10/13/2008
McCain Vows to 'Whip' Obama's 'You Know What' in Next Debate
Speaking to campaign volunteers at his Arlington, Virginia headquarters, John McCain acknowledged that he has been hurt by the economy and is a couple points down in the polls, but it was the language he used to describe the upcoming debate that seemed to grab headlines.
Said McCain: "We're going to spend a lot of time and after I whip his you-know-what in this debate, we're going to be going out 24/7."
The remark is made more distinct by events of the last two weeks, in which the McCain-Palin campaign has accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists" and refused to repudiate racist and hateful remarks by its own supporters.
Frank Rich wrote in Sunday's NYT: "Obama can hardly be held accountable for Ayers’s behavior 40 years ago, but at least McCain and Palin can try to take some responsibility for the behavior of their own supporters in 2008. What’s troubling here is not only the candidates’ loose inflammatory talk but also their refusal to step in promptly and strongly when someone responds to it with bloodthirsty threats in a crowded arena."
The NYT also published over the weekend an article on Andy Martin, the man who is behind the falsehood that has fueled this ugly atmosphere.
At a McCain event on Friday, he tried to tamp down the climate at recent rallies, telling a woman (photo, top) who called Obama an Arab: "No, ma'am, he's a decent family man citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about."
However, that statement came after weeks of campaigning in which McCain and Palin had been insinuating just the opposite. And it appears that McCain's still talking the talk. Speaking with WSLS in Roanoke over the weekend, McCain refused to repudiate remarks by the chair of the Republican party in Virginia to Time magazine that "Both Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden have friends that have bombed the Pentagon."
When asked if the comments were appropriate, McCain answered: "I have to look at the context of his remarks. I have always repudiated any comments that have been made that were inappropriate about Senator Obama. The fact is that William Ayers was a terrorist and bomber and unrepentant. I don't care about that. But, Sen. Obama ought be the candid and truthful about his relationship with Mr. Ayers in whose living room Sen. Obama launched his campaign and Sen. Obama said he was just a guy in the neighborhood."
Obama last week discussed the Ayers falsehoods and challenged McCain to say them to his face.
AFTER THE JUMP, the Roanoke clip mentioned above, and more ugly racism at a Palin rally in Johnstown, PA...
Previously
McCain Campaign's Race-Baiting Creating Dangerous Atmosphere [tr]
Posted 8:48 AM EST by Andy Towle in Barack Obama, Election 2008, John McCain, News, Virginia | Permalink
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Wow! That clip with the monkey really shows the ugliness in all of this. I almost can't believe it. :(
Posted by: Aman Chaudhary | Oct 13, 2008 9:24:02 AM
Um, so according to McCain if you're an Arab then you can't be a "decent family man citizen"?
Posted by: Sasha | Oct 13, 2008 9:29:39 AM
You gotta question the judgment of someone who after weeks of being accused of racism then makes a remark about a black man..."I'm gonna whip his you know what".
Posted by: patrick | Oct 13, 2008 9:59:52 AM
The Republican party is completely indistinguishable from the Ku Klux Klan.
http://washingtonscandal.blogspot.com/2008/10/obama-paired-with-noosewhere-is-fbi-and.html
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Oct 13, 2008 10:12:19 AM
Every time I think my heart has finally found a calming peace, and I feel for a moment less obliged to constantly dedicate my worrying mind and volunteering hands to fight the massive injustices in our world, and I feel like maybe all Americans and even the entire world may actually know real justice and peace in my lifetime, the Republicans go and make me completely hate them again.
We are at war on many fronts, and we must win.
Posted by: JeffRob | Oct 13, 2008 10:51:42 AM
Nurse cindy and nurse sarah palin need to change mcshame's depends
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Oct 13, 2008 10:53:40 AM
How's he going to do it 24/7, he needs a walker now just to get around the stage, does viagra keep you awake and coherent?
The hatred of the GOP is disgusting, between the racial slurs that he and that good Evangelical "Christian" Palin endorse and encourage at every rally. The gay bashing where marriage is on the ballot as a hate issue, its amazing, but, not surprising that the GOP is still allowed to be considered a legitimate party with hate as the center pice of their family values.
Posted by: Oliver | Oct 13, 2008 11:25:42 AM
I'll give McCain at least some credit for pulling back and trying to retain a shred of decency. I actually think even he's been scared himself at the level of ignorance and hatred out there. This said, if something bad happens, and I sincerely hope it does not, he and Palin will be partly responsible. They've been playing with fire and encouraging this to try to fire-up their support.
The guy who said he was scared summed it up best. These people are weak-minded, narrow-minded, mediocre, and scared.
Posted by: Gregus | Oct 13, 2008 12:35:53 PM
Not everyone who questions Obama's judgement is "weak-minded, narrow-minded, mediocre and scared". And we are also not all racist(I proudly worked under Ken Chenault at Amex).
But for everyone on Towleroad to whitewash (pardon the pun)his relationship with Ayers and Rezko by swallowing the party talking points- Yes Obama was a child when Ayers was bombing, but certainly, with his vaunted judgement, he would have seen as an adult that the man in whose living room he launched his political career had unrepentantly planned terrorist acts. My question is why? My question is what kind of man, does indeed, 'pal around' with the likes of Ayers and Rezko? These are not racist questions, but questions of judgement.
Posted by: dc8stretch | Oct 13, 2008 1:03:37 PM
i think mccain is stupid
Posted by: Lanae | Oct 13, 2008 1:11:13 PM
News flash: politicians are not nice people and they do not hang out with nice people. They think the rest of us are basically chumps. Got it?
Posted by: anon | Oct 13, 2008 1:15:29 PM
Because DC8STRETCH,
It's a very long stretch to say he "pal[led] around with terrorists.
And maybe I'm mistaken, but is guilt by (any) association now the law of the land?
Posted by: Jason (A) | Oct 13, 2008 1:19:57 PM
Right DC...by others' reasoning on this site, kids born in 1994 could "pal around" with BinLaden in several years. There is no race bating in this. Ayers is STILL non-repentant for his actions and as recently as 2001/2002 has said that he wishes he would have caused more death and destruction. Obama was in his 40s at that point. And yes, I'm sure McCain has his questionable dealings as well so I don't subscribe to the double standard. Its just not fair when the Democrats want to censor people by yelling "You're a racist." Also, how is the McCain camp supposed to "censor" their audience. The Obama camp is not censoring anything that is said on this site or other liberal-leaning sites when some of this stuff is just as hurtful and untrue as anything said about Obama.
And Patrick, how is "whipping someones you-know-what" racist? Does that mean that all sports teams are racist now?
Those who look for hate will find it in anything...those who look for love will show love first.
Posted by: BC | Oct 13, 2008 1:22:29 PM
Ayers was a radical anti-war activist in the 60s & 70s. He was hardly a terrorist along the lines of Bin Laden. Many people consider opposition to the Vietnam war patriotic, whereas it would be hard to find the bombings by al Qaeda patriotic in the US.
In 1997, around the time he was "palling around with" Obama, Chicago awarded Ayers its Citizen of the Year award. Some terrorist!
Connecting Obama with terrorists is a racist tactic, whether you think it is or not, DC8 and BC. It's like saying, "I'm not a homophobe, but..." -- you only have to defend yourself if you are in fact a homophobe. Terrorist today means Islamic radical Arab -- non-white, not like us, Muslim. Therefore Barack Hussein Obama is described with his middle name and linked with terrorists and "not like us" (Palin) these tactics are all about racism.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Oct 13, 2008 1:49:56 PM
This is really McCain's last run for the Oval Office. He has very little to lose and quite a bit to gain at this point. If you think this has been nasty...just wait....and there is probably...that October surprise can still be there...for either side.
Posted by: Las Vegas | Oct 13, 2008 1:53:52 PM
KevinVT...let me first tell you that I appreciate the respectful disagreement. I know my BinLaden scenario is a stretch but I was making a point. Ayers is a terrorist - a domestic terrorist. Just like McVeigh. He attempted to put fear into masses of people to prove his point. It is not patriotic. Protests and voicing your opinion is patriotic - bombings, murder and "wishing" more had been killed is not patriotic -it is terrorism. Terrorist does not necessairly mean Islamic. It is racist to say that in and of itself. All Muslims are NOT terrorists, in fact, most of them are not. Some people, who are quite frankly ignorant (meaning don't know any better) still believe that because of his name (which he changed himself) he is a Muslim. The people saying this should not be given the air time. The media is picking and choosing what they show on the news to show that McCain supporters are racist and Obama supporters are wonderful and inclusive and ask intelligent questions. I mean really, look at some of the comments all over this site and many are just as hateful as anything some random McCain supporter could say, but there is no press given to this. The people who attack Palin just because of her views and beliefs? There has been some horrific name calling on here just because she disagrees with "our" sexuality.
It is becoming clear that there is no room for dissent in the Democratic party. If someone does not conform to the democratic, liberal view point, they are called racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. So people who have more "right leaning" views ALWAYS have to justify why they are not these things. During the primaries, if you weren't for Hillary, you were called a sexist. If you weren't for Obama you were called a racist. Its just not fair. If I don't vote for Obama, it is not because he is black...it will be because my views differ from his and that needs to be OK. Just like I am not going to vote for a gay candidate just because he is gay. Thats not democracy. We need respectful debates on issues - not personal attacks and finger pointing.
Posted by: BC | Oct 13, 2008 2:42:26 PM
RE: KEVINVT
Obviously, Chicago's judgement is as bad as Obamas, but make no mistake, Ayers is a terrorist:
Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days.
Just as you can judge Ayers terrorist acts as just protests to the Vietnam War, so can many radical Islamists judge Bin Ladens terrorist acts just protest to western ideals.
Regardless, bombing is a terrorist act no matter how just it may seem to a believer.
Now, who wants some coffee?
Posted by: dc8stretch | Oct 13, 2008 3:13:17 PM
@dc8stretch:
so if we're going on guilt by association, would that mean that walter & lenore annenburg, who appointed william ayers to the board of their foundation and who are (were in water's case) staunch republicans, are suspect in all of this as well?
Posted by: alguien | Oct 13, 2008 3:26:29 PM
In 1968 we lost 1,400 US troops every month in Vietnam. In 1969, almost 1,000 every month.
Over 60,000 dead and 150,000 wounded after it was all done.
And 2.2 million American men were risking their lives there against their will.
Violent protest actions that endanger the lives of innocents are never, ever justified. But if we were losing 1400 troops every month in Iraq, you're damn right I'd throw a brick through a window.
Posted by: JeffRob | Oct 13, 2008 3:33:59 PM
From what I've read, Ayers and Co. always notified people where bombs were going off and why. No one was injured or killed.
Compare that to Bin Laden or to what went on in Vietnam.
Obviously I know that Muslims per se are not terrorists, but in the minds of many people who support McCain, the two are unfortunately close. It's all about bait and switch and innuendo.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Oct 13, 2008 5:56:34 PM
Well you know that McCrazyCain is a DRUG ADDICT, right?
I mean he has been "paling around" with Cindy McDruggie for the last, I don't know, many years.
Cindy is a CONVICTED DRUGGIE who not only was addicted to drugs but STOLE them from the charity, yup charity organization, she worked at.
What does it say about McCrazyCain's judgement that he is more than "paling around" with DRUG ADDICTS like Cindy?
Posted by: FunMe | Oct 13, 2008 7:10:39 PM
The Ayers story is, at this point, a non-story, however much Sean Hannity tries to keep it alive. The heavy-handed negative stuff is sending Independents Obama's way, as McCain's handlers are now realizing. As for Ayers, nearly anyone who has had anything to do with education in Chicago, Republican or Democrat, has "palled around" with him. Whatever he was in the past (he was never McVeigh, as the difference in their punishments attests), he is not a terrorist now, or even close to being one. And while criticizing Obama for his minor association with Ayers is legitimate (if silly, given that most voters are concerned about economic collapse and M/P are hardly innocent by association), Palin's accusations last week, FOX's ongoing suggestion that Obama is a shady mystery, cross the line into race-baiting, and the calls for violence at McCain/Palin rallies are beyond racism. Of course not everyone who doesn't support Obama is racist, but it is real, as is the hatred fired up by the top of the ticket, until McCain belatedly realized it is wrong. Any blog smears against Palin are not coming from Obama and Biden, a big difference. Finally, disagreeing with gay Republicans (or even unfairly calling them racists) is not censorship, and it doesn't prevent you from voting for whomever you want.
Posted by: Ernie | Oct 13, 2008 7:51:09 PM
Again, someone please explain to me how a person in a radical group who bombs government buildings repeatedly and then takes credit for it is not a terrorist? And a cop was killed...do some research. How is it a non-issue? It doesn't make sense to me. He is at the very least "friendly" with Ayers. Doesn't that say something. AGAIN, I agree, McCain I'm sure, has some shady friends as well but lets look at the big picture here. Obama has supported Ayers' educational goals for children in Chicago. It really makes no sense. Just say, "OK, maybe Obama shouldn't be friends with him" and then let it go. Quit pretending that anything and everything Obama does is 100% right.
Posted by: BC | Oct 13, 2008 9:47:31 PM