I never thought I would detest John McCain

Although, unlike much of the media, I’ve never been smitten by the McCain love bug, I’ve always tended to view him as one of the more tolerable Republican senators (and you’re right, that isn’t saying much). I’ll even confess to having admired the man at one time — although admiration never extended to political support.

Certainly, I never bought into the media myth of McCain as a maverick: no, the GOP could always count on John when the chips were down. And I’ve also always recognized that — notwithstanding his occasional bipartisan twitches — he has always been staunchly right wing at heart.

Then there’s that other thing. Let’s face it: McCain’s always been just a little scary (and sometimes not so little) — a troubling combination of arrogance and a hair-trigger temper. As I’ve “joked” here before, I’ve often been struck with the uneasy sense that if elected president he may wake up in the middle of the night sometime and decide to nuke Iceland, just because he’s pissed off at glaciers. 

Still, as compared to, say, Mitch McConnell, there’s always been something at least occasionally praiseworthy about McCain. This has been true, if in nothing else, in his opposition to the use of torture (which, sadly, is one of the virtues he later threw away in furtherance of his quest for the White House).

So while there was never the slightest possibility I would support him for president, I would also have assumed there was little risk I would ever reach the point of detesting John McCain — you know, in the way I detest Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.

But I was wrong.

The truth is I can’t stand to listen to the man anymore: even the video clips of his gaffes are no fun. Whatever their humorous payoff, it just isn’t worth the price of having to listen to his voice. The man has nothing constructive left to say. Whatever fresh ideas he may once have entertained died long ago, leaving him with nothing but worn-out right wing talking points, insincere (and ultimately nonsensical) populist rhetoric and, of course, nasty and unfounded attack ads.

There you have it: a tired old campaign, being waged by a tired old political party, on behalf of a tired old standard-bearer.

Take a minute to listen to the clip from McCain’s recent interview by the Des Moines Register. What you’ll find is a grumpy old man, chafing at the insolence of anyone daring to question his undeniably scummy campaign tactics. McCain in this interview makes me think of a criminal who is outraged — just outraged — that anyone would question his honor: this notwithstanding the fact the cops caught him as he was leaving the store with the gun, the mask and the bag of loot from the robbery still on him.

Seriously, can there be anything more annoying then hypocritical self-righteous rage?

I’m not proud to say it, but the truth is that anymore I simply detest John McCain. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

3 Responses to “I never thought I would detest John McCain”

  1. juliinjax Says:

    He’s on the losing side of history and he feels it in his arthrititic and osteopenic bones. He’s a member of “the greatest generation,” dammit, and don’t you young hooligans forget it!! Where is the Respect? Why in my day, no young punk would ever dare to correct his elders….etcetera.

    The Bailout—oops… Rescue plan is the swansong for these old timey Greatest Depression Generation babies. It’s their last attempt at sabotaging the future for all the rest of us disrespectful, God-jeering, N—–lovin’, pot-smokin’ hippies. If they had to suffer through a Depression and War and fear of Nuclear Anihilation, why shouldn’t we? It’ll give us character, right?

    McSame is a man out of time, in all respects. He was in the Navy right when desegregation of the officer corps was pushing unqualified whites like him aside. He was a lousy pilot and made great enemies on the Forrestal, bombed thousands of civilians in Viet Nam from a relatively safe distance until shot down. He could have redeemed himself if he had renounced war after his release from POW status, could have stood by his wife and kids and become a decent human being. But he chose another path. And as you have repeatedly pointed out, Steve, he truly believes He is the Honorable one, and that this Presidency is owed to him.

    I don’t hate or detest him. I pity him. His life is one giant F—Up. He has to wake up every morning and face all the mistakes he has made in his life and suffer on, despite the wealth and the possessions, now like a flock of albatross around his neck. I pity him and pray the karmic wheel does not roll over us all in his journey to redemption.

  2. bettysdad Says:

    One should have a visceral hatred of all Republicans. They are the true evil.

  3. Larkrise Says:

    There is something to be said for behaving with grace under pressure and with dignity. In that interview, McCain did neither. He was sarcastic, rude, irritable, defensive, and quite unpleasant. It was very uncomfortable watching and listening to him. He has run his campaign badly, lurching from one tactic to another, one stand to another, and choosing a transparently unqualified woman to be his running mate. Both seem determined to take the low road in this campaign with lies and smear tactics. They revel in making nasty little comments and irksome innuendos. It does not become them. Neither one has presented themselves as anyone I would wish to know professionally or personally. I would avoid them as much as possible. They do not appear trustworthy. They are manipulative and self-serving. They put their own ambition ahead of all else. McCain lost me when he let Bush off the hook over the issue of torture. Basically, McCain made a pretense of being against torture, but did nothing of substance to stop the Bush/Cheney torture machine. The hypocrisy of McCain on this issue is unforgiveable. He claims he has been a maverick on the issue of torture, and that he stood up to the White House. Baloney! He did nothing of the sort. And, the torture continued, as usual. That, more than any other failing, in my mind, shows that John McCain has lost whatever sense of honor he once had. Simply speaking, he lacks strength of character. He sounded weary and jaded in that interview. I am certainly weary of him. I am dumbfounded when I see McCain signs in the yards of my neighbors, though the Obama signs outnumber them. It makes me wonder how stupid and blind some people can be. I also think they are inherently self-destructive. Evidently, they are addicted to destruction and incompetence. Some of them say they like Palin because:”She is just like me.” It is quite evident they have very low self-esteem.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.



BUZZFLASH PROGRESSIVE MARKETPLACE:  BOOKS, MOVIES, AND MUSIC - FOR PROGRESSIVES, BY PROGRESSIVES