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New Meme: McCain is too "thin skinned" and "hot headed" to be President


This latest dust up over Wes Clark's comments has deteriorated to the point where the McCain campaign appears to be lashing out at anyone who has anything critical to say about their candidate.  I think the McCain campaign is overplaying their hand, and this creates an opening for the Obama campaign.  His surrogates need to start emphasizing how cool headed Obama is.  How he's taken everything Clinton and McCain have thrown at him in stride.  And how, in contrast, McCain is thin skinned, short tempered, hot headed.  Even McCain's friends know he's got a problem keeping his temper in check.  And the press, much as they love McCain, know this too.  So Obama's campaign needs to turn this around and start baiting McCain by saying he's overreacting and suggesting that he's termperamentally unsuited to be president.  This puts McCain in a no win situation -- he either pulls back and reinforces the impression that this was all manufactured outrage, or he escalates, and reinforces the Democratic argument that he's too hot headed to trust in the Oval Office.


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Or we could actually talk about problems and issues facing this country and figure out who would be the be the best person to lead us through the long and perilous process of finding and implementing the solutions.

If we could do that Barack would still be the clear winner, and I could still stand to look at myself in the mirror in the morning.

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Amen. Don't stoop to this. If McCain's going to self-destruct, let him do it on his own. Obama was right in his response - next question.

It's not going to take all that much. He's close with this current dustup, and if at some point during a debate or townhall, he begins a statement with "My friend..." rather than his usual "My friends..." at any time in response to a question, duck and cover!

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Obama's been doing that. But the MSM ain't interested. Given that the MSM won't discuss the issues, I'm much rather have them talk about McCain's temperament, which is singularly unsuited to the office of the presidency, than other time wasters like Obama's patriotism.

Excellent point.

I normally only read here, don't post. But yesterday finally blew my reserve out of the water.

Did anyone here bother to watch Obama's patriotism speech yesterday?

I can tell you, this expat was so emotional and homesick when he was only halfway through it. I was in floods by the end of it, enough to restock Puget Sound.

And what did Obama get from Democrats here? Trashed for apparently not defending Clark.

What do we know? We know that through the fall the GOP 527s are going to be parrotting the Wright/unpatriotic meme in ads across the country on at least a weekly basis. This speech was a pivotal attempt to help pre-empt them. And what did Obama get for it?
Nothing but the MSM and the blogs arguing about a non-issue.
Obama would have been justified in being furious with Clark for this mammoth distraction. (He probably was.) But instead of allowing that to dominate, he moved today to take the heat off Clark and stressed that his comments about surrogates not criticising McCain's service had been written months before.
This man has a fantastic temperament. (As also
witness how he bit his tongue so many times throughout the primary)
I urge everyone who hasn't got around to watching the entire patriotism speech to go to his website now. And resolve that, loving this country of ous, the only politicians we want to attack from now on are those of the neo-con, tax-cuts for the rich and the devil take the hindmost ilk.

Thanks for mentioning the Patriotism speech. It was most excellent, and I was glad to see it getting a lot of hits on YouTube. The media is hypersensitive about trivial gaffes and slights (real and imagined) and tend to ignore the substance of the campaigns.

I believe that Obama is smart to inoculate his campaign against the smears that are coming. No, he won't reach everyone with his rapid truth response but the issues will be aired out to the extent the MSM will regard the smears as "old news". The swiftboaters got a free ride in the MSM because Kerry did not react quickly enough to the smears. Not this time.

I agree that McCain is overplaying his hand on this and that we should develop the narrative that he is thin skinned. We are not allowed to talk about his age although he acts really over-the-hill much of the time. We are not allowed to talk about his temper as problematic although many in congress have been shocked by it over the years. We are not allowed to say he is a war monger (Ed Schultz) despite his tendency to first go for military action to resolve any issue. We are not allowed to talk about the obvious truth that having been in the military doesn't necessarily translate into being presidential. He has made his service and POW status the centerpiece of his qualification to run but we can't comment on that either. I would say he is quite thin-skinned and that this doesn't bode well at all for him being president. And I agree the contrast with Obama's smooth and cool temperament is quite stark.

The more McCain crys about his hurt feelings the more he looks like a self-centered fool. Maybe it is time to start making fun of wrong way McCain.

BTW Wrong Way was the name of a pilot that showed up on Gilligans Island, some people have a life and may not know that.

Josh Marshall is right about this and so is TPMer David Olstein in his blog "McCain is Too "Thin Skinned" and "Hot Headed" to be President."

McCain was baited into this and naively took bite that smart Democrats knew he would. This is going to draw more stories from enterprising journalists that have been giving the so-called "maverick" a free ride for years. When a few stories come out speaking to the stark reality of his cocky-carelessness in the military which he approached with a huge sense of entitlement, he's going to wish that he just STFU.

He came from a military family and just like George Bush, he had a sense of entitlement and was wreckless. He crashed four jets. His time as a POW is something he should be honored for, but that's it. The rest of his military time is up for scrutiny and it takes good, strong military people with a track record and credibility (and guts) to take on the Republican myth-makers and love struck McCain media defenders.

He's taking on Gen. Clark and was stupid enough to call up Jim Webb into the fight as well with his 'stop picking on me, I'm a hero' sobbing. Someone needed to call McCain out and take him to task on this

The Republicans weren't crying foul when John Kerry, a true American Hero with more ability and honor than McCain, was being made a punching bag: McCain even brought some of the Swift Boaters into his campaign. Plus this Wesley Clark situation is nowhere near as bad as the Bush/Rove tactics in the 2000 Republican primary (mostly because he's telling the truth).

The NYT had a good article looking at McCain's military background last month that's truly worth a read because it touches on some of what Gen. Clark knows about McCain and the rest of the country needs to know: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/politics/29mccain.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rssnyt

Thank goodness for Wesley Clark.

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Excellent post. Let's start calling on McBush to authorize the release of his entire military records as Kerry did.

Dr. David Butler is a highly decorated Navy combat veteran and pilot. He has known McCain for more than 60 years. They were at the Naval Academy together. Butler had already been in the POW camp for two and a half years when McCain arrived and was there for another five and a half years until they were released. He has quite a different view than the spin McCain puts on those years and some strong reasons why he feels that it would be dangerous to our National Security if McCain were elected. One reason given is McCain's life long temper which Butler describes as "quick and explosive" and not to be trusted near "the button". (McCain's mother has told the story of his flying into such intense rages as a boy that he would pass out.) Butler is not a political surrogate, but rather a well respected officer who retired from the Navy at the end of a successful career. For his service in Viet Nam he was awarded two purple hearts, two legion of merits, two bronze stars and two silver stars. He honors McCain's service for which McCain was awarded a bronze star and a purple heart. Please pass this article in "Today in the Military" on to all military families and others. The link:
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html

"McCain's mother has told the story of his flying into such intense rages as a boy that he would pass out."

Wow, do you think we can get him to do that again?

Best to save that one for a nationally televised debate, I'd think.

In response to a question from Charlie Gibson (bifocals aligned on his nose)....

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Personally, I think this was and is the whole point behind Clark's statements. I think they're pushing McCain's buttons, hoping he'll finally lose it in public. From the stories I've heard, once the real McCain is out of the bottle, there's no putting it back in. I wish General Clark all the best in this. It's a fine thing he's doing.

Clark didn't earn those stars for nothin'!

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Why not do both.

I agree with Wes Clark. When John McCain touts his war experience, in particular, being a POW, as making him more qualified to be President, making him "ready", then it becomes an issue that can rightly be debated. McCain lists it as one of his qualifications - something Obama lacks. So, does being a POW make you more qualified to be President? Should ALL POWs try to get on the ballot the next go round? I think not.

Should we ask some psychiatrists what being a POW for 5 years does to your personality? Will it affect him when there is a 3AM crisis? Does he get flashbacks? These are questions that McCain has opened himself up to by touting his experience as something that would make him better qualified to be President. But does it really?

I'm not being critical of his military experience. It happened to him and he should be proud of the way he handled it. But will it make him a better President? Let's see the proof.

Can Hillary Clinton please hand Barack Obama this line the way Deval Patrick did during the primary, so he can slap that crybaby McCain with it? (without the 'xerox' or 'just words' snarkiness):

"“We’re running for the hardest job in the world. You’re not going to get any breaks from Putin. You’re not going to be treated nicely when you’re trying to deal with the Middle East,” she shot back."

–Hillary answering an attack weary Obama (Vanity Fair)


http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/clinton200808?printable=true¤tPage=all

McCain is acting like a cry baby. Too thin-skinned for the Presidency, for sure. Imagine if a journalist writes a negative article -- will s/he be kicked out of the press pool, just as testy, fragile Johnny kicks them off the bus now?

What a petty, insecure little jerk.

Clark and Webb = keep hitting this little wimp.
He's ready to explode!

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From today's Political Radar:

McCain became visibly angry when I asked him to explain how his Vietnam experience prepared him for the Presidency.

"Please," he said, recoiling back in his seat in distaste at the very question.

McCain allies Sen. Lindsey Graham stepped in to rescue him. Graham expressed admiration for McCain’s stance on the treatment of detainees in US custody.

"That to me is a classic example of how his military experience helped him shape public policy in a way no other senator could have done,’’ Graham said.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, also traveling on the trip, expressed admiration for McCain’s wartime service as well.

McCain then collected himself and apologized for his initial reaction.

"I kind of reacted the way I did because I have a reluctance to talk about my experiences," he said, noting that he has huge admiration for the "heroes" who served with him in the POW camp and said the experience taught him to love the U.S. because he missed it so much.

"I am always reluctant to talk about these things," McCain said.

Too bad a camera wasn't around to catch the expression on his face.

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Just what we'd need. another thin-skinned president.
If Obama can get under McCain's skin during the debates, more people will see it than in the isolated events, filtered by the MSM, so far.
Mr. O., please do.

Dave, you should email this to the Obama camp. This is a great idea.

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A "cry baby" meme would be effective as well. Now with the McCain camp lashing out at Webb too, it is easy and true to say that McCain is treating all criticism and unpraising commentary about him as "attacks." What a whiner!

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dolstein

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