Saw the vid earlier and totally agree with you: that is not a loss of temper. Plus, his ire, such as it is, is directed at a reporter. From the Times. That's gotta be good for tens of thousands of votes.
I'm anxious to see the "McCain is a crazy hothead" meme propagate.
But haven't you heard? McCain Balances Public Temper With Private Acts of Compassion. He's really just a big ol' teddy bear.
Agreed. Given the headline, I was expecting a dramatic "John McCain has anger management issues" moment, in which expectation I was sadly disappointed. He does come off as not very genial, though. However, it's important to realize that lots of voters like that "tough guy" stuff.
Plus, his ire, such as it is, is directed at a reporter
lots of voters like that "tough guy" stuff
Right, and he's being tough about not revealing a private conversation (how true that is doesn't really matter), which makes him seem honorable in the face of the amoral east coast elitist who then mocks him with "why are you so angry."
In fact it is Bumiller, who spent the first few years of the century giving awestruck journalistic blowjobs to Bush from the White House beat. I like the part where she starts to ask him why she is so angry and then says "never mind." He is more just a snippy, total asshole in the video than angry.
5. "why he is so angry"
I am a subconscious sexist monster.
He comes across as a bully and an asshole, who is bullying the reporter because she's caught him in a contradiction that suggests he lied back in 2003.
That said, will people give a shit? No.
I buy that he has a temper, but man, they're going to need something better than that. If someone goes around spreading the meme that John McCain is an Angry Man based on that weaksauce, it's only going to help McCain climb up on the cross, pound some nails in and proclaim himself martyr to the media.
Thanks for summarizing the post, Tim, I know you hate it when people go on at length.
Shorter version: Ogged is right.
Another vote for ogged. I feel cheated and lied to by my media. Again.
Not only does McCain not lose his temper in the video, but the "John Kerry offered me the VP slot, but I turned him down" is very very good for McCain.
Shorter version:ogged is wrong.
For posting this.
And fuck John Kerry.
"John Kerry offered me the VP slot because it was very plausible that my positions were close enough to those of the Democratic party that I would take it" is on the other hand, not the kind of thing that will make people who voted against John Kerry vote in favor of John McCain.
15: They're depending on the Democratic candidate to convince Republicans to vote for McCain. But your interpretation might get Democrats to vote for him.
Nah, 15 will dissuade some of the base from being able to trust that he means what he says currently, what he says currently and (the crossover appeal of Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama) will stop him from getting the independents.
Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama
From your lips....
Isn't there something somewhat nice about keeping the details of the conversation private? That's a pretty big moment of vulnerability from Kerry.
Yeah, I was underwhelmed as well. Some old guy getting peevish? Surely he can do better than this.
If the McCain as hotheaded, potty-mouthed asshole storyline is to get any traction among voters, it would have quote him saying the various assholic, intemperate things he's said to fellow legislators. I don't remember now where I read a list of such things -- somewhere here perhaps. Some of them were startling enough that I'm not sure the "he's a tough guy" response would be enough.
Perhaps the new meme is that John McCain is too old to even get properly pissed off.
This video is only helping McCain. For the love of country, I suggest it be taken down from the front page.
Sky Captain Andy Rooney. I'm telling you. The parallels are startling.
John McCain quipped, to general amusement, that "Chelsea Clinton is so ugly because Janet Reno is her father." He's a sad, pathetic dirtbag.
This shall be our comity thread!
23: Speaking of which, do you know that people who stroll by here don't read the comments ?!?!
They think that the comments are the same as those elsewhere, like those on DailyKos, mostly hysterical, lacking in content, a waste of time. The lefty blogosphere has a dubious reputation out there even among its natural allies.
People can resist the vortex of these comment threads?
The lefty blogosphere Comment threads hasve a dubious reputation out there even among its natural allies. people who can read.
The lefty political blogosphere has a dubious reputation.
Fixed that for you.
The meme should be Bush tap dancing on the White House steps while waiting for His Tardiness to show up.
The lefty political blogosphere has a dubious reputation.
There we go.
The lefty political blogosphere has a DUBIious reputation.
i don't understand this game really but i'm keen
34: No worries. I don't understand any of the games at this site.
Yeah, Ogged is right. That's all I got. Except that in DC the clip that's getting play is McCain calling our nation's capital the "city of Satan".
I'm a little inebriated tonight, and I saw some Obama/Hillary video tonight and thought, wow: he's running a principled campaign, and she's just not. You could see this trapped look in her eyes, I'm betraying my principles now...
i dono't understand thispants game, Wreally but i'm keen
the clip that's getting play is McCain calling our nation's capital the "city of Satan".
Hagee made him say it.
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner. Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in, the city of Satan, as lonely as I am, together we cry.
As to the McCain clip, the reporter is Elisabeth Bumiller, whose obnoxious presence graced that Bush-Kerry debate ("Are you a liberal? Are you a liberal? Are you a liberal?"). I get irritated every time I hear her talk too.
I just finished the last episode of The Wire AND I HAVE NOBODY TO TALK TOOOOOOOO
I'm not sure if anyone else will see the same thing, but the still shot that I see on the YouTube embed is great. McCain is positioned directly beneath one of the cracks between the overhead bins such that it loks lik a little curved antenna coming right out of the top of his head. Gives him an uncanny teletubby/martian/munchkin look. (And it occurs to me that he would also work well as The Penguin.)
22: One is never that old until one is dead. The problem with age is its inconsistency. There are good days and bad days, and I'd be somewhat concerned about McCain possessing the button and the phone on a bad day.
||
Woke up from a nice dream (there was a corset, and smooches) about the-object-of-lust-in-my-heart (having finally managed to tell her a tiny bit of my feelings for her, last night) and instantly, instantly! upon waking I had "Dancin' In The Dark" stuck in my head because some damn blogger posted the video of it recently.
|>
41: being mean enough to Bumiller might even get me to vote McCain. What a tool she is. You just know Obama would be polite to her.
he comes across as a serious bully with bad self-control. Not a good man for president
47: It's a drag when you have to go anonymous on your own blog, isn't it Ogged?
We should get Uncle Dirty to guestblog here.
52: Wow. Life-affirming, and yet makes one long for death.
44: I noticed that too, though my first thought was Alfalfa from The Little Rascals. Gaa, I'm so old. Anyway, the image amuses me so much that I can't bring myself to start the video clip. I trust that McCain will provide ample future examples for debates over whether he lost control or not.
54: You are not alone, I thought of Alfalfa as well. The one good thing about aging is that it is the ultimate shared experience.
When are people going to drag out the fact the McCain was one of the Keating Five, which caused the Savings and Loan meltdown in the previous century. (simplified).
Just the guy we need to straighten out the current lending mess
Unless the D's are completely incompetent, you have to assume this is going to be hashed out in the general.