He's one pissed off old dude
Don't ask this man a question.
Truth is, I think there's always been a misperception about McCain's relationship with his so-called "base," the media. The assumption was, because he invited (select) members of the press onto the Straight Exhaust Express and rambled on for hours in their presence, that he liked them. Truth is, he has never cared for the press, ask any reporter in Arizona, particulary the ones who are still too afraid to admit to hearing him say crude things about his wife. Or the ones who reported on his wife's drug addiction and got an earful of hatred in response.
He was using and, if you really read some of the exchanges he had with reporters during those kaffee klatches, abusing them. To them, he was the big man on campus and and they were the nerdy guys just thrilled to take his jocular harrassing and homophobic noogies. To him, they were the megaphone for his "character." He knew, in 2000 and during the primary season of 2007/8, that he could not outspend his opponents nor garner the support of the party establishment. So he went around them and used the press to highlight his supposed honesty and character (I remember one story in which the reporter claimed McCain had never even taken Advil for pain).
That was then, and this is now, as the editorial board of the Des Moines Register experienced. Now it's not John hanging out on the bus and pontificating before a rapt press corps. Now he's at the top of the Republican ticket and he knows that he has no chance without his real base, the ideologues and fundies who have reliably turned out to vote for such stalwarts of character as George W. Bush. And those folks don't really care much for reporters from CNN or The Washington Post, nor do they really want to hear how much the hated MSM likes their candidate.
Now he says that he and Palin will avoid "the filter" of the MSM. But that's not altogether possible in a campaign, because without access, the press tends to not have positive things to say about candidates. So when he does sit down with them, his contempt is on display (as it was for Obama the other night) as they ask him "gotcha" questions, like what's your health care plan, or, why are you mischaracterizing your opponent's positions.
See, now the press isn't his filter anymore. They used to be, as they filtered his obvious character flaws into something Great and American and Heroic. But he made the choice to kick them off the bus because his "quarks" threatened to turn off the party faithful. So now the press isn't acting as a filter for him and he doesn't have to pretend he likes them anymore.
Truth is, I think there's always been a misperception about McCain's relationship with his so-called "base," the media. The assumption was, because he invited (select) members of the press onto the Straight Exhaust Express and rambled on for hours in their presence, that he liked them. Truth is, he has never cared for the press, ask any reporter in Arizona, particulary the ones who are still too afraid to admit to hearing him say crude things about his wife. Or the ones who reported on his wife's drug addiction and got an earful of hatred in response.
He was using and, if you really read some of the exchanges he had with reporters during those kaffee klatches, abusing them. To them, he was the big man on campus and and they were the nerdy guys just thrilled to take his jocular harrassing and homophobic noogies. To him, they were the megaphone for his "character." He knew, in 2000 and during the primary season of 2007/8, that he could not outspend his opponents nor garner the support of the party establishment. So he went around them and used the press to highlight his supposed honesty and character (I remember one story in which the reporter claimed McCain had never even taken Advil for pain).
That was then, and this is now, as the editorial board of the Des Moines Register experienced. Now it's not John hanging out on the bus and pontificating before a rapt press corps. Now he's at the top of the Republican ticket and he knows that he has no chance without his real base, the ideologues and fundies who have reliably turned out to vote for such stalwarts of character as George W. Bush. And those folks don't really care much for reporters from CNN or The Washington Post, nor do they really want to hear how much the hated MSM likes their candidate.
Now he says that he and Palin will avoid "the filter" of the MSM. But that's not altogether possible in a campaign, because without access, the press tends to not have positive things to say about candidates. So when he does sit down with them, his contempt is on display (as it was for Obama the other night) as they ask him "gotcha" questions, like what's your health care plan, or, why are you mischaracterizing your opponent's positions.
See, now the press isn't his filter anymore. They used to be, as they filtered his obvious character flaws into something Great and American and Heroic. But he made the choice to kick them off the bus because his "quarks" threatened to turn off the party faithful. So now the press isn't acting as a filter for him and he doesn't have to pretend he likes them anymore.
Labels: McCain is insane
posted by John at 1:15 PM
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