced the story, but oddly, John McCain never brought it up.
As I made the rounds in Washington, several people mentioned the story. A theme developed. None would go on the record, but more than one suggested that fidelity in the McCain marriage was not a priority for either partner. I was told that reporters know a lot more than they let on, but they are reticent about bringing it up.
After chewing on the situation for a while, I decided to ask McCain a question about fidelity for two reasons.
The first has to do with raw politics. I don't believe for a second that John McCain will beat Barack Obama in November. Obama draws tens of thousands to his rallies; McCain is lucky if a thousand people show up for his. Barack has a cash machine that shames anything that came before it. McCain's campaign can barely afford the gas for his Straight Talk Express. Barack is inspiring, McCain is tiring...
But...
Down-ticket races need to be considered as well. Again, almost nobody doubts that Democrats will pick up a substantial number of seats in both houses of Congress. The pressing question is how many seats will flip. Will Democrats get to 60 seats in the Senate?
Every election has its close races. In Virginia, Webb beat Allen by fewer than 10,000 votes. Many, many House seats were determined by fewer than 5,000 votes. Every single vote counts.
I've seen analysis that the evangelical Christian community constitutes 30% of the Republican base. These fundamentalist voters drove the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Republicans are more than capable of reading polls; they knew that the majority of Americans just wanted to MoveOn... Republicans found themselves between a rock and a hard place. The impeachment route made them look partisan and petty to the majority of Americans, but their base wanted it more than anything else...
They decided to dance with who brung 'em. Evangelicals elected them so evangelicals would get their scalp. And Clinton was impeached. (McCain voted in favor of impeachment).
McCain is already on thin-ice with evangelicals. James Dobson won't take his calls. John Hagee's followers still smart over McCain's condemnations. He famously disparaged Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell in the 2000 campaign and he renounced mega-church Pastor Rob Parsely this cycle. McCain's support of embryonic stem-cell research, limited environmental protections and campaign finance reform have each generated withering criticism from the religious right.
The last thing the Republican paryy needs is a John McCain adultery problem.
Check that.
The second to last thing Republican party needs is a John McCain adultery problem. The last thing they need is a John McCain cuckold problem.
And the buzz in Washington is that he's got one.
The second reason I decided to ask McCain about adultery has to do with the way the press has treated the issue. That's the topic of another post, coming soon.
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To see the picture of McCain's first wife that was circulated with the son being the only one with crutches when all three needed them to get around is one thing people do not focus on. The first wife and what she did for McCain and their family all the tiem he was in the Hanoi Hilton supposedly dreaming of his wife. Yeah sure she took care of the kids and wrote to him almost daily while eeping the home fire burning and yet she was damaged goods to him. Had she not been ina disfiguring accident would mcCain cheated on her with any female willing and with Cindy and her family knowing he was married when she started the relationship with him? Sure he would. He was not a faithful man during many times in his early days married to the first wife. He has shown little moral awarness with the second one as log as she pays his bills and she puts up with him for whatever her reasons. sounds like another wife who will put up with the unfaithful man for the status.
And that's why this issue is relevant to the supposed Hillary-to-McCain turncoats.
These are older women. While they *should* care about McCain's opposition to reproductive rights, they're probably long past menopause, so that issue isn't immediately relevant to them. What is relevant is a woman having her youth and beauty and vitality sucked dry by some jackass who then dumps them in their time of need to go take up with some scrawny blonde that's young enough to be his (and the dumped wife's) daughter.
It's time you stopped relying on their cameras and started bringing your own, or a friend with a camera. They're making them pretty small, these days.
Hehehe, awesome!
pretty interesting take...
starving the narcissist of attention could have the added benefit of making the candidate desperate.
a desperate loose cannon with a temper problem... well, the attention he seeks could come rushing back in a hurry I suppose...
"I was told that reporters know a lot more than they let on, but they are reticent about bringing it up."
And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is the real problem.
If the Ob ama family had "issues of adultry" the press would run a 24/7 infomercial.
You better believe that!
Yep, and the samed a holes who are against attacking McSame will be whining that at least THEY didn't stoop to such antics!
Yes and where is Vicki Iseman, anyways?
Yup. You've sure got that right. I am so frustrated about now with the media coverage. Guaranteed if there's any story out there about Obama, they'll seize on whatever negative slant they can find. McCain is just the opposite. How often do you see anything about him that's not a snippet from a townhall meeting where he's smiling and joshing. Golly gee, just look at the friendly funny old maverick. Ever see snippets from Barack's townhall meetings? Seldom. Because he's so good at them and gives good answers. Heavens, can't have anything showing something different from our established characterization that he's only good at giving big inspiring speeches.
A big example is the NBC/WaPo poll that came out the other day. It had multiple different categories. The most amazing one is that for Democrats, Obama has the approval of 68% of them as their candidate vs 32% not happy with him. For the Republicans, McCain numbers were something like 52%/48%. But is the story McCain has an extremely divided party while contrary to all the newstories, people are solidly behind Obama? Nah. Not a chance. They found one obscure category in the poll where Obama is slightly behind.... suburban white women. Never mind that women in total all are very positive for Obama. Did you hear anything about McCain's major problems? Nope. You heard about a tiny one for Obama. Real fair and balanced reporting there, media.
OK, maybe I'm being naive, but why?! Why would they hold back something like that? They'd have nothing but to gain from bringing such a big story to light...
The NY Times came out looking like jerks for the Vickie Iseman story because they could not prove anything.
The old school press never chased stories like this; that is why we thought JFK was faithful to Jackie. He was involved with Judith Campbell Exner, a mobster's girlfriend.
I am of two minds. If a candidate treats women badly, I don't want to vote for him. But if I great candidate like Obama has a personal flaw, I would rather not know about it. If McCain or his wife get caught, I will read all about it and laugh.
You inadvertently touched upon the single largest chink in McCains body armour in your first sentence.
You were clicking through McCain's website, something he can't do. He's out of touch, the cranky old man who used to walk ten miles to school, uphill, both ways.
McCains not cool that's what's going to sink him, and you and your ilk would be wise to sweep the extramarital affairs business under the carpet, as that is the only thing that makes him remotely intriguing.
Concentrate on his lack of flash. His dullness, for that is the crime in America today. He's like wallpaper, cottage cheese in a bed of jello ( that green screen speech as some commentator pointed out )
Don't dig up dirt on McCain, you'll only make him more interesting, okay? Got it?
The biggest crime in America is boring the audience, and McCain commits it every time he steps in front of a camera, unless of course you're a gaffe aficianado.
Ahh c'mon, you call Bush entertaining? What about all of Kerry's peculiarities that should have kept us entertained? Did that help? Don't think so.
Do the repugs pay you by the post, or by the hour?
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