I don't know about you "my friends" but wasn't McCain's remark showing a lack of respect towards Sen. Obama when he said “Who voted for it? You might never know — that one,” gesturing at Obama. “Who voted against it? Me.” ? Was it intentional and disrespectful? Was it unintentional? Or was it racist? You be the judge.
Link: YouTube
He's a "maverick" - meaning that he'll do what he likes, regardless of what his party, other politicians, or the American people want.
He can't be trusted to do the right thing on the economy. He certainly can't be trusted with the military.
Obama/Biden 08! Landslide anyone?
@posters whose handles start with 'A' - think we could lay off the political crap unless it involves sinkholes or cats?
At any rate I don't know what debate those thinking McCain did good were watching. Like his policies, the man looked plain old and tired. He was limping like he was hurt, and he seemed to drift on endlessly from the questions. He kept forgetting the names of the people who asked the questions too. It must be sad for the conservatives and republicans that they must vote for this guy simply due to political affiliation and not because he inspired any real energy or passion.
Hardly racist, though.
and, um, Geekazoid, McCain limps, can't lift his arms above the shoulders, us not able to use a keyboard and appears not as hearty because of being a POW for five years. His 93 year old mother, who was not tortured, is doing fine, mentally and physically.
Putting Obama in office will be the biggest mistake this country will ever have made if it happens.
McCain's way of saying "that one" is just a old form of speaking, that's his manner of separating "this one" from "that one," as in, his own view as opposed to his opponent's. Not a big deal. He's simply making distinctions, so that it's easy for people to understand where the distinction lies, very clearly.
why do Black women in America straighten their hair?
Not all of your readers believe the same way as you, it would be wise of you to not choose sides.
@ Cathy: He was a POW? Really? How come this hasn't come up?!?
This. And it makes no difference if the political post is pro- or con- one side or the other. I just don't want to see it here. Please.
We don't need this sort of post on Neatorama.
Having said that, I think he just misspoke. It might not have been the best thing to say but he wasn't being racist or disrespectful.
Politically Free Neatorama
Someone sure didn't waste time creating a web site on this topic LOL!! To hastily register a domain name called thatone08 is priceless.
...and to all those who are opposed on political topics, nobody is forcing you to read and comment on them.
McCain's old but he's also a tough and experienced man who has fought for the US.
If Obama becomes President, we had better watch out because every little (and big, hello Russia!) antagonistic country will take their turn seeing if they can crack our hip new CIC.
Please, peeps. See reality!
Love,
a 30 yr old Brooklyn chica with nothing to lose but her dwindling 4k in the stock market and her life and job in NYC...
I know it would make it all very cosy if he was a one dimensional baddy but this is clutching at the rumour of straws.
Thank you for claiming X, Y, and Z about Obama, all the while ignoring that these things are actually true about the guy you've been cheering for for the past few years.
I heart those that don't let facts get in their way.
As for the original issue of McCain's disrespectful behavior, here is a good summary:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/369738
The Nation -- The proper, respectful and appropriate description for an foe in a debate between two senators is "the senator" or -- if there is a desire to get flowery -- "my distinguished colleague."
But Arizona Senator John McCain, who after a quarter century on Capitol Hill surely knows the political etiquette, could not bring himself to refer to Illinois Senator Barack Obama as he would any other colleague.
Discussing a 2005 Senate vote, McCain said, "There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one," he said, motioning toward Obama. "You know who voted against it? Me."
That one?
That one?
If Obama had referred to McCain as "that one," he would have been attacked for showing disrespect or ridiculed for being so new to the Senate that he did not understand the basic behaviors of the chamber.
Either way, it would have been a devastating moment.
And it should be for McCain, as well.
Understand what the Republican nominee was doing.
He did not slip up.
The McCain campaign and its media acolytes have for weeks been spinning the notion that Obama is running as some sort of messianic character who sees himself in something akin to Biblical terms.
In internet advertisements, campaign spin and talk-show commentary, Obama is mocked as "the one."
A McCain Web commercial from earlier this year compared Obama with the Nazarene. That ad opened with the announcer declaring, "It shall be known that in 2008 the world will be blessed. They will call him 'The One.'"
The ad proceeds to ridicule Obama's high-minded rhetoric before closing with the narrator telling Americans: "Barack Obama may be 'The One.' But is he ready to lead?"
That commercial has long been recognized as one of the more amateurish cheapshots from a campaign characterized all too frequently by amateurish cheapshots.
Now, John McCain has brought the cheapest of the cheapshots to the debate stage.
It was, for a senior senator who has embarrassed himself too many times during this long campaign, a uniquely embarrassing moment.
What shocks me, as a French, is the lack of direct "brawling" in the debate. I watched it and they just answered questions to the moderator, speaking to the public or indirectly (to 'the one') to the opponent.
I like the taste of blood, when the debate gets heated, when ideas are exchanged directly, word dueling at its best.
I shut down my browser quite disappointed : nothing more than the show they've been playing for several months now... *yawn*
Disrespectful? Yes. But no more so than Senator Obama constantly referring to Senator McCain by only his first name. McCain calls Obama "Senator Obama" - I think that Obama should do the same.
Neither of them show a great deal of respect to the other -- welcome to American politics!
Also, like Christophe's post, I was disappointed that the debate did not come to fisticuffs at the end. I'm tired of passive aggressive insults and fighting. I crave full on aggression in the political arena. Fight to the death, anyone? My money's on the former POW...even if he can't lift his arms very high.
Exactly. That attitude is far more bigoted than any possible interpretation of the original statement.
It doesn't give me a sense of a muscular fearlessness, ya know? I mean, if Americans and Jews can be called some of the names that the terrorists have been calling us, what's Obama going to do when they let loose on him? Cry "racist"?
As for racism, I don't think it was a racist comment. However, when I heard it, I turned to my wife and said "You know, I think he meant to say 'That Negro fellow over there.'"
It just had that To Kill a Mockingbird old-timey courtroom drama feel to it.
I hate McCain but honestly I think this was unintentional.
Ergo, disrespectful. Not Racist.
OMFG, RACIST WHITE DEVIL!!111juan
http://lifeisacookie.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/that-one/
Personally, I think this is a case where he just flubbed his intended remark. I think he meant to ask "which Senator voted for it?" to which an appropriate and strong answer would be "that one" in a debate in order to focus on his opponent in an accusatory fashion.
In my mind, just a flub, and we can find better criticisms of both candidates than something this trivial.
Maybe a little disprespectful, but unfortunately, it's seems that both Obama and McCain campaigns are being disrespectful as we go into the last weeks of the campaign.
Personally, I can't wait until this crap is over. Neatorama, please don't post anymore political items.
If you want to see racist, look at the party that picks a guy to run because he's got some color to his skin which somehow makes him more appealing to all people of color so that all those people of color don't see how they're being pandered to at every turn so that the party in question can continue use them and to rely on them as a voting bloc to keep the party in play. THAT's racist.
And it's racist for the party to throw this idiotic line into its talking points trying to get people all in a tizzy about it. That sleezebag Jimmy Carville is even trying to incite race riots in the event Obama loses next month. How some people can't see through all the DNC BS is totally beyond me.
/rant
As for the argument that Obama is crying racism? No, quite simply he's not, and never will, because this election is not about that and should not be about that. But for all of us to ignore the comment is to aprove of it, by default.
I'm not arguing that it was racist. The possibility of it being a flubbed statement intended to be something along the lines of "which Senator?" or "which one of us?" is a very real one. But to everyone saying that it's absurd to think it's racist, I just have to say, when have you ever been refered to like that?
Claiming that this is racist simply discredits the idea of racism.
“I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.” - John McCain 2000 -
http://whitehouser.com/elections/revisiting-john-mccains-hatred-towards-gooks/
HA!
Algonquin:
I'm in your corner, amigo.
No matter how far he moves and how good he is, there's an element of social conditioning present that he'll probably always struggle with. It's something my father struggles with, as well, and he's not intentionally racist, either.
But he does sometimes still think of the world as "us" versus "them," and even a small remark like "that one" can show us some precious insight into the place where McCain comes from. Sometimes it's the unintentional things, the stuff that seems like it was just a throwaway line, that can reveal a whole different kind of truth.
It's the unintentional stuff we should be worried about.
Wow, look at all these comments!
politics and alleged racism sure do cause people to voice their opinions!
disappointing :(
But then this is a guy that refused to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday in his state a while back right?
Some people can dish out the accusations, but can't take what they give.
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
Accusations of racism are thrown about so handily that we lose sight of what the word really means. "That one" is a way of indicating another person, albeit awkwardly phrased, without using the person's name. It makes sense if you've studied Spanish, although the casual use of "ese" ("that") for young Hispanic men to refer somewhat derogatorily to one another isn't exactly the same thing.
It's not racist but it IS incredibly disrespectful. It clearly shows a tone of child schoolyard pickiness and mean spiritedness. These two people both hold some of the highest offices in the nation - they (like doctors and professors) should be addressed with respect.
It's not racist; it's just rude and disrespectful.
You'll remember that during the first debate Obama continually referred to McCain as "John" while McCain called Obama "Senator Obama." I'll bet that if the tables were turned on that occasion and McCain had called Obama "Barack" people would have screamed racism then too.
@noelegy: Language is fluid. The meanings of words change as their use in pop culture changes. Going to a dictionary to debate semantics is not all that weighty.
@DebraHamel: Again, I repeat: Obama calling McCain "John" is not the same thing as McCain calling Obama "that one." It's apples to oranges. Obama was surely using "John" as a way to casualize the conversation, while "that one" places Obama in the realm of "the Other" and that's dangerous. And it's ridiculous to think that anyone would call McCain a racist for simply calling Obama "Barack." That's the most insane thing I've heard all day.
Otherwise, thank you for a great site.!!
This one, or that one?
OMG! I'm becoming a racist
Don't let it ruin your life.
Stupid? Probably.
But we're ignoring a much more important problem here. How can anyone vote for a president who doesn't have a neck? Does this not bother anyone else?
"Now, we also have to recognize that this is a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush, supported by Senator McCain, a theory that basically says that we can shred regulations and consumer protections and give more and more to the most, and somehow prosperity will trickle down."
"Mostly that's just me opposing George Bush's wrong headed policies since I've been in Congress..."
"because Al Qaida and the Taliban have safe havens in Pakistan, across the border in the northwest regions, and although, you know, under George Bush"
And not once in his "Meet the Press" for Nov. 11, 2007, did he call President Bush...well, President.
There's more, but I think the point is made. Hey, I understand though. When your candidate makes things up, it's easy to assume everyone else does as well.
Still a bit awkward though. Sounded pretty strange.
Lots of comments on this one. I see the lefties are still calling the righties names, even though they're over-reacting to a simple phrase. What are the odds that he would deliberately use a recognizable racial slur in a televised debate? Not even George W would be that stupid, would he?
No, this is just the lefties grasping at straws when they don't need to. Obama did fine enough in the debate without having to resort to the race card, didn't he? He was a little bland, but he's just not that interesting a person. Neither of them are.
And once again, Adam Stanhope ridicules anybody who disagrees with his point of view - and then criticizes McCain for showing a lack of respect to his opponent!
The circus has come to town...
No, it's not racist.
No, it doesn't matter.
Let's move on.
Only makes me all the more sure that Obama is "that one" we want as POTUS!