’)
For the last few days, at a distance the McCain campaign has whipped up a frenzy of nativist sentiment against Barack Obama. They’ve accused him of being strange, not a supporter of America, and of course as a terrorist sympathizer. They’ve done it mostly through Sarah Palin’s forked tongue, but McCain also took a punch at Sen. Obama, powering through an attack as the assembled mob screamed “terrorist” at Obama’s name.
Then a funny thing happened on Tuesday night. John McCain had to go into a room with Barack Obama. He had to stand on stage with Sen. Obama and in front of the entire nation. Surely John Mccain, a veteran of combat, would take the baton from his running mate, get up in front of the naive Barack Obama and show him who the real American in the race is.
Then he fizzled.
He shot blanks.
The horse never got out of the gate.
John McCain suffered from a case of Electoral Dysfunction that no little pill can cure. Because Barack Obama was able to tell America why he disagreed with Sen. McCain right to Sen. McCain’s face in the same tone Barack Obama uses in Chicago, Miami, Indianapolis, Madison, Scranton, and everywhere else across the country.
Because Barack Obama is a man.
“Surely John Mccain, a veteran of combat, would take the baton from his running mate, get up in front of the naive Barack Obama and show him who the real American in the race is. Then he fizzled.”
I think you actually nailed it here. If Barack Obama were truly dangerous for the country, why didn’t McCain call him out, eye to eye, man to man, on national television?
In short, why didn’t McCain call Obama dishonorable to his face?
From what I’ve seen, Barack was solid but not great. That equates to a win, however, since wingnuts have been saying for months that McCain would whip this charlatan around once they got into a town-hall style debate.
Didn’t happen. Not even close.
And the “that one” comment? Just kind of immature. Dude, you’re on national television during a _presidential debate_. Why can’t you just make eye-contact and use proper names? Totally childish. Did someone help him plan that comment? Because that person should be fired.
~
Neither one impressed me. Obama looks presidential.
McCain looked like an old man trussed up in corsets and girdles in an effort to make him appear erect, younger, and virile.
Both men talked too much macho smack; Obama to a lessor degree. The Chinese own $500Bn in US treasuries, and the Russians own $75Bn in US treasuries, http://www.ustreas.gov/tic/mfh.txt. We are borrowing money from the Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund and the Russian Sovereign Wealth Fund, and then we are to turn around and use that borrowed money to buy the bullets to fight the Russians and Chinese with. This is madness!!
$1Bn for Georgia, and where does the Bn come from, it is borrowed from Russia.
Neither Obama nor McCain had an answer as to how do we get out of our current economic situation; though I believe Obama has a better understanding of what caused our economic meltdown. Where is William ‘Bill’ Clinton when we need him; oopz, that’s right, he can’t run again. His wife, Hillary, should be.
`
God damn it, make eye contact.
Who else noticed that when Brokaw asked the candidates to “prioritize” three programs to be initiated after taking office, McCain had to write them down so as not to forget? Couldn’t remember 3 items? That’s a 72-year-old memory and that’s scary.
Another, separate thought: McCain’s and Palin’s re-introduction of Ayers and questions of Obama’s “patriotism” on the stump (though John was too cowardly to repeat them to Barack’s face) give encouragement to hotheads who shout “treason” and worse and could foment some attempt on Obama’s life. Where is the press attention on this highly dangerous tack, and on the character of the team who would risk their opponent’s assassination to turn around their poll numbers? Sick, and sickening.
For those who just LOVE it when our current President says “nuclular”, I have to say that Obama’s continued insistence on saying “Pock-i-stohn” is beginning to irritate. The especially weird thing is he pronounces Afghanistan just fine, even when both words are in the same sentence!
I wondered about that too, SF, but for all I know, that’s how they say it in Pakistan. Just because we all over here call it “PAIR-iss” doesn’t mean we’d be wrong to call it “Pair-EE”. Maybe a little affected and pretentious, but not wrong. “Nuke-yuh-lur”, however, just sounds moronic.
Save Farris,
Except that is how you say Pakistan-’Pock-i-stohn’. Its not actually Pack-i-stan. I can see where this is confusing, but I have had my friend Sharjeel correct many a person on this error. Go ask someone from Pakistan and you will see:)
It is intended to be pronounced as “Pahkistahn”. Add in the American accent and I suppose you would get “Pockistohn”.
Impotent.
Speaking of the candidates penises, Obama is “sup-SUPER-circumSIZEd.”
http://www.thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html
I mean, “circum-super-sized.”
White Whale & Nimrod, that doesn’t explain why Afghanistan (and any other -stan) doesn’t get the same treatment from Obama. It’s only Pock-i-stohn and the Tal-ee-bohn.
Is this what it has come to, Farris? Criticizing a candidate for pronouncing words correctly?
Obama hardly beat McCain. But then he didn’t have to, McCain did it all by himself. I’m surprised no one mentioned McCain breathing into his microphone all night. It sounded like he was out of breath. He just looked so uncomfortable and out of his element that I thought it was a shocking performance. The “that one” comment was the least of his issues. Obama should tell him ok for the Town Hall meetings now if this is how McCain performs.
And I thought Brokaw did a good job. He is in a tough spot if the candidates aren’t following their own rules.
What I found really annoying was the constant repetition of “my friends”, “my friends”, “my friends”. It was repeated so often as to make it as meaningless as “um”, and just as indicative of nervousness.
Anyway.
The difference between the pretension of English-speaking people saying “Par-EE” for Paris and an English-speaking person saying “Pah-kistan” is that English is one of the languages of Pakistan, so you’re using an English-language pronunciation when you say it.
In other words, the “Pah-kistan”/”Pak-istan” difference is more like the “wah-ter”/”wu-dder” (water) difference. Both are used by native English-speakers, and although choosing the less usual pronunciation may catch attention, it shouldn’t be considered pretentious.
“that doesn’t explain why Afghanistan (and any other -stan) doesn’t get the same treatment from Obama. It’s only Pock-i-stohn and the Tal-ee-bohn.”
That’s because Afghanistan was never conquered by the English and does not have English as an official, native language. When you hear an Afghani speaking in English and referring to his country, you know he’s speaking English as a foreign language so you don’t absorb his pronunciation as somehow correct.
And “Taliban” is a new enough word that an “English language” pronunciation hasn’t been settled on yet.
“Nukular”, on the other hand, it just wrong. You’re not putting an accent in a different place, and you’re not pronouncing a vowel differently. You’re changing the position of consonants. “Nukular” is easier to say (the double “oo” sound is attractive to native English speakers), however, so “nuclear” to “nukular” may have been a natural evolution of the word under pre-literate circumstances. But when the spelling of the word is fixed, the variation just makes the user look aliterate.
Waaaay too long response, I know. But language evolution and the descriptive/prescriptive debate is a big issue for me in my work. Just don’t get me started on the idiocy of the rule against split infinitives…
Saffi,
I want to hear about the idiocy of the rule against split infinitives. Seriously.
I don’t want to really hear about split infinitives.
/grammer jokes rule
McCain had to write them down so as not to forget? Couldn’t remember 3 items? That’s a 72-year-old memory and that’s scary.
And then get up and say we could do all three at once?
misspelling the word ‘grammar’? Even funnier!
Another Bozo:..give encouragement to hotheads who shout “treason” and worse and could foment some attempt on Obama’s life.
Someone else brought that up to me yesterday. Obama must know how much he is at risk for running for President, and yet he’s doing it anyway, for the good of the country. That says a lot to me about the strength of his character.
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