Wait, he pushed a woman in a wheelchair? What?

Old news - need more current examples

Don't forget -- for five and a half years, he didn't even have a handle to fly off of.

We all have to overlook his bad temper. Never forget John was a POW and that explains everything. I have also heard that John will apologize to someone he has berated unfairly. Of course, the world might be a smoldering ruin at the time he apologizes for starting WWIII in a fit, but he will still be sorry.

McCain's alleged assault on a woman in a wheelchair is
here.

Multiple reports were filed. No investigation or other follow up from DC police or the Senate.

This was allegedly because he was confronted by an opposing point of view in legislation.

Some kind of bipartisan, huh?

Can you see him in a situation where the stakes are higher and he has the full force of the US missile arsenal at his disposal?

Oh. My. God.

One can only imagine what the levels of anger and disrespect in McCain's campaign are right now. He has enabled Steve Schmidt to enact this adolescent character flaw on the national stage. As far as I'm concerned, the entire presentation of Sarah Palin is a giant F**k You. Notwithstanding a few media eruptions like the McClatchy article and the Frank Rick column, my sense is that the media is propping up and enabling McCain. The sheer vindictive and heckling natures of McCain and Palin ought to be automatic disqualifiers. I fear that this election will be the triumph of the shallow "mean girls."

"Under the circumstances, it's hardly an unreasonable question."

Given the evidence, it doesn't seem like a question at all...

And this is the way he treats members of his own party!!

"Sounds like the ideal candidate to lead a nation during a war, right?"

More like INTO war.

Just as I've argued that Palin should be video-cuffed to stark footage of wolves being shot from helicopters... So McCain should be video-cuffed to a remake of the famous Lyndon Johnson's Daisy ad that ruined Goldwater.

What an easy edit. All you have to do is splice in Sen. Thad Cochran's quote as the punch line: The thought of him being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.

Until ads like these are crafted and looped, Barack's campaign will simply tread water. Because basically, everyone's mind is made up now. Except the vast number of low-info undecideds who are watching football even as I type... From here on out Barack's game should be solely focused on winning them. The only way to do that is with stark video linked to simple but accurate facts and slogans.

After weeks of building up to actually claiming that this is a character-driven campaign, not one based on issues, watch the McCain campaign insist that it's out of bounds and insulting that this part of his character is questioned. It's certainly alright for everyone to respect his honorable service in Vietnam, but it's beyond the pale to note that he's a hothead.

Actually Cornyn is a creepy wingnut scumbag, supported by the most retarded and unreconstructed voters in the country, so it's quite plausible that he was indeed trying to cripple the bill. And I don't know about the particular POW activist quoted (and apologize if it doesn't apply to her), but that movement is (sadly) full of deranged people, of whom the Swift Boaters are entirely representative.

So what we have here is McCain blowing his stack while dealing with the Bircher element in our country. I'm not voting for him, but it's hard to see anyone blaming him for this (except the looney right, but he won them over by picking Palin).

David Brooks on NewsHour framed McCain's anger as "only directed at those in power." I.e., speaking truth to power. Maybe that's how the GOP will frame his anger issues -- that he's a guy who won't back down from attacking those who abuse their authority.

Which makes no sense considering the dressing down of staffers, and the wheelchair episode.

This is EXCELLENT news for John McCain!!!!!

But seriously, I like the fact that ALL the examples in the post have "R" after their names.

The tragedy is there is a key chunk of the electorate that is going to see this as attractive.

This all plays into the notion of Mr. Maverick as, well, maverick.

We are trapped into liberal 'groupthink' that expects our leaders to be reasonable, rational and analytical and a safe pair of hands.

Out there in marginal voter land, this translates as sneering at them (because they didn't go to Harvard) and as deceptive and devious (vs. 'plain speaking'). I've seen this a hundred times in the workplace: this distrust of intellect and intelligence and measuredness. It's not what people want in their leaders. You can spin a completely illogical story if you sell it with enough passion (Bush did, twice).

It's about the economy. If the Democrats cannot pin the economy on McCain, then they have lost.

Out here in the wilderness that is the outside world, spectator to American politics, to quote Han Solo on first seeing 'that large moon' (aka The Death Star):

'I've got a bad feeling about this'.

How many of you realize that most Republicans consider brutishness and anger to be "cool"? Keep in mind that hacks like Ingraham say approvingly of e.g. Sarah Palin "She's everything they hate" with that witchy grin on her face - see, being what your opponents "hate" is the big plus, not being agreeable, bipartisan, etc., as McCain is pretending to be (and David Brooks said today, McCain has to get Democrats and Independents in his cabinet etc. because so many qualified people have been burned out by the Bush misadmin - I guess McCain knows that, and can afford to brag about bipartisan hiring etc. Let's just hope most Americans don't think that belligerancy is cool.

This does say something about the mutual protection league of legislators in DC. McCain has battled with a lot of these senators on issues of earmarks, campaign reform and immigration. He'll cuss them and some like Thad Cochrain (sp?) say he is unfit for the presidency due to his purple rages yet they still support him in the end. McCain depends on a lot of people putting party and John McCain above country and the truth.

The press should ask him about this, over and over again -- preferably just inches away from his face on live TV.

Speaking of getting pissed-off, Steve, why is there a button saying "Remember personal info?" here when it hasn't worked in almost two years.

Look...you can keep pushing this meme all you want and I have absolutely no doubt it is true, but the plain fact is that at least so far in this campaign, McSame has managed to keep his temper in check, at least publicly...

and all of our bleating about how he is a hot head and makes rash decisions in anger and on impulse goes right over peoples heads.

Oh he is a POW, he served in the military, he is an expert on foreign policy, he is a leader.

None of that is true. Wes Clark very correctly noted that being a POW isn't a reason to become President and today, Wes Clark is in a coat closet somewhere while John McSame is standing on podiums reading off paragraph after paragraph of both platitudes and lies and hardly anyone is calling him on it.

Rick Davis is absolutely totally completely right....this campaign isn't about issues and McSame has made sure that is the case and will continue to do so from now to election day because if it were about issues and not a candidate's religion, how much he loves America and secret plans to dump 12,000 American flags into a trash bin, the guy who claims that he is going to reform and change what he stood by and watched being created by his GOP colleagues over the last 8 years, will get away with it.

Ooooooo.....scary. A 72-year-old getting in your face and screaming obscenities. What's he going to do, throw a Tasmanian wrinkle-lock on you and bear you to the floor?

My advice is not to pursue this line the way you're doing; sure, McCain is a hothead, but the Republicans LOVE hotheads, just like they love mavericks. The way you're going about it makes him sound tough. Make him sound dotty, like he can't keep track of all his marbles (how hard could THAT be?). Use "querulous" instead of "hotheaded", and make it sound funny when he loses it, instead of making it sound like the whole world trembles - music to the ears of Republicans who are happiest when America is kicking somebody's ass.

Dweb is right (twice, although I'm sure that was an accident) - is K-K-K-Karl Rove the only clever political manipulator in America who understands what sheep the voters are? Doesn't anyone like that work for the Democrats? You don't have to lie like the Republicans do; just paint actual events in their most damaging context. Make what the Republicans see as a strength look like a weakness. How many elections have you lost because you won't learn? Stop helping Grampy steal the election.

Sorry; I didn't read all the posts above first - Valuethinker supports the point even better, and I am completely in agreement.

A quick peek into the future:

June 20, 2011 - The president of Iraq today impolored US President McCain to begin an orderly pullout of US troops as had been discussed back in 2008 before McCain's election. When informed of the Iraqi statement, McCain reportedly replied to AP press, "That's chickenshit."

When asked if the Iraqis were indeed ready for a US troop pullout, McCain told the reporter politely, "Fuck you."

Am I the only person who is looking at a 5'7" pipsqueak? That photo of him hugging Bush says it all.

There's a reason why McCain won't release his psychological records for public review (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/05/22/mccain/), and I suspect the reason is that he's psychologically unhealthy.

There's a reason why McCain won't release his psychological records for public review (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/05/22/mccain/), and I suspect the reason is that he's psychologically unhealthy.

see he's a maverick (or mavrick) all of his almost fistfights came against republicans

Hey! Easy with the "pipsqueak" when you're talking about people who are in the vicinity of 5'7"!

orange

Yeah, but it's on McClatchy.

No one will read it, just like they didn't read McClatchy or Knight Ridder before the war.

Wake me up when it hits the Times or the Post.

Am I the only person who is looking at a 5'7" pipsqueak? That photo of him hugging Bush says it all.

That being said, isn't GWB the first man to defeat two candidates taller than he to win the presidency?

Apparently, short people do got [sic] a reason to live. Live & let die.

/70s rock

This thread just inspired me to watch Randy Newman singing "Political Science."

How young he was! And how applicable the song still is.

"Canada's too cold."

How lucky they are, or the flood of us to El Norte would make plenty of room her for those from down south who want to come up here.

And "They all hate us anyhow."

Boy has GW, the Greedy Old Plutocrats, and their Boy McCain made that truer than ever.

Sigh.

mhr

Those are all false analogies.

Yelling in private is one thing, losing it in public shows a lack of self-control in a politician.