by Mark Silva
Painful moments in political television:
Sen. John McCain, nearly 26 years in Congress, 22 in the Navy, and today - on the 41st anniversary of the day, Oct. 26, 1967, that his bomber was shot down over Hanoi, the start of a five-and-a-half year imprisonment and torture - attempting to recite the names of the five former Republican secretaries of state who have endorsed his candidacy for the presidency.
It's a measure of the fatigue that befalls someone campaigning for the highest office in the land for the better part of two years that the name of George Shultz - whom McCain later acknowledged as one of the "greatest'' secretaries of state of all time after prompting for the fifth name - that the simplest rebuttal to the endorsement that Republican former secretary Colin Powell has given Democratic nominee Barack Obama should be so difficult to recite.
McCain, who once touted that he has voted with President Bush "90 percent of the time,'' attempting today on NBC's Meet the Press to explain where he parts ways with the unpopular president. "I am not George Bush,'' the senior senator from Arizona said, successfully reciting many ways in which they have disagreed but ultimately vowing his allegiance to and "respect'' for the party's president.
It's a sign that one of the central attacks of the Obama campaign - portraying McCain as "more of the same'' - may have taken a toll on the GOP's self-styled "maverick.''
McCain, insisting that he does not have to "defend'' running mate Sarah Palin -- "I praise her,'' he told NBC News' Tom Brokaw. "She needs no defense.'' And then struggling with a defense for someone 'thrust into this' campaign.
Then, shown polling which suggests that most Americans now think Palin is unqualified to serve as president should that become necessary, McCain asked: "Not qualified because.... Because....'' And Brokaw obligingly filled in the blank, speaking of Palin's many national media interviews: Because people "have come to the conclusion, based on everything we've seen, that she is not qualified to be president.''
McCain downplayed the $150,000 that the Republican National Committee has spent to dress Palin, saying one third of it has been returned and the rest will go to charity As McCain reeled off Palin's credentials, he painfully included this: "Her husband... works the third shift on the oil facilities on the North Slope..... Look, she leads a frugal life... she and her family were not wealthy... she and her family were thrust into this...''
"It sounds like I'm, quote, defending her, but the fact is, she is a dynamic person, with executive experience,'' McCain said. "She is exactly what Washington needs.... I could not be more proud of her.... She is a role model to millions and millions and millions of Americans.''
Comments
Thank heavens there are only nine more days of this drivel.
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | October 26, 2008 12:02 PM
McCain isn't Bush?????
My word. I'm just so surprised. I never would have known that.
Next thing he will be telling us that Arizona is next to New Mexico.
Posted by: libhomo | October 26, 2008 12:15 PM
I believe you have the date wrong......he was shot down in 1967. 1973 would have been the date he would have been released. I checked into it because it would be hard to imagine someone being held through 1978.....please check your dates.
Posted by: Kurt Podlogar | October 26, 2008 12:20 PM
When your first paragraph displays both a shocking ignorance of history and an inability to do second-grade math (2008 - 41 = 1973? Not quite, Einstein), why should readers even bother to consider any of your other statements?
Perhaps you should cut back on all that Kool-Aid you've been drinking; next thing you know, you'll think Obama is right when he says there are 59 states in America. (Psst: the correct answer is 50.)
Posted by: Jennifer | October 26, 2008 12:20 PM
Let's face it folks, McCain is out of touch, only panders to the right to get votes, has reversed himself on practically all topics, really didn't want Sarah Palin and for some unknown reason wanted Joe Lieberman and now sees that he will fail cannot do much except try to save face. Not going to happen, he will be blamed for this failure and should be, he ran a stupid campaign and relied on negative ads and lies.
Posted by: Dave Olson | October 26, 2008 12:23 PM
It's like watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm...funny, but still makes you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
PS - The year McCain was shot down is incorrect here -- it should be 1967, not 1973.
Posted by: KJ | October 26, 2008 12:29 PM
So McCain is not George Bush. He is 90% George Bush. Does that make McCain 10% better or 10% worse, than the worst President in the history of the United States?
Posted by: Larry Linn | October 26, 2008 12:31 PM
Can rice get rid of white?
Posted by: thegwoe | October 26, 2008 12:38 PM
For those voters who have thier heads buried in the sand and are ignoring the facts; you had best do your homework, pay strict attention to the facts. After you have done that, you still do not want to choose McCain and Palin; you had better buckle up for one hell of a ride.
Posted by: Roy W Stevens | October 26, 2008 12:38 PM
To paraphrase Mencken;
'If he says he's not like Bush, he's like Bush.'
Kinda like Nixon saying 'I'm not a crook'.
Posted by: C.Hussein.Morris | October 26, 2008 1:53 PM
To paraphrase Mencken;
'If he says he's not like Bush, he's like Bush.'
Kinda like Nixon saying 'I'm not a crook'.
Posted by: C.Hussein.Morris | October 26, 2008 1:55 PM
You Bush & McCain haters make to sick to my stomach. You really don't get it. Nothing in Washington is going to change unless both parties get together and become the United States of America.No one man has total control over what goes on in Washington. And if you are silly enough to think that Obama is the answer for all the worlds problems then you shouldn't be voting at all.
Posted by: paul | October 26, 2008 2:39 PM
Could have fooled me, John.
Posted by: Scholar in Training | October 26, 2008 3:17 PM
Jennifer,
When Obama mispoke, he said there were 57 states, not 59. By your stated logic, we should all now not bother to consider any other of your statements. Are you going to stop posting?
Posted by: martin | October 26, 2008 4:24 PM
Oh, YES YOU ARE (if not worse).
Posted by: Vgirl1 | October 26, 2008 11:10 PM
There are 50 states so, whether he saide 57 or 59 doesn't matter since both are incorrect. If he's going to be President that might be important to know. Also voting with the President 90% of the time is better Than voting with the Democratic Party 100% of the time.
Posted by: Cliff | October 27, 2008 12:49 AM
Palin is a GOP role model? She was investigated and found to have violated state ethics laws. She appointed unqualified cronies and campaign contributors to state posts. She was incapable of answering simple questions in her only press interviews. And her campaign message consists of attacking her opponent for working with a "radical" University of Chicago professor on a charitable foundation for improving schools. Yeah, she's a great role model for the GOP. No wonder they're losing big.
Posted by: Tom O | October 27, 2008 12:53 AM