McCain: “It’s tough in some respects” to be proud of America
posted at 9:32 pm on June 16, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Lame. Not what he said about being proud, which is perfectly apt and uncontroversial and not to be confused with Michelle Obama saying Barry’s candidacy was the first time she’d been proud of her country in her adult life. What’s lame is that he didn’t instantly recognize the question as a dig at her. Good lord, Maverick — you really are out of touch with the base.
The questioner noted that he had been educated at Princeton and Harvard and made more than $300,000 a year.
“How can I be proud of my country?” he asked.
Get it — he was mocking Michelle Obama and her statement earlier this year that her husband had for the first time in her life made her proud of her country.
Well, McCain either missed the joke or decided to ignore it and answer the question literally. I think it was the former because the individual asking the question had a thick accent that sounded to be either Indian or Pakistani, perhaps suggesting to McCain a recent immigrant grappling with America’s image abroad.
“I’ll admit to you that it’s tough, it’s tough in some respects,” McCain said, seeming to lend credence to Michelle Obama’s observation.
McCain said America needed to be “more humble, more inclusive.”
Coming soon to Fox News: Bob Beckel gets a hot tip from Larry Johnson that McCain’s been caught on tape saying he hates America, then duly attributes the rumor to conservative “honkies” when the rumor blows up in his face. Exit question: Is it momentarily “tough in some respects” to be proud of America when the nominee of the party of border enforcement is outdoing the Democrat in pandering to the most influential amnesty advocacy group in the country?
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Oy. He can shoot himself in the foot like no one else.
BadgerHawk on June 16, 2008 at 9:35 PM
McCain’s an idiot.
Bugler on June 16, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Bob Barr 2008
Conservative Voice on June 16, 2008 at 9:36 PM
Is McCain playing this straight on purpose. I hope so, because for him to say something that foolish falls right into the hands of the phony “American-loving” liberals.
jencab on June 16, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Not one damn thing hard about it. And if the man who would be president thinks so, then he should find another line of work.
tomk59 on June 16, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Get that man a primer on the conservative blogosphere, stat!
Slublog on June 16, 2008 at 9:38 PM
Pathetic…..
Seven Percent Solution on June 16, 2008 at 9:38 PM
Humble. Huh.
Nice leadership.
RushBaby on June 16, 2008 at 9:38 PM
I disagree. This is another dig at the racist xenophobes who didn’t see his immigration plan as the plate holding the 10 Commandments and McCain as a modern day Moses descending from Mount Rushmore to share it with the rest of us stupid dupes. It may not be as bad as Mobama’s, but it’s potentially lethal to a conservative candidate who already has enough difficulty convincing his base he’s worth getting up and voting for him in the general.
Darth Executor on June 16, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Good lord . . . what in hell is he doing?
rplat on June 16, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Right now, McCain is spending a lot of money in the Detroit area on ads that make him seem to be a very sympathetic, likable person. Someone you could vote for a feel OK about it.
Then he opens his mouth and I cringe.
shibumi on June 16, 2008 at 9:39 PM
One word: liberals.
Darth Executor on June 16, 2008 at 9:40 PM
How did this asshat win the nomination, again?
Goes to show just how much the conservatives are in disarray.
thatcher on June 16, 2008 at 9:40 PM
He’s damaged goods.
Valiant on June 16, 2008 at 9:41 PM
reason #684 it;s gonna be an epic defeat in november.
lorien1973 on June 16, 2008 at 9:41 PM
I don’t care what anyone says, I am proud of my country and always have been. Most of my t-shirts and tops have the stars and stripes on them and that is what I wear every day!
atxcowgirl on June 16, 2008 at 9:41 PM
I just wanted to take a minute to thank McCain for single-handedly near-neutralizing the “proud” damage against Michelle.
Seriously, is he conscious? Does he have a functioning organ in his skull?
amerpundit on June 16, 2008 at 9:42 PM
Which base is that? I’m quite sure the liberal Republicans and moderate Democrats think much the same way this frail old disoriented man thinks. McCain is sounding more and more pathetic as this election wears on. We are weeks if not days away from a Jim Stockdale moment.
Hope all you idiots who gleefully told me to shut the F up and vote for McCain because he won the nomination aren’t experiencing buyers remorse these days. If you are, perhaps now is the time you shut the F up help get somebody decent in the VP slot because I seriously have my doubts that McCain can make it for four years in the Oval Office. We need a good plan B.
highhopes on June 16, 2008 at 9:43 PM
There goes one of our major talking points against Obama. Watch the MSM to blow this incident up like crazy..
Yeah the next president of the United States, Barack Obama.
Mccain is trying his best to be another liberal like Obama. Heck if people want a liberal president why would they choose McCain?
justinok on June 16, 2008 at 9:44 PM
A person claiming to be a “Conservative Voice” is voting for a fool like Barr? That’s a bit shocking. Get informed. I’m sure that if you really are a conservative, you’ll regret saying that once you have the facts.
malan89 on June 16, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Maverick is in touch with the American voter.
We American voters are sick of the BS from conservatives on not stopping oil speculation, ignoring food safety, and running up more debt.
Are we proud of America? Yes, but I’m not pumping up my fist as the USA skates past the Soviet Union chanting USA USA!
indythinker on June 16, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Woooooffff…!
Hang on for a second, I gotta sit down…
Rhinoboy on June 16, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Of course, the last line from yet another McCain hit-piece reads:
So yes…that would infer that McCain took this guy to be an immigrant.
Non-story, simply because even if you’re McCain-deranged, there was no other candidate in the race who could have possibly been prouder of the US.
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 9:46 PM
It’s crazy. They give him a fat, wide target…and he puts down the gun (itza metaphor, nobody’s shooting anybody). Crazy. He WANTS to lose.
malan89 on June 16, 2008 at 9:46 PM
* another POLITICO McCain hit-piece (that should read)
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 9:47 PM
I concur. There’s lots to not love about America, or be proud of.
http://www.democrats.org/ObamaSplash.html
There is also lots to love and be proud of. You can even find some of the latter right here at Hot Air.
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/12/24/american-soldier-adopts-iraqi-boy/
VolMagic on June 16, 2008 at 9:47 PM
1 step forward, 3 steps back. Gah!
SouthernGent on June 16, 2008 at 9:47 PM
BTW thats quite a photo on the front page. McCain is one scary looking sob.
(Apologies to his mother. It’s just an expression).
VolMagic on June 16, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Maybe I’ll sit out until 2012. Think there’ll be anything left of the country by then?
Log on June 16, 2008 at 9:49 PM
As someone who opposed McCain getting the nomination from day one and vowed not to vote for him in November, you’d think this sort of thing would give me some kind of cynical pleasure and smug self-affirmation.
Instead it’s just depressing.
Hollowpoint on June 16, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Sigh. This election cycle is like some bizarro mirror world. McCain seems to think that acting like a Dem will get him Dem votes. Here’s looking at 2010 and recovery in the mid-term of Obama’s first term.
ShoreMark on June 16, 2008 at 9:51 PM
That’s lame. Not that he didn’t use the opportunity to take a dig at his opponent’s wife, but that you call this lame.
MayBee on June 16, 2008 at 9:51 PM
I’m no McCain fan (and I REALLY don’t like the term “McCain-deranged”; that’s a bit insulting), but I think his service and what he endured when carrying out that service are a testament to his pride for America. He shouldn’t dance around it by saying stuff like “it’s tough to be proud of America”. No, it isn’t. And I think he knows it isn’t. He’s just such a bad speaker and he’s so afraid of looking like he’s attacking Michelle Obama that he won’t express that. If we’re going to be afraid of attacking the Obama’s on issues like this, we’re going to lose. C’mon, Senator. Hitting a member of the campaign (who cares if it’s a spouse) on something they said at a campaign stop is not “mud slinging” or “dirty politics”. It’s speaking the truth.
malan89 on June 16, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Is there any leftwing tuchis that senile scumbag won’t kiss?
TexasJew on June 16, 2008 at 9:52 PM
A friend asked me the other day who I was voting for this year. I told him I was hoping to vote for a Republican, but looks like I can’t do that this time.
rihar on June 16, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Looks like I might take a pencil with me to the poll come November, after all…
knob on June 16, 2008 at 9:56 PM
You missed the point for conservatives. It is not that he is not proud of the country.
He is a pandering Captain Oblivious.
Valiant on June 16, 2008 at 9:56 PM
McShame or The Messiah, America will be but a memory in 4 years. For me McShames VP choice will be the deciding factor on how I vote, for his VP or a write in that “we” can send a message with….like NO TAXES….send a couple of million ex-tax payers to jail in 2009, we are the bank!
dmann on June 16, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Just what you need for a leader, another nutcase. It’s bad enough one candidate is a Marxist who happens to be black, the other and idiot. Where are the giants? The visions?
It’s even going to be tougher to vote for McAmnesty — I doubt I will. No point in trying to defend an idiot when we already have our very own Charlie Crist.
tarpon on June 16, 2008 at 9:57 PM
But I’ll still vote for him….and I’ll probably throw up afterwards.
And bingo was his name-o.
malan89 on June 16, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Somewhere Mark Salter is banging his head against the wall.
Let’s see if we can predict the spin: Sen. McCain said it’s difficult “in some aspects”, which is far different than saying you’ve not been proud of your country in 27 years. There are some things Sen. McCain sees America as having done that he isn’t proud of — take the torture at Gitmo for example, which certainly isn’t something to be proud of — but, unlike Michelle Obama, he certainly has been consistently proud of his country.
amerpundit on June 16, 2008 at 9:57 PM
What torture would that be amerpundit? Was the chicken cordon bleu undercooked or something?
ShoreMark on June 16, 2008 at 10:00 PM
Remember when Cindy stepped up after Michelle’s gaffe and made it clear to everybody that she is, and has always been proud of her country? She should smack him tonight.
surrounded on June 16, 2008 at 10:00 PM
I think McCain’s purpose all along was to prevent a conservative from getting the nomination. Now that he’s accomplished that, he just wants do enough damage to the Republican Party until election day so that when Obama wins the presidency, any opposition will be in a shambles.
Buddahpundit on June 16, 2008 at 10:00 PM
I’m not saying there was. I’m attempting to predict the spin, and McCain believes water boarding is torture.
amerpundit on June 16, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Remember, take the comment in context. It was “asked” in one of those “virtual town hall” things.
As for “McCain-deranged”, I’d hope by now no one takes that as being mean or insulting. It’s meant as “McCain-misinformed”, but that just doesn’t sound right.
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 10:01 PM
I’m already in love.
—————
John McCain is a liberal idiot.
misterpeasea on June 16, 2008 at 10:03 PM
I figured it out.
THAT is not really John McCain…..It’s Jeff Dunham’s dummy Walter
Talon on June 16, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Gotcha, my bad (just hear that so often that I jumped the gun on your comment).
ShoreMark on June 16, 2008 at 10:05 PM
No probs.
amerpundit on June 16, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Can’t help but to say it folks; this election is all about which one of these two idiots will harm the country the least… Pathetic!
Keemo on June 16, 2008 at 10:06 PM
These are the kind of statements that are insulting.
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 10:08 PM
No, because my neighbor to my right is a single mother, who moved to Spring, Texas from N.J. so that she could get into a house and have a big yard for her little boy to play in, while taking care of her mother who lives with her. The neighbor to my left is a young father of two, who is an accountant for large, global company and bought his first house with his wife two years ago. Everyday my wife and I find the decency and common sense of those around us to be the proper antidote to paying too close attention to a news cycle. Guys like McCain and Obama (or Mitt or Fred or…) are not America. The lady at Kroger, who lets my wife get in front of her in the check-out line because she sees her trying to wrangle my two boys, she is America. I know this sounds somewhat saccharine, but in a bitter political climate a little sweetness can be a welcome addition to the palate.
Weight of Glory on June 16, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Exactly WHO were the aholes that voted for this clown?
Not me…proudly….not me.
Roger Waters on June 16, 2008 at 10:12 PM
atxcowgirl on June 16, 2008 at 9:41 PM
Would you be open to be McCain’s running mate?
MB007 on June 16, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Keemo, et al,
Please don’t stay home on election day. Vote for the best Conservative local Council Person, Supervisor, Congress Person, and Dog Catcher for all that matters…… Keep us in the fight, do not believe the liberal MSM spin that all is lost or it will be……. fight, Fight, FIGHT.
Seven Percent Solution on June 16, 2008 at 10:14 PM
You might find this even more saccharine, but your comment reminded me of this thing i stumbled last night. Thanks for the comment, btw.
i like the last two paragraphs.
http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/thisibelieve.html
surrounded on June 16, 2008 at 10:16 PM
SECOND LOOK AT MIKE HUCKABEE!!!!
Purple Fury on June 16, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Ok, it got kinda looney there at the very last second, but i was having a nice night cap, you know how it is.
Right?
Nevermind.
surrounded on June 16, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Stalking horse.
Saltysam on June 16, 2008 at 10:20 PM
It is obvious that McCain isn’t about to follow Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy of: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Roosevelt wanted others to respect America out of fear.
McCain’s policy appears to be: Speak not a discouraging word and carry a white flag.
pocomoco on June 16, 2008 at 10:21 PM
This is where I’ve said before,get Mitt as VP!
That way Mitt,could of elbowed McCain in his side,
and Mitt could of continued,by saying My friends
what John was trying to convey was………!
Or,McCain need’s a 10 second delay on his mic!
jus sayin! haha.
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:21 PM
I’m just about at wits end with this guy. I’m thinking real hard abort sitting out this election. Let’s clear out all these RINO’s and rebuild the RP.
This country survived Jimmy Carter( wasn’t pretty though). It can survive 4 years of a rookie no nothing Obama.
McCain sucking up to Democrats for 4 years would drive us crazy.
Hummer53 on June 16, 2008 at 10:21 PM
another reason, among MANY MANY reasons, not to vote for captain queeg…..not that any more are needed…
right4life on June 16, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Jeez, if any candidate could pull off the unapologetically patriotic American with ease–even at a time when it seems to be in vogue to be embarrassed to be American–it ought to be John Ex-POW McCain. I can’t believe he gave the weaselly answer to this question, whether he got the Michelle Obama joke or not.
aero on June 16, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Let’s see….
Johnny missed the line and said something stupid in response…..
Thats never happened once to a HotAirhead.
Limerick on June 16, 2008 at 10:23 PM
I’m not trying to be mean,just that McCain is
running for President,and his stage skilz,
need to get a tad better,and think(soundbites)
before you (MSM replays soundbites)talk!
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:24 PM
When the truth starts hurting your feelings, you really need to start reconsidering your position.
Buddahpundit on June 16, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Weight of Glory,
GREAT POST!
Vincenzo on June 16, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Remind me again why I vote Republican?
BacaDog on June 16, 2008 at 10:24 PM
very…and nothing will stop the USA from becoming the USSA (united socialist states of ameriKKKA)
right4life on June 16, 2008 at 10:24 PM
I’m not going to let you get away with that lie amerpundit. Those were interrogations at Gitmo, not torture sessions. You demean the troops when you call them torturers.
highhopes on June 16, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Ben Smith said he went on to list reasons to be proud of this country.
MayBee on June 16, 2008 at 10:27 PM
I’m sorry, I mean Jonathan Martin.
MayBee on June 16, 2008 at 10:27 PM
That never happened once to a HotAirhead.
Limerick on June 16,2008 at 10:23PM.
Limerick: Begging the Colonel’s pardon,but I try awfully
hard to say stupid things now and then,and I’m
damned proud to screw up,and I hope to do it
more often!
You bro, are singing to the choir!—:) :) :) :) :)
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:30 PM
We are witnessing the fastest coup de’tat ever attempted upon American Liberty.
Saltysam on June 16, 2008 at 10:30 PM
BTW,the Liberal’s will interpert this as agreeing
with Michelle Obama’s stance on “For the first time
in my life……….!!!
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:32 PM
malan89 on June 16, 2008 at 9:45 PM
Sorry, I am very conservative, and though Bob Barr isn’t my most ideal candidate, he is more conservative than McCain, and for that matter I am ready to take my pitchfork to Washington, since most of them suck, and Bob Barr represents my pitchfork.
Conservative Voice on June 16, 2008 at 10:33 PM
No one is that goddam stupid!
cjs1943 on June 16, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Not what he said about being proud, which is perfectly apt and uncontroversial and…
Only if you equate “America” with “politics”. Which, most normal people don’t.
What’s wrong with some of you people?
Fred on June 16, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Like I said…”McCain-derangement“.
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Is that a kinder, gentler America I smell? If George W is a compassionate conservative, what kind is McCain – a “bend over and let the libs spank you” conservative? After this election, there may be a lot of us who aren’t so proud of our country any more.
whitetop on June 16, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Anyone who watched the Obama/Gore speech and still claims that McCain is more dangerous to America is nuts. Simply nuts.
Limerick on June 16, 2008 at 10:36 PM
In other news Benedict Arnold proclaims “How dare you question my patriotism!”
aengus on June 16, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Pick Palin as VP and make me feel good about my vote.
Bishop on June 16, 2008 at 10:37 PM
whitetop on June 16, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Wrong, I will always be proud to be American, doesn’t mean I am proud of the leaders in Washington, in fact it has been in spite of Washington that I am proud to be an American.
Conservative Voice on June 16, 2008 at 10:38 PM
TOM TANCREDO!!
DUNCAN HUNTER!!
FDT!!
BOBBY JINDAL!!
SARAH PALIN!!
Anybody!! Anybody??
*collapses, sobbing*
Purple Fury on June 16, 2008 at 10:38 PM
just the truth.
McObama is a liberal….whichever wins, no drilling in ANWR, close club gitmo, liberal judges, tax increases (don’t believe mccain at all) more regulation of obscene profits…exempting beer distributors of course!!
right4life on June 16, 2008 at 10:39 PM
Bishop on June 16, 2008 at 10:37 PM
I think I am past the point that a VP will heal my vast disappointment with McCain. Especially since the VP doesn’t mean squat. Actually I will vote for McCain if he puts Pelosi as VP, because then that will de-fang her.
Conservative Voice on June 16, 2008 at 10:40 PM
And again,
Hellow John,this is chief strategist for the RNC,
can you get on a flight to the RNC as soon as
possible,we want to dicuss your grand,seems
neverending on the trail screw-ups,btw John,with
so much Omama baggage,your going to win!
So,why are you trying to sabotage the dreams of the many,
—————————————-Republicans!
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:41 PM
that’s a start!
Limerick on June 16, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Agreed.
MB007 on June 16, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Just when you thought McCain couldn’t dissapoint his conservative backers anymore than he already has.
Okay, I’m giving up on being surprised.
I love America, all she stands for, and those who gave their lives for our freedom.
But I fear that the majority in Washington see a different nation. They see a nation like Michael Moore. A nation that they will love what she will become.
shick on June 16, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Good Lord! He’s killing me with the “more inclusive” and “more humble” stuff. The meek may inherit the earth, but America has to hold the spot warm until that happens.
Hog Wild on June 16, 2008 at 10:44 PM
We,I mean you,Me thinks there needs to be a political
intervention,the needs of the few,outway the needs of
the many or sumpin like that!
canopfor on June 16, 2008 at 10:44 PM
We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of OZ.
FloatingRock on June 16, 2008 at 10:45 PM
This is not too much of a big deal as far as I can tell.
Missy on June 16, 2008 at 10:47 PM
McCain! Shut up! You’re messing it up for the rest of us!
john1schn on June 16, 2008 at 10:47 PM
I’m no politician, I’m just a country girl.
I don’t think I could bow and pander. I probably wouldn’t be too well liked, cause I like to do things my way.
Does that make me a maverick?
atxcowgirl on June 16, 2008 at 10:47 PM
JetBoy on June 16, 2008 at 10:34 PM
McCain’s only chance is that enough people will force themselves to vote for him from fear of Obama.
That is McCain – “derangement”.
Nice try.
Saltysam on June 16, 2008 at 10:48 PM
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