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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:48 am Post subject: McCain showed some real class and true patriotism |
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Obama notes McCain's effort to temper GOP comments
PHILADELPHIA - Barack Obama acknowledged Saturday that John McCain has asked his supporters to temper their attacks on him. But the Democratic presidential nominee said the Republican's economic plans remain wrong for the country.
"I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other," Obama told supporters in Philadelphia. He said McCain "has served this country with honor, and he deserves our thanks for that."
However, Obama said, McCain "still doesn't get it" regarding the economy.
At a town-hall event Friday in Minnesota, McCain took the microphone from a woman who had called Obama an Arab. McCain said, "No, ma'am," and he called Obama "a decent, family man."
McCain drew boos at the same event when he told a supporter who expressed fear at the prospect of Obama's election that the Democrat is a "person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081011/ap_on_el_pr/obama
There is nothing wrong with a hard-fought campaign because that is how the game is played, but it has gotten out of hand these past few days with people shouting 'kill 'em' etc. I'm not the only one thinking things could get bloody before it was over.
McCain's intervention is wholly laudable and he should be applauded for his efforts to tone things down. That's real statesmanship and true leadership. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:02 am Post subject: |
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| McCain's intervention is wholly laudable and he should be applauded for his efforts to tone things down. That's real statesmanship and true leadership. |
The cynic in me suspects that if his attacks were actually boosting his standing in the polls, McCain would not be rushing forth to distance himself from the "terrorist" rhetoric.
I mean, let's be honest here. What sort of response could McCain possibly have been expecting from the cheap seats when he and Palin launched into their accusations of "palling around with terrorists who target America"? Does anyone really think McCain was shocked and appalled that such rhetoric gave rise to paranoia and xenophobia? |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:23 am Post subject: |
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| Does anyone really think McCain was shocked and appalled that such rhetoric gave rise to paranoia and xenophobia? |
I do.
Maybe it was lack of foresight or something else, but I don't think he expected the viciousness of the displays this week. For the first time this campaign he truly has earned the Country First slogan. He has shut off one line of attack for himself and has probably conceded the election in his own mind.
What he did took courage and character. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:39 am Post subject: |
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| Maybe it was lack of foresight or something else, but I don't think he expected the viciousness of the displays this week. |
So, Yata old boy. You would have me believe that McCain gave the thumbs up to calling Obama someone who "pals around with terrorists", but then was shocked shocked shocked when some of his followers took that to mean that Obama was a terrorist?
I guess you might call that a "lack of foresight". I would maybe call that "lack of foresight bordering on absolute stupidity". And that's giving McCain the benefit of the doubt. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I really don't think McCain expected things to get so extreme. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Location: I walk along the avenue
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:30 am Post subject: |
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From Andrew Sullivan...
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A correction to the quote I posted from Ana Marie Cox last night. One of McCain's supporters called Obama an "Arab", not a "terrorist." The quote was reported by Halperin as well. McCain did not actually correct the woman on the matter at hand more than saying "no" and then saying that Obama was a decent family man. Are Arabs not decent family men? I guess when you're relying on ignorance and fear of this variety, your standards of minimal tolerance have to be relaxed a little.
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In fairness, McCain probably didn't process exactly what the supporter said, and thought it was something along the lines of "arab terrorist". Then again, after his performance of the past few days, I don't know how much benefit of the doubt should be advanced his way.
http://tinyurl.com/2785oq
Last edited by On the other hand on Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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bangbayed

Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:51 am Post subject: |
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| McCain got what was coming to him and his tactics. It was a strategy borne out of desperation and it failed. I'm not so sure if it was an action out of the goodness of his character - he shouldn't have gone there in the first place and he (and I'm sure with the advice of the RNC, his fellow congressmen, and his campaign) realized it was a bad strategy. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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| On the other hand wrote: |
From Andrew Sullivan...
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A correction to the quote I posted from Ana Marie Cox last night. One of McCain's supporters called Obama an "Arab", not a "terrorist." The quote was reported by Halperin as well. McCain did not actually correct the woman on the matter at hand more than saying "no" and then saying that Obama was a decent family man. Are Arabs not decent family men? I guess when you're relying on ignorance and fear of this variety, your standards of minimal tolerance have to be relaxed a little.
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In fairness, McCain probably didn't process exactly what the supporter said, and thought it was something along the lines of "arab terrorist". Then again, after his performance of the past few days, I don't know how much benefit of the doubt should be advanced his way.
http://tinyurl.com/2785oq |
Sullivan is hysterical.
I've seen the video (woman's remark at 0:36, and later remarks by McCain at 1:35). Sullivan's portrayal of it is unobjective. You can see that the first "No" was disjointed from the later remark, "Obama is a decent family man." The "No" is a rejection of the woman's position, and the "Obama is a decent family man" is an affirmation of McCain's position. Watch the video for yourself. |
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Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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I never agreed with characterizing B. Obama as "a terrorist." (The "Arab" charge has always been simply false, a non-starter, and thus wholly inappropriate.) We can object to B. Obama's associations and worldviews, including Rev. J. Wright and the others, especially his wife, without calling him "a terrorist."
All of you who despise J. McCain, accusing him of creating right-wingers' reactions to B. Obama, and relish in the quandary he faces now have always failed to appreciate that J. McCain is no right-winger. Indeed, the right-wing cost him the nomination in 2000. And they may even desert him now.
I suspect that they may move into their bitter-opposition mode and repeat their treatment of B. Clinton for as long as B. Obama sits in office, perhaps more intensely, too. |
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TexasPete
Joined: 24 May 2006 Location: Koreatown
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Gopher wrote: |
I never agreed with characterizing B. Obama as "a terrorist." (The "Arab" charge has always been simply false, a non-starter, and thus wholly inappropriate.) We can object to B. Obama's associations and worldviews, including Rev. J. Wright and the others, especially his wife, without calling him "a terrorist."
All of you who despise J. McCain, accusing him of creating right-wingers' reactions to B. Obama, and relish in the quandary he faces now have always failed to appreciate that J. McCain is no right-winger. Indeed, the right-wing cost him the nomination in 2000. And they may even desert him now.
I suspect that they may move into their bitter-opposition mode and repeat their treatment of B. Clinton for as long as B. Obama sits in office, perhaps more intensely, too. |
In other words, demonize him? |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| and then saying that Obama was a decent family man. Are Arabs not decent family men? |
That's just a cheap shot, a willful misinterpretation of what McCain said. |
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Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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I would not say "they will demonize him," TexasPete. Too general. I would rather say "they will treat him just as unrelentingly as Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, and organizations such as Moveon.org have treated W. Bush these last eight years, just in their own way." Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Newt Gingrich on point.
And if they succeed in retaking Congress, say, in 2010, expect to see special prosecutors. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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| he shouldn't have gone there in the first place and he (and I'm sure with the advice of the RNC, his fellow congressmen, and his campaign) realized it was a bad strategy. |
I agree he should never have gone there in the first place. Many Republicans have been making these kinds of vicious attacks for a long time--remember Vince Foster anyone?--and have gotten away with it. Finally, the consequences of that kind of talk became apparant and McCain stepped forward to squelch it.
He has spoken up for bipartisanship for a long time and it was disappointing that he allowed his campaign to go so dirty last week. I choose to believe that it disgusted him and he cut it short. He has not been well-liked in his own party and I doubt this action will help him with those parts of his party. The extremist Republicans are not going to be any less extreme come January. They are not extreme because of anything Democrats do or say; they are extreme because that is their political view. |
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Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| They are not extreme because of anything Democrats do or say; they are extreme because that is their political view. |
And the converse, Ya-ta Boy. And the converse as well. |
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Joo Rip Gwa Rhhee

Joined: 25 May 2003
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
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| he shouldn't have gone there in the first place and he (and I'm sure with the advice of the RNC, his fellow congressmen, and his campaign) realized it was a bad strategy. |
I agree he should never have gone there in the first place. Many Republicans have been making these kinds of vicious attacks for a long time--remember Vince Foster anyone?--and have gotten away with it. Finally, the consequences of that kind of talk became apparant and McCain stepped forward to squelch it.
He has spoken up for bipartisanship for a long time and it was disappointing that he allowed his campaign to go so dirty last week. I choose to believe that it disgusted him and he cut it short. He has not been well-liked in his own party and I doubt this action will help him with those parts of his party. The extremist Republicans are not going to be any less extreme come January. They are not extreme because of anything Democrats do or say; they are extreme because that is their political view. |
I just want to mention that a lot of those who were involved in saying that Bush was behind 9-11 were also those behind the Vince foster conspriacy theories. |
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