Now that Arizona Sen. John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee for president, his personality is likely to come into sharper focus. And it’s worthwhile for the public to ponder a question that politicians have long asked themselves: Does McCain have the temperament to be president?
I wondered about his personality years ago while covering a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in Washington where he delivered a tongue-lashing to a Democratic congressman who had criticized tribal casino gambling.
Much of the current buzz about McCain is coming from Republicans. Some undoubtedly are motivated by a sense that McCain isn’t conservative enough. But whatever the motive, the stories have taken on a life of their own. On Monday the New York Times, deep in one of its campaign stories, made a passing reference to the “temperament†issue.
Others are far more blunt.
The conservative website, Wethepeopleforpresident.com, ran a scathing piece last week about “Mack the Knife†that quotes four current or former GOP senators on unsettling encounters with McCain over the years that raised the possibility he was unfit to be president. One of them, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico said, “I wouldn’t want this guy anywhere near a trigger.â€
It’s enough to make one wonder if McCain picked the affable Gov. Tim Pawlenty to join him on the campaign trail to improve his image, not as a tryout for a potential vice presidential slot.
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I have already predicted that the msm will put mccain up on a pedestal to get him nominated and the day after he gets it, they will begin the vilification. haven’t you people already realized the msm have annointed obama as their man. as soon as the nomination is cemented, mccain will suddenly become too old, too tempermental, senile, pow traumaed, etc.
I have read about the Hill’s temper too.
She berates and belittles her servants and secret service protection. But not much of that gets in the press. Plus look at how the moniker “conservative†is used continuously whenever a Repub. Candidate is mentioned. DO you hear about Obama being the most liberal Senator in Congress every time his name is mentioned? Or how about the Liberal Hillary….
If McCain picks Pawlenty as a veep, it won’t be because of his alleged phlegmatic temperament; it will be to appease the Club of Growth types who are more rigid and unforgiving than even Focus on the Family.
Gov Tim couldn’t even deliver MN for Senator Hothead last night—for which he was probably excoriated by the good senator last night.
Problems with the all important evangelicals (not to mention movement conservatives) will determine the McCain VP slot, so Gov Tim had better find himself another position. He’s not what they’ll be looking for.
It will be interesting to see if the MSM decides to thoroughly cover the McRage temper problem, which is well known. But he’s a darling of the MSM, so I would doubt it, even though it’s a big (and alarming) story.
Most likely this story will be studiously ignored, it’s not the job of the MSM to actually inform the public, after all. Its job is to indoctrinate it with corporate/conservative viewpoints.
If the best the msm can do to discredit McCain is cite his alleged tempter, I would note that most people who get things done are also known for their temper. Bobby Knight, the basketball coach with more wins than any other, and the legendary football coach Vince Lombardy are notorious for their tempers. President Andrew Jackson had a temper and would rather shoot you than argue with you. American generals from George Washington to Norman Schwarzkopf are well known for their tempers. If temper comes with greatness, I will take it.
krogy- the point is that they are going to tear him apart at the first opportunity. bob dole is still spirited enough today to be president but they portrayed the hero as a dithering, senile, old, impotent man, just to get clinton in.
somehow it will be printed he is post traumatic, crazy, senile, anything, as soon as it fits their agenda.
Sure, but McCain is not great. He’s a not-too-intelligent man who has repudiated any impulses to moderation he may have head just to get his party’s nomination this year. He’s a flip-flopping, non-straight-talking opportunist and egomaniac.
Also, I don’t believe for a second that the Pentagon gives the actual nuclear launch codes to any president. Why would they? It’s too risky. They hand some codes over to whoever is in the White House, but they’re fake. I’m certain of it.
Those cola ads of a decade ago that showed Bob Dole sitting in the dark, apparently masturb@ting to a Britney Spears video, were possibly the nadir of the Republican Party, and most certainly one of the creepiest things ever shown on commercial television.
OT, please STFU with the msm crap okay? They aren’t the source of evil in the world, and in case you didn’t notice, Fox News is also a part of the msm these days…Jeez…
McCain’s going to self-desctruct this weekend as CPAC in DC. He’s going to have a video of Ronald Reagan introduce him — some kind of high tech trick. Nice huh? Yeah, they’ll love that.
HELLO?!!!, Pawlenty’s not going to be his running mate, it’s going to be Huckabee. You guys might realize that if you paid attention to anything. Didn’t you notice that Huckabee WON West Virginia? How do you supposed THAT happened?
My God - there are like 3 intelligent people here, and you guys are very good at ignoring what they say.
You know, there IS actually real news in the msm — it’s not all propeganda. Maybe you guys should try getting your news from someone other than Rush Limbaugh.
Sgtpimplepopper, why don’t you STFU? You have never been a repub, you are a big effin fraud, and I do not even believe your sick child bs.
You are a hack and not even a good one. You are without a doubt a retread of one of the other dem frauds that used to post here.
Listen up everyone, spooge is telling us to listen to him and the other two intelligent people- you must pay attention to the smart liberal minds here- they know all. Yeah, sarge, michael and parthian are probably the three smartest people here. good god!
MB: “They hand some codes over to whoever is in the White House, but they’re fake. I’m certain of it.”
I love it…..this Blaine clown is ‘certain’ of what transpires between the pentagon and the white house. Good stuff. I happen to agree though. I’m guessing that the Prez doesn’t have any launch codes either. Mostly because I don’t believe there are any- unlike Blaine, i don’t believe everything I see in the movies; but also in part because if there has been a Prez in the last few decades with an opportunity and recklessness to use them, it was Kennedy.
SGT: “HELLO?!!!, Pawlenty’s not going to be his running mate, it’s going to be Huckabee.”
Not sure if he will be or not, but Huckabee is a far more likely VP mate than Pawlenty, in my opinion. Although I am not ruling out Romney either. Contrary to popular media spin, Romney is as much of a mixed-opinion moderate as McCain. The difference is A) Romney is the stereotypical ’social liberal-fiscal conservative’ (based on his record, not his recent media claims/posturing) and B)that posturing and media re-interpretatiuon of his record creates a false perception of balance on that perspective ticket. BS or not, I like it. Got my vote.
Also, I don’t believe for a second that the Pentagon gives the actual nuclear launch codes to any president. Why would they? It’s too risky. They hand some codes over to whoever is in the White House, but they’re fake. I’m certain of it.
—
Wanna bet???
Dont challenge me on the U.S. Nuclear command and control system.
It will be very interesting to watch whether the corporate MSM informs the public of Senator Hothead’s uncontrollable temper, which is a real issue that a real press would cover.
But McCain is a darling of the MSM reporters and he is all that the corporate press have to push forward in this election to hold the WH, so I’m guessing that this issue of McCain’s rage-aholism will be studiously ignored.
He’s a broken down, debilitated old man with rage issues, not physically fit to be president. He’ll have to travel with a mobile ER operation just like Cheney does.
And I agree with Michael B, McCain is quite obviously not very intelligent. So he’s yet another unqualified candidate that the conservative Repub party is irresponsibly foisting on the country, just as they pushed forward the moron Bush, knowing that the puppetmaster Cheney would really be running the show.
Must be becasue he’s willing to talk to liberals, eh?
These sudden anti-McCain rants have the earmarks of someone experiencing doubt about thier chances in November.
Cheer up, If Mccain wins, you’ll still have someone to unleash your irrational useless negative adjective filled rants against. If Hill or Bama won, you’d be out of business.
One of the local liberal supporters here just stopped by this morning expressing support for McCain.. I know he voted for Kerry last time. Go Figure…
Also, you seem to think that I’m sure the Dems will win the WH in 08, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
I think it’s likely the Dems will lose based on the overwhelming power of the corporate-controlled, conservative TV “news” and press, and decades of conservative brainwashing and framing the (mostly uninformed) people have undergone. Ir cerrainly wouldn’t be a surprise.
The BushAmerican electorate failed spectacularly in ‘04—no president in history was less deserving of a second term than Bush. It was a no-brainer. Yet a majority of them insanely rejected a perfectly acceptable candidate for a lawbreaking, warmongering monster.
Once a democracy fails so thoroughly, there’s no reason whatever to have the slightest faith in it again, and I don’t. A majority of them can’t tell up from down, although MN voters covered themselves in glory, rejecting the horrendous Bush both times he ran. They can’t ever take that away from us!
They shouldhave run Hillary or Edwards in 04. It was a little early for Obama then.
Although not my choice, any one of the three outclass Kerry by miles.
You “acceptable candidate” was incapable of defeating what is arguably the least popular sitting president. It wasnt democracy that failed, it was the democratic party machine.
Dan Rather didnt help you out much either, You know, that corporate-controlled, conservative TV “news†anchor..
Not true. The carpet bombing is done by high-altitude bombers; the B-52s were popular in Vietnam. McCain was a fighter pilot, whose ordinance was likely napalm.
michael blaine
“possibly the nadir of the Republican Party”
Probably not true. If that moment were the nadir, they would be in the recovery phase from that point in time. I would argue that they are now approaching the nadir, which will be hit at some point following this November’s elections.
“These sudden anti-McCain rants have the earmarks of someone experiencing doubt about thier chances in November.”
As far as the rants from the Limbaugh/Colter set go, I’m thinking they’ve reached the conclusion that another Clinton presidency will best boost their careers. Having a rational Republican - McCain - in the White House won’t work well with their styles. They need someone they can idolize or someone they can demonize in order to fire up their target audience.
bsimon: “Having a rational Republican - McCain - in the White House won’t work well with their styles. They need someone they can idolize or someone they can demonize in order to fire up their target audience.”
DING! DING! DING! We have a winner! More true words have not been written on this site in a very long time. As usual, bsimon easily wins the insight award…….which has come to be as common as parthian winning the inflammatory jackass award.
I’m surprised it took him so long to figure out that he has zero chance of winning the GOP nomination, much less the general. Perhaps if he had run as he is, rather than reinventing himself for this race, he might have done better.
Maybe he was looking at his economic plan and suddenly realized he was sinking a 100 mil of his own money into a campaign to get a job that only pays 2 mil over 4 years…
Romney is letting it all hang out in a very candid, honest display of his true feeling about issues surrounding the deterioration of the family and the country. Pretty powerful stuff, if anyone has the opportunity to tune in quick.
After this display, I think it is safe to retract my post a while back suggesting that he might be on the ticket this fall. Brutal honesty never got anyone any votes.
Parth says, “overwhelming power of the corporate-controlled, conservative TV “news†and press,”
This is good. I cannot wait until the Repub’s win and hopefully send out their jack-booted thugs to root out the dens of radicals and revolutionaries and just make them mysteriously disappear.
Hey, you’re making quite a lot of “jokes” about wishing the nation were a much more totalitarian, authoritarian regime, scarface. You’re as funny as “I’d like to be a dictator, ha-ha” Bush, your absolute leader.
And you folks see yourselves as the “true Americans”, pretty funny.
Oh my God, Mitt the Phoney gassing on about “the deterioration of the family”—that’ll be rich. Well, at least there was a deterioration the Romney family funds, maybe his war-avoiding chickenhawk sons will have to earn a paycheck!
Hopefuly he’s bitter that his unbelievably phoniness wouldn’t sell even in Repub crowds. What a lot of money down the drain, he better pick up some high yielding commercial real estate bonds to recoup his family’s diminished fortune. Go Mitt!
He’s setting himself up as a 3rd party challenge from the right. People who are worth $300 million didn’t get that way from quitting.
The CPAC people are telling their conference attendees NOT to boo McCain when he speaks this weekend. Republicans aren’t the kind of people to hold their nose when voting for a candidate. Now imagine Mittster comes along a few days before the Republican convention and announces his 3rd party…he steals the thunder of the nomination, and gets to portray himself as the dark horse washington outsider champion of the people — he’s got tons of money, so he could hammer the airwaves with a HUGE media buy.
Wow — this is a great time to be a political junkie!
I suspect parth’s absolute leader is Karl Marx, or maybe Atlee.
Why are folks so hysterical about McCain being able to unify the country and make progress/ Do they actually prefer the polarization of the last 12 years or so?
Are dems worried that they’ll lose so bad this time they wont be able to make more rediculous claims of cheating (Claims which immediately disappear every time someone mentions actually using ID’s at the polls).
The amazing part of this discussion is they aren’t confident enough to say it doesnt matter who the GOP nominee is, Obama or Hill will win anyway…
bsimon says “Not true. The carpet bombing is done by high-altitude bombers; the B-52s were popular in Vietnam. McCain was a fighter pilot, whose ordinance was likely napalm.”
Many of his missions were in the Hanoi area and those were explosive bombs not napalm. In fact he almost lost his life and an aircraft carrier almost sunk and 134 men died when a missle from another plane on the ship fired and hit his plane. His plane dropped 2 1000 lb bombs and later explosed.
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