His supporters hate him for trailing in the polls and he’s heading downward with every new one. His campaign people apparently have no clue how to fix this, so rather than have him do things that boost his image, help people understand why they should vote for him, etc, they have him doing and saying things to ensure he is disliked more. Why?

McCain calls Obama ‘decent person,’ is booed

McCain sort of can’t win here.

Parnes reports from Minnesota: A man in the audience stood up and told McCain he’s “scared” of an Obama presidency and who he’d select for the Supreme Court. “I have to tell you. Sen. Obama is a decent person and a person you don’t have to be scared of as president of the United States,” McCain said as the crowd booed and shouted “Come on, John!”

“If I didn’t think I’d be a heck of a lot better, I wouldn’t be running for president of the united states.”

If it’s not the Times editorial board jeering him, it’s his own crowd.

ALSO: Whoa:

A woman at the town hall asks softly: “I’ve heard that Sen. Obama is an Arab.”

McCain quickly cuts the woman off. “No, maam. He’s a decent family man and citizen,” McCain says. “He’s not. Thank you.”

NOTE: Some reports from the ground said the woman used the word “terrorist.” She didn’t.

And then there’s this interesting analysis about his campaign:

We don’t know who is running the McCain campaign, but it is obvious that the way he is running the campaign shows either one of two things.

McCain is running the campaign, and he is a nasty scattershooter trying whatever desperate tactics he can in order to achieve his final ambition; or

McCain is not in charge of his campaign and is being pulled left and right by the Republican Machine.

Whatever the case, he is no longer fit to lead this country, if indeed he ever was.




  1. Paddy-O says:

    “they have him doing and saying things to ensure he is disliked more. Why?”

    It’s not really relevant. McCain was never electable as a Repub. The final straw from the real repubs viewpoint was the illegal immigrant amnesty bill.

    All his candidacy has done is force the DNC to spent countless millions on advertising for an election that, because of Bush, is pretty impossible for the dems to lose.

  2. Hugh Ripper says:

    Looks like McCain is suffering severe plot loss. Time for the Republican machine to manufacture a national security emergency to distract the public from the economy…oh wait you cant do that cos it would sink the markets even lower. Gotta laugh.

  3. Dallas says:

    As I stated in that terrific lap dancing donkey article, the McCain/Palin ticket is a total cluster. Agree with Uncle Dave.

    As voters flee the ticket, what remains are the true republican core of ignoramus racists, bigots, religious wackos and still a sizable population of party faithfuls with some brain matter.
    However, this last group is just too proud to drop the GOP ticket. They would rather bind with the nutcases shown above.

    McCain needs another hail mary pass. Perhaps he needs to cry, get Palin to show her tits, drop her for Lieberman at the 11th hour, ask Bush to bomb Iran or fake a heart attack for a sympathy vote effort.

  4. Panpan says:

    Calling for respect for your opponent is not a mistake. In fact, McCain should make this a major theme of the rest of his campaign.

    It would be very presidential, would get him many undecided voters and even some Democrats disillusioned by excessive partisanship.

    It’s also very much needed education for some of his supporters.

  5. Glenn E. says:

    All McCain needs to do is wave his arms in the air (oh wait, he can’t do that either), and degree that the price of gas at the pumps will drop below $3 a gallon. Maybe even down to $2! And when that happens (because the oil industry loves him best) the citizens will see him as their new economic savior.

  6. Pagon says:

    By encouraging his supporters to wage a hate campaign – even if only by not stopping them cold at the very beginning – he asked for this situation. Only now, when it seems to be backfiring, does he say it’s wrong.

    What does it say about the man that he allowed/encouraged a campaign of thinly disguised hate against blacks, Arabs, and foreigners combined with outright lies.

    It certainly is NOT patriotic. Not in the America I want – the America I was taught about by my parents, and in school – the America I enlisted in the US Army (in 1958) to defend.

  7. Uncle Dave, I really appreciate the link love. Rodney Dangerfield deliberately chose an image, but McCain is caught between trying to create a narrative and subscribing to a completely different one. Reading biographies, it seems to me that he is far removed from his own desire to be honorable; but his lifelong reliance on being John S McCain the III has led him to some very bad choices as he tried to skate by on his father’s and grandfather’s reputations.

  8. jMcM says:

    There is absolutely no rumor to the truth that I need a major military Victory With Honor to satisfy that gnawing feeling that has been with me since Hanoi.

  9. jim h says:

    Rather than look for some devious attempt at manimpulation, I take what McCain at face value and admire him for what he said in Minnesota, which was definitely not what the crowd wanted to hear, and might even cost him votes. But I agree with #4 and think this sort of positive move could only help him.

  10. Hyph3n says:

    #9 But if he goes to this more positive approach will his base leave. Plus, if he doesn’t get Palin to back down, it’s hypocrisy.

    If he is serious, he needs to have a Bill Graham mia copa moment at the debate… “Forgive me, I have ran a sinful campaign against a good man.” Until then, all it is is a way to get the Palin troopergate story knocked off the front page.

  11. jescott418 says:

    What kind of nut jobs do the Republicans have for supporters?? A bunch of White KKK?? I guess you could tell this from the convention full of Whites. I am White myself and consider the Republicans very narrow minded when it comes to Race. This has been promoted by the McCain camp though. McCain should be talking about how he is going to solve the economic problems. Unless he feels he cannot? For a man who has been in the Senate as long as McCain has. How come he has little to brag about?
    I here his war stories and his Maverick style. But what about his Senate accomplishments??

  12. Bill says:

    “Whatever the case, he is no longer fit to lead this country, if indeed he ever was.”

    Indeed!

  13. Grandpa says:

    I don’t understand why he didn’t use the Christian Coalition and the abortion issue more. It worked with all the other lame brained Republicans. And how about the gun control thing? Family values and gun control is almost a sure thing. Mix that with a great sounding, but total lie, economic plan and he might have had a chance. As it is, every time McBush says he is for change I think of Obama.

  14. jim h says:

    Here in Minnesota, Senator Norm Coleman just announced he’s dropping all negative ads. I’m a Dem but I think he and McCain are sincere on this, they feel they’re not in control of their own campaigns and are kicking back against the party fringe. They both realize they might lose, and want to have a future in politics even if they lose this one, not poison the well.

  15. mthrnite says:

    The Palin pick was his “shot the albatross” moment. He coulda had a sizable amount of independent voters in his pocket at this point. Republicans would have voted for the republican, democrats would have voted for the democrat, independents would have voted for the least partisan choice. McCain/Leiberman would have had a very good chance of winning. So it goes. I’m glad he’s at least showing some honor in the eleventh hour, honor that I don’t think is politically motivated.

  16. Mister Mustard says:

    #14 – Jim

    >>Here in Minnesota, Senator Norm Coleman just
    >>announced he’s dropping all negative ads.

    When you’re trailing behind a Saturday Night Live comedian, you KNOW you’re in deep shit.

    Coleman should put up campaign posters with his wife topless, slathered in oil. That would at least pull in the Rick’s Cabaret crowd.

  17. Pekuliar says:

    Good Grief why don’t you rename this blog the “Obama Nation for Nerds”. We all know you are in the tank for Obama and hate Bush. We get it! Now how about some decent unbiased news.

  18. jim h says:

    #17 – I won’t be voting for him but I pick Coleman to win. They’ve already run enough ads portraying Franken as a lewd potty-mouth comedian from Hollywood. Now Coleman can market himself as a nice decent Minnesota guy. Even though he’s actually from New York.

  19. Angel H. Wong says:

    He just found out that whoever wins the elections is going to spend 4 years cleaning the trail of crap left by Bush Jr.

  20. ECA says:

    I said it before…
    The repubs are throwing the RACE, the only reason they are still PUSHING someone, is to make it LOOK like a 2 party system vote.

  21. sargasso says:

    Rodney Dangerfield had a thousand flatulence jokes, but he wouldn’t kiss a butt for a million dollars.

  22. Dallas says:

    For all that Maverick talk, McCain has already demonstrated he let the GOP party insiders hijack his campaign with the usual filthy smear campaigns.

    This tells you right there he will be the same push over as Bush.

    The republican voter base is slowly eroding and showing the soft underbelly. As we all knew, that soft underbelly is made up of racist, bigots and religious wackos. Like a roach, its that yellow gooey stuff inside. We saw them on thursday night.

  23. Carcarius says:

    He was in a no-win situation, but at least he did take the high and right road. There is a line that a politician shouldn’t cross.

    Somebody said he should wave his arms about gas, but he couldn’t do that either, that just made me chuckle.

    Oddly, Romney was probably the perfect candidate for the Repubs considering the economic situation we are in. Odd that they went with McCain. The Repubs clearly f’d up this whole campaign for the WH.

  24. #19 – JimH

    >>They’ve already run enough ads portraying
    >>Franken as a lewd potty-mouth comedian from
    >>Hollywood.

    Yet still, Franken is ahead. Maybe it has something to do with Coleman’s reputation as a black-belt ass-kisser for George W. Bush. Has Coleman EVER defied his puppet-master?

    I reiterate my advice: Norm, get those posters of your wife topless and slathered in oil up ASAP. It’s your only chance. You can always disavow any responsibility for the posters, like McCain disavows any responsibility for the blood lust of his hatemongering hordes.

  25. jim h says:

    #25, I don’t agree that Franken is known to be ahead. We’re still seeing polls showing one or the other up by 10. Polls are almost meaningless in my opinion. After every election, the media run stories about “why the polls were so far off this time”.

  26. #26 – JimH

    >>I don’t agree that Franken is known to be
    >>ahead.

    Oh, he’s ahead alright. And check out the trends:

    http://tinyurl.com/44u69g

    Coleman used to be ahead by quite a bit, but since July he’s been tanking, big time.

    By the time election day rolls around, Normie is going to be running back to NY with his tail between his legs.

    It’s one thing to be an ass-kissing politician, but when it’s Dumbya’s ass you’ve been kissing, this is not the election to be in.

  27. Mr. Fusion says:

    #26, jim & 27, Mustard,

    Many Democrats are catching the changing tide that Obama brings. The more Obama hammers home how much McCain walks, talks, and looks like a Bush, the more danger to Republican incumbents.

    The Senate could end up with 55 or 56 Democrats and the House could grab as many as 250.

    Currently they appear in a statistical tie but Franken has gained support while Coleman has been losing it.

    I look forward to Senator Franken taking his oath of office in memory of Paul Wellstone.

  28. Brock says:

    2 years ago, change was voted in, in the form of Democratic Contol over congress. What did 2 years bring?
    – The largest financial failure in then history of history,
    – The most hate filled rancorous congress in a generation, perhaps since the civil war.

    If you want to continue this change, vote em back in. This is what you have to look forward to.

    If you don’t believe the democrats are responsible for the financial meltdown, you clearly don’t know your history. Check out CSPAN footage on youtube. It’s all there if you spend 10 minute looking.

    Be afraid. Be very afraid.

  29. #28 – Fusion

    >>Currently they appear in a statistical tie but
    >>Franken has gained support while Coleman has
    >>been losing it.

    Losing it BIG TIME. Look at the trend.

    http://tinyurl.com/4643e6

    I say again: Norm, get those posters of your wife topless and slathered in oil up ASAP. It’s your only chance. You can always disavow any responsibility for the posters, like McCain disavows any responsibility for the blood lust of his hatemongering hordes.

    Unless he heeds my advice, Al Franken is going to be the next senator from Minnesota.


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