Stay Gassy, Senator McCain - First Edition!

Submitted by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 5:18pm. Tags:

Politics

It is an article of faith among the faithful that Senator McCain is, unlike his uppity opponent, modest to as fault and never ever one to presume. A simple man who only wants to save America from those who would not-save it. That reputation has taken a couple dents this week, primarily due to the Viagra-like boost the crisis in Georgia has given the senior senator's long dormant Cold War manhood. Daily phone calls to the region, sending his own crack diplomatic team to stand around and get their picture taken. It's all rather, I dunno, presumptuous. And heaven help Barrack Obama had he done anything like this -- as mentioned previously, such actions would have caused a chain of exploding heads in the right wing blogosphere.

Hey. At least he's still modest to a fault, almost heroically so, when it comes to his time as a POW. That too is an article of faith among the faithful. And if his heroic travails have been cited in many of his campaign ads over the years, that's just politics. It has nothing to do with the man.

Anyhoo. When Walter Isascson asked Senator McCain what he was thinking when he cited ABBA as one of his favorite musical influences at the Aspen Institute confab, McCain was quick to answer:

“If there is anything I am lacking in, I’ve got to tell you, it is taste in music and art and other great things in life,” McCain joked. “I’ve got to say that a lot of my taste in music stopped about the time I impacted a surface-to-air missile with my own airplane and never caught up again.”

Well played, Senator! Cuz if you're going to pimp your biography it's worth doing so no matter what the context, no matter how innocuous the question. The trick is to get credit for never doing so.

Oh, and by the way. ABBA didn't hit the airvaves until well after the Senator's imprisonment. So it would have been more accurate to say:

"If there is anything I am lacking in, I’ve got to tell you, it is taste in music and art and other great things in life,” McCain joked. "I've got to say that a lot of my taste in music stopped about the time I impacted my marriage with a beer heiress while my wife recovered from a crippling auto accident and never caught up again."

Though I'm assuming that part of his bio is something less, uhm, pimped.

Happy Weekend!

(Via Matt Yglesias)

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

Harley's blog
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Hilarious (#110175)

by stillnotking on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 8:29am

The Dude: I don't see any connection to Vietnam, Walter.
Walter Sobchak: Well, there isn't a literal connection, Dude.
The Dude: Walter, face it, there isn't any connection.

How does that movie manage to have a quote for every occasion?

The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.

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Heh (#110164)

by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 11:40pm

Jon Stewart weighs in.

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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I suspect people could reasonably (#110165)

by Spartacvs on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 11:55pm

rationalize a vote for McCain as the best way to ensure quality material for future editions of The Daily Show.

New campaign slogan for the McCain campaign and it's a twofer:

We’re all Caucasians now!

GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.

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Harley, I hope somebody's paying you... (#110135)

by vinteuil on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 7:36pm

...to write this ghastly pap.

"It is an article of faith among the faithful that Senator McCain is, unlike his uppity opponent, modest to a fault and never ever one to presume."

I mean, please.

Are you not ashamed?

God help the while, a bad world I say.

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Ghastly Pap (#110150)

by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 9:31pm

Heh. The quoted sentence seems entirely accurate to me. If you have an actual opinion rather than an airy pose, by all means offer it. Or not. I'm fine either way.

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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I worry less about the faithful (#110163)

by Spartacvs on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 11:02pm

than I do the news media who know better and the effect they may have on true undecideds.

By definition the faithful are unreachable because they will believe anything they are told by the usual 'trusted' sources. As are those who do know better but will pull the lever for McCain anyway, rationalizing that there is no discernible difference between the candidates as cover for voting with the tribe. There's some comfort in the fact they feel the need to rationalize thus in an attempt to be taken seriously, but not much.

GW Bush, leading contender for worst President ever.

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You truly believe... (#110158)

by vinteuil on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:48pm

...that Senator McCain's partisans think that he's "modest?"

No. You don't believe that.

God help the while, a bad world I say.

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Sure I Do (#110160)

by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:51pm

It remains an article of faith that he continues to be aw-shucks modest about his heroic ordeal. A manly man who might joke about it. But would never seek to gain political advantage.

I think that's crap. Hence the diary.

And by the way, you don't count. You're not a McCain partisan. But the true believers, and they are gathering, believe exactly that.

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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Would that be a... (#110156)

by Macallan on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:32pm

...ghastly pap smear?

“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”

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Nah, that's what you call an attack on Hillary. nt (#110197)

by HankP on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 11:04am

I blame it all on the Internet

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Heh! (#110159)

by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:49pm

There are some pretty expert punsters here, but I can't imagine anyone topping that. Or even offering a logical successor.

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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Why stay gassy? (#110194)

by Micky Love on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 10:57am

Why stay gassy?

because it's the wind that shakes the Harley!

Nothing resembles virtue more than a great crime. Saint-Just

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I'm disappointed (#110192)

by Macallan on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 10:41am

I thought for sure I'd come back there'd be several pap culture references.

“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”

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Stop, You're Killing Me! (#110193)

by Harley on Sat, 08/16/2008 - 10:47am

Seriously. Tho' now you proved me wrong. Again. Now I'm going to go work on a Big Papi pun. Gladys Knight and the Paps? Top of the Paps?

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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Ashamed? (#110149)

by Gabriel on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 9:28pm

Come on. I understand many prefer McCain due to ideology or policy preferences but I think it's pretty clear McCain is a disgusting person. It's not just what he did to his wife, but I don't forget his joke about Chelsea Clinton, who at the time was just a kid. And he was a grown man.

This place is my vacation.

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The press is starting to turn on Angry John (#110131)

by Blue Neponset on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 7:15pm

Heard this on NPR earlier: LINK

When a reporter yelled a question, the McCain of the past would have jumped in with an answer.

But this time, McCain simply said: "This is the total of my recommendations for right now."

And so it went throughout a tightly controlled week.

McCain, who used to be known for veering off into whatever topic crossed his mind, stayed disciplined instead. It seemed like all Georgia all of the time, even if the setting didn't appear quite right.

So much for the straight talk express. No more EmmEssEmm donuts for McMaverick.

But she's a queen, and such are queens
that your laughter is sucked in their brains. -D. Bowie

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Lame. (nt) (#110122)

by bro- on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 6:29pm

(nt)

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Scintillating! (#110148)

by Harley on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 9:28pm

Hey, it's a modest point. But I think worth repeating. McCain is a bit of a hypocrite, and never more so than when it comes to taking credit for never talking about his POW experience while talking about his POW experience.

But hey. You want to enjoy the parade as it passes by? Fine by me.

To think is not enough; you must think of something -- Jules Renard

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