As an Obama supporter, I'll never forget the time, at a rally, when John McCain defend the character of Barack Obama. Wow, could you imagine something like that happening today? I can't.
Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to "Make America Great Again"?
Oh, and I forgot to mention the time John McCain, did the brave thing, went against his party, and voted 👎🏻on the legislation to repeal Obamacare. Millions of Americans now have health insurance because of that brave vote.
The Republicans loved to badmouth the ACA, but never did the honest, hard work, to present a better alternative for the American people.
And in a sign of future inaction, Magas have continued that lack of planning. They criticize Democratic programs but never produce alternatives other than a void as large as trump’s mind.
When you’re schtick is anti-government it’s awfully hard to actuall do good governance.
Laissez-faire governance for free capitalism is a naivety of the gop to believe private industry will step up to solve problems of “the commons”. Private industry takes direction from a government that can vet the competing interests of individuals into a cohesive package of work to support “the commons”. I.e., transportation infrastructure, etc.
Contracts are then awarded competitively without the gop spoils system. This evolution drives the country forward and increases opportunities for the many. It’s not socialism to have a public interest government hammer out disparate interests to move forward with private resources and funding to achieve growth or maintain aging systems.
McCain was also one of the few Republicans to stand up with Democrat sponsor Sen. Russ Feingold and almost all Democrats in 2002 to pass to pass the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act-- which unfortunately was undermined by the "Citizens United" right-wing Supreme Court decision.
--McCain also stood up with Democrats against Big Tobacco in the famous lawsuit on behalf of state Attorney Generals throughout the USA.
And this alarming SERIES OF REVELATIONS in 2008 from psychologist Ana Dubey about McCain's nauseating racism, sexism, raging temper, presumptuous egotism and more. (I can't find the original URL where this was first posted-- but it got exposure at DailyKos and other sites in 2008. Note that sometimes it was wrongly attributed to another woman author, Prof. Mary-Kay Gamel of Univ. CA Santa Cruz, a friend of Ana Dubey)....
(This shocking account was written by Ana Dubey, who has a PhD in psychology and has a private practice in San Francisco. Ana's husband is currently a Managing Director of a private equity firm in the Bay Area. Ana and her husband are not political activists and don't have any personal ax to grind. In fact, in writing this account of her experience with John McCain, Ana is acting outside of her own economic self-interest as she and her husband are among the top 3-5% of our population who would benefit from the McCain tax/economic policies.)
It was just before John McCain's last run at the presidential nomination in 2000 that my husband and I vacationed in Turtle Island in Fiji with John McCain, Cindy, and their children, including Bridget (their adopted Bangladeshi child).
It was not our intention, but it was our misfortune to be in close quarters with John McCain for almost a week, since Turtle Island has a small number of bungalows and their focus on communal meals force all vacationers who are there at the same time to get to know each other intimately. He arrived at our first group meal and started reading quotes from a pile of William Faulkner books with a forest of Post-Its sticking out of them. As an English Literature major myself, my first thought was "if he likes this so much, why hasn't he memorized any of this yet?" I soon realized that McCain actually thought we had come on vacation to be a volunteer audience for his "readings" which then became a regular part of each meal. Out of politeness, none of the vacationers initially protested at this intrusion into their blissful holiday, but people's buttons definitely got pushed as the readings continued day after day.
Unfortunately this was not his only contribution to our mealtime entertainment. He waxed on during one meal about how Indo-Chine women had the best figures and that our American corn-fed women just couldn't meet up to this standard. He also made it a point that all of us should stop Cindy from having dessert as her weight was too high and made a few comments to Amy, the 25 year old wife of the honeymooning couple from Nebraska that she should eat less as she needed to lose weight. McCain's appreciation of the beauty of Asian women was so great that David the American economist had to move his Thai wife to the other side of the table from McCain as McCain kept aggressively flirting with and touching her.
Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: "Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona. No, it wasn't my idea at all."
I actively avoided McCain after that, but unfortunately one day he engaged me in a political discussion which soon got us on the topic of the active US bombing of Iraq at that time. I was shocked when he said, "If I was in charge, I would nuke Iraq to teach them a lesson." Given McCain's personal experience with the horrors of war, I had expected a more balanced point of view. I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII - but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation as I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world.
My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island. Amy and I were happily eating pancakes when McCain arrived and told Amy that she shouldn't be having pancakes because she needed to lose weight. Amy burst into tears at this abusive comment. I felt fiercely protective of Amy and immediately turned to McCain and told him to leave her alone. He became very angry and abusive towards me, and said, "Don't you know who I am." I looked him in the face and said, "Yes, you are the biggest asshole I have ever met" and headed back to my cabin. I am happy to say that later that day when I arrived at lunch I was given a standing ovation by all the guests for having stood up to McCain's bullying.
Although I have shared my McCain story informally with friends, this is the first time I am making this public. I almost did so in 2000, when McCain first announced his bid for the Republican nomination, but it soon became apparent that George Bush was the shoo-in candidate and so I did not act then. However, now that there is a very real possibility that McCain could be elected as our next president, I feel it is my duty as an American citizen to share this story. I can't imagine a more scary outcome for America than that this abusive, aggressive man should lead our nation. I have observed him in intimate surroundings as he really is, not how the media portrays him to be. If his attitudes toward women and his treatment of his own family are even a small indicator of his real personality, then I shudder to think what will happen to America were he to be elected as our President.
Whatever his personal flaws, and they appear numerous, I will always still admire Senator McCain for standing up to his supporters in defense of Obama.
I admire him for that, too! McCain cut right through the xenophobic crap espoused by that prejudiced woman (and surely millions of other Republicans in the hall and watching on tv) by making that classy statement.
"Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: 'Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona. No, it wasn't my idea at all.'" O. M. G. !!!!!
Kathy, it was originally posted somewhere more "legitimate" and i read today how it was also reproduced at DailyKos at the time (2008). I might have gotten it from the aggregator site CommonDreams.org.
I do remember sending it out to my political email list in that election year because i assumed it had already been vetted by those progressive online sources.
The one confusion that crept in was that a few minor sources early on attributed it to Ana Dubey's friend Prof. Mary-Kay Gamel, who was the first person Ana sent it to before it was published online by one of those fairly major progressive news sources.
Gamel then sent out Ana's short piece to some of her e-list and some folks then assumed she wrote it and blogged about Gamel being the author. You can see some lingering evidence of that confusion today on the internet.
Janet, I'm so glad you got the insurance you needed. Just going through cancer treatment is hard enough, but not having insurance would make it much worse. We can do so much better in this rich country! xo
Our daughter wouldn't have insurance without the ACA. When he voted -- came from his sick bed to do so -- I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Somewhere in one of these articles, apparently he did it as a "FU" to the Republicans.
I believe Mike Pence’s disconnect from reality is attributable to his long-term belief in an invisible friend and religious fantasy. His mind no longer processes facts because it has been turned to mush through religious zealotry. Trump chose him because his is an obsequious toady, the perfect type of person Trump desires next to him. He has zero leadership skill, no charisma, no gravitas. He’s a self-described religious zealot who has no place in our liberal democracy.
I call those religious zealots "Self appointed gods" I loved Steves statement: "The deluded exist in a rarefied and protected space that holds them harmless from the cost of their delusions, while inflicting JUDGEMENTS around any discussion of it as impolite.
I beg to differ. CGI-created Buzz Lightyear actually demonstrated real character when it counted in the Toy Story films.
Whereas Pence is a hypocritical, pseudo-Christian protector of status-quo right-wing interests at the expense of the destitute poor, the struggling middle-class, women's rights over their own bodies, and vulnerable eco-systems.
I don't think he's intelligent, or he'd realize the statements he makes aren't plausible, even though he thinks they are, and they'd be plausible if someone said them to him. That early story from his college days, how he tattle taled at his fraternity-- that they'd smuggled in the beer?? It isn't even a morality thing, it seems like an IQ thing. I mean, that he believed it would be a good thing for him-- not realizing it would be a bad thing for him. His adherence to his pledge not to be alone with another woman too-- it isn't a good thing for him, if he supposes he can win the presidency that way. He refused to go along with Trump re the certification but, as a man in government-- is it possible he had to ask Dan Quayle for the right answer?
Despite the depraved depth of awfulness in these people, I will forever be grateful that I was watching the live broadcast when that fly landed on that doofus’s head and stayed there for nearly a minute. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and it only grew in humor the longer it went on.
That image is my favorite of “fly bait”, a name I have used ever since for one of the most despicable characters among a field of truly loathsome characters that the repugnantkins seem hell bent on mass producing. My guess is that the white boots desatan was photographed wearing were probably women’s boots and were the only ones available that would fit him and we all know that he wouldn’t want to get his feet dirty, he probably honestly thought that no one would notice that he was wearing women’s shoes which shows just how clueless he is. The positive take on both of them is that they are sucking up money and flushing it down a toilet where it can’t be put to more nefarious uses, perfect!
At one time Mike Pence had a constituency, but it is long gone to the MAGA-crowd. On DeSantis, I'm wondering if he will make it to the first debate or if he will fold around Labor Day. I think before Labor Day: husband believes after the 2nd debate. I gather Scott was having a fundraiser in the Hamptons at the same time Trump was holding his Erie, PA rally. That Scott was in the Hamptons (!) where DeSanits had to cancel his fundraisers for lack of interest says more about the R monied class searching for a better alternative. Not sure if Scott would be an alternative to the MAGA crowd. I think not.
Finally on McCain. McCain, for all of his challenges, was an outstanding patriot and honorable man. He had depth of personality allowing him to recover and adjust. No one else in the current R pantheon has that skill. The next few months will be interesting to see how the field performs.
I want to remember & respect all McCain’s good attributes BUT that damned “My Father” kid of his really makes it very very hard. I wonder if he is rolling over in his grave. She is NOT someone to be proud of. She is a vicious harpie.
Steve, once again your way with words almost toppled me over with laughter:
"Huckabee, a southern fried grifter of the oiliest variety" -- hilarious! 🙃
As for Pence, you wrote: "If Mike Pence showed up on television dressed up in a launch suit, and declared himself an astronaut, would he be? What if he said he was a bull fighter or a parakeet? Would it be so?"
--We could say the same about Pence's frequent, nauseating declaration that he is "a Christian." Yeah, in name only (making him a CINO). An authentic Christian empties himself of egotism (in *kenosis*) and follows the way of Jesus in ministering to and standing in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the exploited, the marginalized. Not sucking up to right-wing megadonors, hate-mongers, and tyrant Trump.
John McCain had character and stoicism, both lacking from today's menagerie of R candidates. Although McCain saved Obama Care, which was a great public service for which he deserves credit, let's remember why he did it. McCain hated Obama Care and stood staunchly on the side of repeal. His famous "thumbs down" was motivated by his distaste for the process. He accused R's of using all of the same shortcuts and fast tracking that he accused the D's of. That primary motivation coupled with the reality that there was no agreed upon alternative prompted his vote. I was disappointed in McCain throughout his long political career. But compared to the current set of R's, he doesn't look so bad.
Thank you for the insightful dialogue with Maria Schriever especially the part where she knows what people are going through which is a lot of pain and suffering but believes as I do that we must inspire hopefulness and lift people up. There is way to much negativity in our American populace and the uncertainty of our futures makes it much harder to uplift people but the conversation should and must be had. So sad to hear her say how most people she entertains have never had a dinner table like hers, one rich in diversity and abundance of mannered conversations. Great interview.
I really liked John McCain. He was the real deal. A good man, a standup guy and unafraid of what others may think of him. He would have been a terrific president. I miss him. I couldn't have described Pence any better and like Steve I firmly believe he has no chance for all the reasons Steve mentioned. I hope DeSantis has no comeback because he lacks everything McCain was and so is not presidential material. So, that means for me that there is no presidential material on the republican side. If McCain was still with us, if we were lucky enough to have him around that would not be so.
Ron DeSantis is the very embodiment of petulant, without any additional qualities that inform his robotic countenance (other than sparkless tyranny), and that is really all she wrote..... Trump will lose someone and that ensuing field will inspire dreams and nightmares...
Steve, I would love for you to do a story on the history of Mike Pence.
As to the recalling of the 2012 campaign. I think the media and campaign managers all put to much importance on polling. Running for the presidency is not a horse race. Stop reporting on the campaign as it were a horse race. Maybe more people would be interested in process if it were treated by the media and campaign managers as the serious thing it is. Electing the leader of the free world.
As I read this as it relates to today’s GOP candidate field, a question was continuously running through my mind. The question was- in a country of 330 million plus people, with such rich diversity, talent, initiative, and for at least some, dedication to public service for the right reasons, is this really the best we can do in terms of candidate quality? The answer- of course not. Some how we have to retrain our collective American minds to expect better and find a way for the best of us, not the worst, to rise to candidacy.
As an Obama supporter, I'll never forget the time, at a rally, when John McCain defend the character of Barack Obama. Wow, could you imagine something like that happening today? I can't.
Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to "Make America Great Again"?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jrnRU3ocIH4
Oh, and I forgot to mention the time John McCain, did the brave thing, went against his party, and voted 👎🏻on the legislation to repeal Obamacare. Millions of Americans now have health insurance because of that brave vote.
The Republicans loved to badmouth the ACA, but never did the honest, hard work, to present a better alternative for the American people.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NLsPfYUp1QM
And in a sign of future inaction, Magas have continued that lack of planning. They criticize Democratic programs but never produce alternatives other than a void as large as trump’s mind.
When you’re schtick is anti-government it’s awfully hard to actuall do good governance.
Laissez-faire governance for free capitalism is a naivety of the gop to believe private industry will step up to solve problems of “the commons”. Private industry takes direction from a government that can vet the competing interests of individuals into a cohesive package of work to support “the commons”. I.e., transportation infrastructure, etc.
Contracts are then awarded competitively without the gop spoils system. This evolution drives the country forward and increases opportunities for the many. It’s not socialism to have a public interest government hammer out disparate interests to move forward with private resources and funding to achieve growth or maintain aging systems.
Your - not you’re.
McCain was also one of the few Republicans to stand up with Democrat sponsor Sen. Russ Feingold and almost all Democrats in 2002 to pass to pass the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act-- which unfortunately was undermined by the "Citizens United" right-wing Supreme Court decision.
--McCain also stood up with Democrats against Big Tobacco in the famous lawsuit on behalf of state Attorney Generals throughout the USA.
On the OTHER HAND, there's this:
https://therealnews.com/stories/john-mccain-hawkish-voice-of-military-industrial-complex-paved-way-for-trump
And this alarming SERIES OF REVELATIONS in 2008 from psychologist Ana Dubey about McCain's nauseating racism, sexism, raging temper, presumptuous egotism and more. (I can't find the original URL where this was first posted-- but it got exposure at DailyKos and other sites in 2008. Note that sometimes it was wrongly attributed to another woman author, Prof. Mary-Kay Gamel of Univ. CA Santa Cruz, a friend of Ana Dubey)....
https://papajoemambo.livejournal.com/346344.html
MY HOLIDAY WITH JOHN McCAIN
(This shocking account was written by Ana Dubey, who has a PhD in psychology and has a private practice in San Francisco. Ana's husband is currently a Managing Director of a private equity firm in the Bay Area. Ana and her husband are not political activists and don't have any personal ax to grind. In fact, in writing this account of her experience with John McCain, Ana is acting outside of her own economic self-interest as she and her husband are among the top 3-5% of our population who would benefit from the McCain tax/economic policies.)
It was just before John McCain's last run at the presidential nomination in 2000 that my husband and I vacationed in Turtle Island in Fiji with John McCain, Cindy, and their children, including Bridget (their adopted Bangladeshi child).
It was not our intention, but it was our misfortune to be in close quarters with John McCain for almost a week, since Turtle Island has a small number of bungalows and their focus on communal meals force all vacationers who are there at the same time to get to know each other intimately. He arrived at our first group meal and started reading quotes from a pile of William Faulkner books with a forest of Post-Its sticking out of them. As an English Literature major myself, my first thought was "if he likes this so much, why hasn't he memorized any of this yet?" I soon realized that McCain actually thought we had come on vacation to be a volunteer audience for his "readings" which then became a regular part of each meal. Out of politeness, none of the vacationers initially protested at this intrusion into their blissful holiday, but people's buttons definitely got pushed as the readings continued day after day.
Unfortunately this was not his only contribution to our mealtime entertainment. He waxed on during one meal about how Indo-Chine women had the best figures and that our American corn-fed women just couldn't meet up to this standard. He also made it a point that all of us should stop Cindy from having dessert as her weight was too high and made a few comments to Amy, the 25 year old wife of the honeymooning couple from Nebraska that she should eat less as she needed to lose weight. McCain's appreciation of the beauty of Asian women was so great that David the American economist had to move his Thai wife to the other side of the table from McCain as McCain kept aggressively flirting with and touching her.
Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: "Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona. No, it wasn't my idea at all."
I actively avoided McCain after that, but unfortunately one day he engaged me in a political discussion which soon got us on the topic of the active US bombing of Iraq at that time. I was shocked when he said, "If I was in charge, I would nuke Iraq to teach them a lesson." Given McCain's personal experience with the horrors of war, I had expected a more balanced point of view. I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII - but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation as I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world.
My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island. Amy and I were happily eating pancakes when McCain arrived and told Amy that she shouldn't be having pancakes because she needed to lose weight. Amy burst into tears at this abusive comment. I felt fiercely protective of Amy and immediately turned to McCain and told him to leave her alone. He became very angry and abusive towards me, and said, "Don't you know who I am." I looked him in the face and said, "Yes, you are the biggest asshole I have ever met" and headed back to my cabin. I am happy to say that later that day when I arrived at lunch I was given a standing ovation by all the guests for having stood up to McCain's bullying.
Although I have shared my McCain story informally with friends, this is the first time I am making this public. I almost did so in 2000, when McCain first announced his bid for the Republican nomination, but it soon became apparent that George Bush was the shoo-in candidate and so I did not act then. However, now that there is a very real possibility that McCain could be elected as our next president, I feel it is my duty as an American citizen to share this story. I can't imagine a more scary outcome for America than that this abusive, aggressive man should lead our nation. I have observed him in intimate surroundings as he really is, not how the media portrays him to be. If his attitudes toward women and his treatment of his own family are even a small indicator of his real personality, then I shudder to think what will happen to America were he to be elected as our President.
Thank you for this behind the scene look at John McCain. Steve has also written some not so flattering things about him as well.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/steve-schmidt-john-mccain/tnamp/
Whatever his personal flaws, and they appear numerous, I will always still admire Senator McCain for standing up to his supporters in defense of Obama.
I admire him for that, too! McCain cut right through the xenophobic crap espoused by that prejudiced woman (and surely millions of other Republicans in the hall and watching on tv) by making that classy statement.
"Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: 'Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona. No, it wasn't my idea at all.'" O. M. G. !!!!!
I just emailed Dr. Dubey to ask if these are, in fact, her own words.
It would be interesting to get Steve Schmidt's take on this.
I just emailed Dr. Dubey to ask if these are, in fact, her own words.
Go to the source, yes!
It does to me, too. Did you look at the link from Timothy Conway? (I added the same link to my post.)
I would, too!!!
Timothy, I just directly emailed Ana to ensure that these are her words. The blow my mind.
Kathy, it was originally posted somewhere more "legitimate" and i read today how it was also reproduced at DailyKos at the time (2008). I might have gotten it from the aggregator site CommonDreams.org.
I do remember sending it out to my political email list in that election year because i assumed it had already been vetted by those progressive online sources.
The one confusion that crept in was that a few minor sources early on attributed it to Ana Dubey's friend Prof. Mary-Kay Gamel, who was the first person Ana sent it to before it was published online by one of those fairly major progressive news sources.
Gamel then sent out Ana's short piece to some of her e-list and some folks then assumed she wrote it and blogged about Gamel being the author. You can see some lingering evidence of that confusion today on the internet.
Thanks so much for this background information.
MORE than shocking, for me! HORRIFIED is more like it.
Janet, I'm so glad you got the insurance you needed. Just going through cancer treatment is hard enough, but not having insurance would make it much worse. We can do so much better in this rich country! xo
Our daughter wouldn't have insurance without the ACA. When he voted -- came from his sick bed to do so -- I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Somewhere in one of these articles, apparently he did it as a "FU" to the Republicans.
I'm so glad you got the insurance your dear daughter needed! xo
I believe Mike Pence’s disconnect from reality is attributable to his long-term belief in an invisible friend and religious fantasy. His mind no longer processes facts because it has been turned to mush through religious zealotry. Trump chose him because his is an obsequious toady, the perfect type of person Trump desires next to him. He has zero leadership skill, no charisma, no gravitas. He’s a self-described religious zealot who has no place in our liberal democracy.
I call those religious zealots "Self appointed gods" I loved Steves statement: "The deluded exist in a rarefied and protected space that holds them harmless from the cost of their delusions, while inflicting JUDGEMENTS around any discussion of it as impolite.
He’s “Buzz Lightyear”! Our family was playing a game coming up with cartoons that match politicians. And we laughed so hard because it fit perfect.
I beg to differ. CGI-created Buzz Lightyear actually demonstrated real character when it counted in the Toy Story films.
Whereas Pence is a hypocritical, pseudo-Christian protector of status-quo right-wing interests at the expense of the destitute poor, the struggling middle-class, women's rights over their own bodies, and vulnerable eco-systems.
I don't think he's intelligent, or he'd realize the statements he makes aren't plausible, even though he thinks they are, and they'd be plausible if someone said them to him. That early story from his college days, how he tattle taled at his fraternity-- that they'd smuggled in the beer?? It isn't even a morality thing, it seems like an IQ thing. I mean, that he believed it would be a good thing for him-- not realizing it would be a bad thing for him. His adherence to his pledge not to be alone with another woman too-- it isn't a good thing for him, if he supposes he can win the presidency that way. He refused to go along with Trump re the certification but, as a man in government-- is it possible he had to ask Dan Quayle for the right answer?
Despite the depraved depth of awfulness in these people, I will forever be grateful that I was watching the live broadcast when that fly landed on that doofus’s head and stayed there for nearly a minute. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and it only grew in humor the longer it went on.
That image is my favorite of “fly bait”, a name I have used ever since for one of the most despicable characters among a field of truly loathsome characters that the repugnantkins seem hell bent on mass producing. My guess is that the white boots desatan was photographed wearing were probably women’s boots and were the only ones available that would fit him and we all know that he wouldn’t want to get his feet dirty, he probably honestly thought that no one would notice that he was wearing women’s shoes which shows just how clueless he is. The positive take on both of them is that they are sucking up money and flushing it down a toilet where it can’t be put to more nefarious uses, perfect!
At one time Mike Pence had a constituency, but it is long gone to the MAGA-crowd. On DeSantis, I'm wondering if he will make it to the first debate or if he will fold around Labor Day. I think before Labor Day: husband believes after the 2nd debate. I gather Scott was having a fundraiser in the Hamptons at the same time Trump was holding his Erie, PA rally. That Scott was in the Hamptons (!) where DeSanits had to cancel his fundraisers for lack of interest says more about the R monied class searching for a better alternative. Not sure if Scott would be an alternative to the MAGA crowd. I think not.
Finally on McCain. McCain, for all of his challenges, was an outstanding patriot and honorable man. He had depth of personality allowing him to recover and adjust. No one else in the current R pantheon has that skill. The next few months will be interesting to see how the field performs.
I want to remember & respect all McCain’s good attributes BUT that damned “My Father” kid of his really makes it very very hard. I wonder if he is rolling over in his grave. She is NOT someone to be proud of. She is a vicious harpie.
I believe Steve discussed her behavior during the 2008 campaign. It was far from professional.
Yes, she was a pompous ass and continues to be so. She is truly a disgrace to the McCain family name.
Steve, once again your way with words almost toppled me over with laughter:
"Huckabee, a southern fried grifter of the oiliest variety" -- hilarious! 🙃
As for Pence, you wrote: "If Mike Pence showed up on television dressed up in a launch suit, and declared himself an astronaut, would he be? What if he said he was a bull fighter or a parakeet? Would it be so?"
--We could say the same about Pence's frequent, nauseating declaration that he is "a Christian." Yeah, in name only (making him a CINO). An authentic Christian empties himself of egotism (in *kenosis*) and follows the way of Jesus in ministering to and standing in solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the exploited, the marginalized. Not sucking up to right-wing megadonors, hate-mongers, and tyrant Trump.
Amen to that
John McCain had character and stoicism, both lacking from today's menagerie of R candidates. Although McCain saved Obama Care, which was a great public service for which he deserves credit, let's remember why he did it. McCain hated Obama Care and stood staunchly on the side of repeal. His famous "thumbs down" was motivated by his distaste for the process. He accused R's of using all of the same shortcuts and fast tracking that he accused the D's of. That primary motivation coupled with the reality that there was no agreed upon alternative prompted his vote. I was disappointed in McCain throughout his long political career. But compared to the current set of R's, he doesn't look so bad.
I had no idea!!
Thank you for the insightful dialogue with Maria Schriever especially the part where she knows what people are going through which is a lot of pain and suffering but believes as I do that we must inspire hopefulness and lift people up. There is way to much negativity in our American populace and the uncertainty of our futures makes it much harder to uplift people but the conversation should and must be had. So sad to hear her say how most people she entertains have never had a dinner table like hers, one rich in diversity and abundance of mannered conversations. Great interview.
Do you think Desantis would try to stick his Puddin Fingers in Massholes?
LOL!!!
Re DeSantis' photo...didn't Wonder Woman in her earliest versions wear white boots exactly like these--or were they thigh high? Maybe that's next.
Pence=parakeet, works for me as long as the vocal cords are removed. Pence & his bloody sanctimonious pronouncements get on my last nerve.
I really liked John McCain. He was the real deal. A good man, a standup guy and unafraid of what others may think of him. He would have been a terrific president. I miss him. I couldn't have described Pence any better and like Steve I firmly believe he has no chance for all the reasons Steve mentioned. I hope DeSantis has no comeback because he lacks everything McCain was and so is not presidential material. So, that means for me that there is no presidential material on the republican side. If McCain was still with us, if we were lucky enough to have him around that would not be so.
Ron DeSantis is the very embodiment of petulant, without any additional qualities that inform his robotic countenance (other than sparkless tyranny), and that is really all she wrote..... Trump will lose someone and that ensuing field will inspire dreams and nightmares...
Steve, I would love for you to do a story on the history of Mike Pence.
As to the recalling of the 2012 campaign. I think the media and campaign managers all put to much importance on polling. Running for the presidency is not a horse race. Stop reporting on the campaign as it were a horse race. Maybe more people would be interested in process if it were treated by the media and campaign managers as the serious thing it is. Electing the leader of the free world.
I loved the interview with Maria Schriver. I'm sharing it and saving it.
Yes, "optimistic" -we need that more than ever!
As I read this as it relates to today’s GOP candidate field, a question was continuously running through my mind. The question was- in a country of 330 million plus people, with such rich diversity, talent, initiative, and for at least some, dedication to public service for the right reasons, is this really the best we can do in terms of candidate quality? The answer- of course not. Some how we have to retrain our collective American minds to expect better and find a way for the best of us, not the worst, to rise to candidacy.
www.tomthedemocratist.com
As you know, we have a serious problem with big money driving politics. I appreciate your comments here.
Those boots are made for “running away from!” They are a direct reflection of his personality - all meringue with very little pie!
John McCain was the real deal!