Sunday, April 20, 2008
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McCain's Temper ... A Front Page Story?
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Posted by:
Matt Lewis at
12:45 PM
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As Hugh notes, this story -- about John McCain's temper -- ran on the front page of today's Washington Post.
(The WaPost ran Senator Obama’s "bitter" remarks on page A4 -- and that was actually relevant news.)
My guess is that this is an attempt to balance the coverage, but unlike the Obama story, this one comes out of the blue. Had McCain lost his temper last week and cursed someone out, then the story would seem more relevant.
Still, since it's being talked about it, let's go ahead and address the issue of McCain's temper right now:
1. I have no reason to believe that the details in Post's the story are untrue. But the fact that many of them are fifteen years old makes me wonder about their relevance. McCain seems to have mellowed a bit in recent years.
2. Having a temper is not necessarily a bad thing (a point the Post actually does a good job of pointing out).
3. Though I have no doubt McCain once had a bad temper, it has not been my observation. He has welcomed into the fold former political enemies. Townhall.com was pretty tough on him last year, for example, has he sought to shut-us out now that he has won the nomination? Quite the opposite. Moreover, in the past year, I have had several opportunities to see him up-close -- and under pressure -- and have not witnessed any examples of this behavior.
In short, I believe McCain has had a temper in the past. My guess is that in some instances, it helped him -- and in some instances, it hurt him. I believe that he has mellowed considerably in the last several years. And lastly, though it is an interesting and worthy topic to consider, I wonder about its placement on page A-1.
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Hillary and Obama are busy fighting each other; therefore, the leftist main stream media (MSM) has to pick up the slack and keep pressure on McCain. They, the MSM, are major players in the Democrat's political arsenal. They have long ago decided to favor a political party and heavily slant the news in that party's favor. Unfair but factual. |
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What is more important Story,.. of McCain's temper, 15 years ago, or Bill Clinton's expression of same, daily? Bill Clinton will be next to the "Red Button"@ 3AM in the White House if Billary is elected!It seems to this reader,
that is more of a concern, to me! |
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that the temper story is semi-relevant, because we don't need a hot head in the White House. I don't want to see Bill's red face in the White House either.
I have to question the writer's assertion that the "bitter" crap was somehow relevant, because it absolutely wasn't. Obama didn't say anything false or elitist. |
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You won't like the Hulk when he's angry! |
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I agree with you Matt that the front page story seemed to come out of nowhere. There is no recent incident that would seem to signal the need for this discussion. I agree that people mellow with age, my mother being a good example of that. I used to walk on eggshells around her, now she is a much different person. But she's not running for president although I think she would do as good a job as anyone else! lol!
Anyway, I don't necessarily have an issue with a presidential candidate having a slight temper. It shows me that they are passionate in what they believe. I guess the severity of that temper would matter though. Remember, we have a VP who told a member of Congress to "F" off. That shows an immature style of temper which is a poor role model for other Americans, especially the young ones.
And for the poster who brought up Bill Clinton....he had a temper in 1992 and he was president for 8 years, sitting near that red button, taking phone calls at 3 a.m. and we are all still here. Unfortunately though, 4000 Americans have been shipped off to Iraq to die as the result of our current vindictive president. |
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You have your perception about the statment being true and non-elitist, and many other Americans disagree with you.
My problem with Obama is he seems to be very thin-skinned. Did he not show temper when he was being questioned by the press, and he whined about having answered like eight questions, so he skedaddled? Did he not show temper when a pesky autograph seeker wanted his signature? Wasn't the slam against rural Americans a show of him having a snit about not being able to garner their support? This is a man I do not want to see in the White House for any reason. |
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Aevay! Just when you think we can get to the real issues like - Obama's nationalized health care and his lack of understanding that his dividend taxes will impact govt. revenue negatively. We get reminded that we are about to elect McCain as commander in chief and guess what? A naval pilot, who was a POW and commanded a large batallion of soldiers at war - has a temper! I say, seek McCain to the terrorists and all socialists in D.C. That will bring back the glory to this country. Vote american values and american pride - vote McCain. |
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McCain's temper isn't tough enough.
If he had punched George W right in the nose after South Carolina 2000 I'd have a lot more respect for him.
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Please - Kimberly stop repeating that ridiculous story that McCain would be stupid enough to call his wife a name in front of the press in 2000. Do you honestly believe that if it were true it would not have been front page news then? She is worth $100M - if he had humiliated her like that, she would walk.
He still pays alimony to his first wife (look at his tax returns), still covers all her medical bills, and she has been actively working for his campaign, as have her two sons that he adopted. THAT says a whole lot more to me then some made-up story.
Ask any secret service agent who worked for Billary about her temper. I know two who will immediately retire if she is elected - that's how terribly she treated them.
If the worst thing they can dig up on him is that he has a temper, then we are pretty lucky. |
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