Oh, the screeching, the wailing, the wall-punching outrage if a conservative had put a question this obnoxious to a Democrat. HuffPo, bless its withered heart, describes our interrogator as a “Baptist minister” but read further into their blockquote and you’ll see he’s a former campaign worker for Joe Biden. The peg here is an anecdote from lefty journo Cliff Schechter’s book, “The Real McCain,” alleging that Maverick once dropped this term of non-endearment on his wife in front of reporters. The story’s been circulating in nutroots circles for months, decked out in the trappings of a “legitimate” campaign issue to disguise its real purpose. They do the same thing when outing closeted gay Republicans, framing it as a question of hypocrisy when what they’re really after is the salacious public humiliation that comes with any sex scandal. Same with this: They’re hot to show that Maverick’s a prick and a bad husband, but rather than just circulate the story with that explicit goal, they adorn it with the stupid “substantive” pretext that it speaks to McCain’s temper, as if him acting boorishly towards his wife means he might fly off the handle one night as president and push the button. It’s their way of flattering their own supposed progressive virtue, just like when they pronounced themselves starved for policy questions after the 21st debate of the campaign.

The irony? If they wanted an insight into McCain’s temper, they got one. Click the image to watch and see if any buttons are pushed.

Update: Further to the point that if the ideological roles were reversed here the left would be having itself a conniption, imagine if the questioner had been affiliated with, say, Instapundit or MichelleMalkin.com.

In an interview with IowaPolitics.com, Parrish said his intentions were simple in posing the question to McCain. The former Joe Biden campaign worker stressed he is very concerned about the Republican presidential nominee’s temperament.

“We have a man whose temper can get the best of him,” Parrish said. “What I am worried about is his temper. Our country is in a serious crisis. This election is the most significant one since 1860. It appears America is asleep — so I stood up and asked the question.”

Parrish signed in as a Huffington Post contributor and was taking pictures at the town hall meeting.

Note that HuffPo itself excerpts portions of this story from Iowa Politics — and conspicuously leaves off just before the paragraph where IP identifies the questioner’s affiliation.