Derailment
The Straight Talk Express seems to have derailed at the Doddering Depot.
Most people have already seen this, but I need to post it as well. John McCain was recently asked by a reporter about funding for condoms and contraception in developing nations. Here is a transcript (source):
Reporter: “Should U.S. taxpayer money go to places like Africa to fund contraception to prevent AIDS?”
Mr. McCain: “Well I think it’s a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn. He believes – and I was just reading the thing he wrote– that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn’t succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I’m not very wise on it.”
(Mr. McCain turns to take a question on Iraq, but a moment later looks back to the reporter who asked him about AIDS.)
Mr. McCain: “I haven’t thought about it. Before I give you an answer, let me think about. Let me think about it a little bit because I never got a question about it before. I don’t know if I would use taxpayers’ money for it.”
Q: “What about grants for sex education in the United States? Should they include instructions about using contraceptives? Or should it be Bush’s policy, which is just abstinence?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”
Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”
Q: “I mean, I think you’d probably agree it probably does help stop it?”
Mr. McCain: (Laughs) “Are we on the Straight Talk express? I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception – I’m sure I’m opposed to government spending on it, I’m sure I support the president’s policies on it.”
Q: “But you would agree that condoms do stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Would you say: ‘No, we’re not going to distribute them,’ knowing that?”
Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) “Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before.”
I do not know whether it is more disturbing that McCain does not know whether or not contraceptives can stop the spread of HIV, or that the following words actually came out of his mouth: "You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was. Brian, would you find out what my position is on contraception." (Brian is his press secretary.)
You know you have come across the ultimate panderer when he has to do research to find out where he stands on an issue.
McCain is a joke and a has-been.
offered up to the world by CoachDub @ 7:37 PM
23 comments
23 Comments:
Prolly just positioning himself in case he needs to pull a Reagan anytime soon.
"Pull a Reagan" could have soooo many meanings.
i think jason means win one for the gipper.
is there a video to this?
and my Rudy prediction is quickly falling into place... what with there being facebook groups intent to "stop hillary" with thousands upon thousands of members of both parties, and now with McCain showing his true colors (yellow), only Obama stands in Rudy's way. I get the feeling that this will be the dirtiest presidential election since 1828, with pictures of Rudy in drag, and stories of Obama's Tony Montana-esque college experience.
The Tony Montana-esque college experience did not seem to hurt Bush.
true, but Bush didn't call it "blow" on national television. i mean, what an IDIOT.
If you haven't, you need to read Obama's 2 books, "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" (the name of the second came from the first).
If he doesn't get elected, he needs to get recognition for his writing. I was stunned at his talent. And, being John's Mom, I'm not easily moved.
Dub, I pretty much agree with your opinion of McCain. I hate to trivialize such a thing, but he's lived pretty high-profile politically off his war-hero status for dang near a decade.
I would literally eat and swallow the dedication page of Obama's two books if it could be proved that he wrote them at all.
It's called a ghostwriter. Look it up.
And this goes for all kinds of prospective 'authors' no matter their opinions, subject matter, or profile. Tom Clancy ghost writes his series such as Op-Center. It happens everywhere.
I'm not saying Obama is a poor writer. He's probably good. But if you want to pen a national best seller, you hire a professional. Or else you're pretty stupid. And Obama isn't stupid.
Nah, I'll bet he writ 'em.
And man, I just pulled a Reagan yesterday.
How exactly can McCain pull a Reagan? Use any interpretation desired.
Parker-- first of all, since he graduated magna cum laud and was president of the Harvard Law Review, there is a strong possibility that he could have written a book. As a lawyer and a scholar, he is, in fact, a "professional writer."
Second, "It's called a ghostwriter. Look it up." Seriously? I know you might be in shock that a candidate might be able to form a complete sentence, but you don't need to be a bitchy snot to my mom, for God's sake.
How McCain could "pull a Reagan":
- he could start using the "I don't recall" method of weaseling out of his flip-flops
- he could actually start not recalling
- he could cozy up to the fundamentalist right (oh, he already did)
- he could "spread freedom" by cozying up to right-wing dictators
- when he dies, he could have a funeral that presents a complete white-washing of history
i was referring to the first, and partially the second.
Side note:
JW, I noticed that you put the colon outside of the quotation marks in your last comment. When is punctuation put inside of quotation marks and when is it not? I know there are differences between American and British styles on this point, and that Wikipedia follows the British style... I'm just lost in a hopeless world of grammatical confusion.
I apologize to both you and your mother Dub.
But I still would bet the cash contents in my wallet that it was ghostwritten.
Jason -- the punctuation inside the commas is a tricky rule. But here it is:
In American usage, the comma and period ALWAYS go inside the quotation mark.
With other punctuation, it depends on the context. With a question mark, for example, it depends on whether the material quoted is a question or if the material is quoted as part of a larger question. Example:
When are you going to say "Hello"?
vs.
She asked, "Who are you?"
The same rule applies for an exclamation mark:
Bob yelled, "Fire!"
vs
Stop saying "Hello"!
I cannot think of an example in which the colon would go before the quotation mark.
Parker, no one has ever called her "mother Dub" before.
You can call me Mother Dub whenever you want!
How come you don't have your email on your blog?
Mostly because I don't want spam-bots spidering me.
Do you want it?
yes how can i get it?
My email address is
johnwann [AT] comcast.net
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