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"I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live." "I was referring to my prison guards," McCain said, "and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends."
McCain made it clear that his anger extends only toward his captors. As a senator, he was one of the leaders of the postwar effort to normalize U.S. relations with Vietnam.
Campaign officials do not expect the controversy to hurt McCain, either in tomorrow's South Carolina primary or later in the campaign.
"If people understood the context, they wouldn't be upset," Mike Murphy, a senior adviser to the campaign, said last night. - Mona N.
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Then say "THOSE" gooks, Senator. THOSE gooks. Easy word to say, fuckwit. - (teh)Kenny
I'm not sure how I feel about this. lol - Mona N.
"If people understood the context, they wouldn't be upset," -- cop out. way to legitimize racism - Cee Bee
You clipped it...so something however slight, is felt - Anthony Farrior
That's from a long time ago. I'm sure he's all better now. - jeneane 'the wink' sessum
But as a POW, how can you not, at least have some hate towards a specific race. It doesn't excuse racism, but at least he's honest... In some ways it's almost comforting? that he can admit that. Whether I want someone that has resentment for president or not is a WHOOOLE different story. - Mona N.
I'm just not sure that a would-be president should use racial slurs, regardless of the context. I have no doubt that he hates those people, but there are plenty of derogatory terms he could choose that have nothing to do with their race or ethnicity. - Bren
I agree with you Mona. Whether it's understandable or not, I don't want someone with that kind of hatred to run my country. - Carmen
Well, yeah. Buddhists monks would have a hard time after what McCain went through. - (teh)Kenny
Nah, I think this is completely OK. So the guy has some choice words for his captors who beat the crap out of him and his comrades. Think YOU wouldn't hold some animosity? Bet your ass you would. Imagine what he calls them in private... This is probably pretty tame. And understandably so. So, if you're OK with G.D. America from the right rev. Wright I'm sure you're OK with this. N'est pas? - Gerald Buckley
I think Bren stated it more eloquently. ;) - Mona N.
Agreed. I can certainly understand his sentiments... but I'm not so sure that's a characteristic I would want in the President of the United States. - Shawn Duffy
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Just because he's a POW it doesn't give him a pass. - Roshan Vyas
I wonder if someone will call him out on it. - Mona N.
what does the reverend wright have to do with this story? you people need to get over it just like mccain needs to get over his anger - Cee Bee
Even if a black person tortured me, I would never say that I hate the "ni**ers". It's offensive. That's it. - Andru Edwards
And... Our beloved President Johnson had even MORE colorful language along the racial slant. And, Roshan, au contraire mon frere. I believe it DOES give him LOTS of passage into that particular realm. And, Carmen, let them break your arms and legs and spirit and see if you don't harbor some choice epithets. Or, is it all forgive and forget? Do we really want a milquetoast, unopinionated, overly cautious with words, PC-to-the-hilt COMMANDER in chief? I prefer tell it like you see it transparency. - Gerald Buckley
Gerald- Non-sequitur is my favorite logical fallacy, too! Unfortunately, Rev. Wright is not running for president, so the comparison really doesn't hold. Not to mention that Obama publicly denounced Wright, whereas McCain's people have asked us to just 'be ok' with his display of racism. I will restate that I understand his anger, and don't begrudge him that. I just don't want a president who would use a racial slur such as that, because it shows a decided lack of judiciousness. - Bren
There's no excuse for this. - Rodfather
Bren - Let's suppose he never said those words. *POOF* they didn't happen. Are you now going to vote for him? At least he's laying it out there for all to see instead of ALIGNING with people who harbor absolute HATRED for this great country of ours. - Gerald Buckley
Just ask a Vietnamese American how OK it is for someone to be using the word "gook." - Victor Ganata
This Presidential race has now, officially gone past "stupid" and is well on its way to "ludicrous." In deference I will no longer offer logical, cogent argument and only offer inane snark. - Mark VandenBerg
If he is addressing the word at Vietnamese, then I'm pissed, but if he's exclusively using it to refer to folks that tortured him, then I have no problem with it at all. I don't like language police. I don't think McCain is a racist. That said, I don't like McCain's campaign and I will not be voting for him. - Emotion Tad
I agree, bad choice of words....he would've been better off saying "Fuckers" - Sean McGee
Gerald- I would not vote for him for a number of reasons. Again, non-sequiturs do not carry a lot of weight in an argument with me. To intimate that Obama is aligned with people who harbor hatred for this country is also, if not disingenuous, then simply mistaken. I am also appalled by the idea that if you love this country it means you can't hate it's policies, or the people running it, or any other aspect of it. Love of country without the possibility of dissent is absolutely Un-American. - Bren
Besides that, whatever happened to the Christian values of forgiveness? I don't want an angry President with a grudge who tosses out insensitive racial slurs so easily. - Rodfather
Gerald, are you saying that Obama aligns with people who hate America? I haven't seen any proof of this. McCain does say racist things about Asian-Americans, which would be bad for foreign policy, and offensive to a large segment of our population. I like the n-word analogy. He would never even be considered for a president if he said that. - anna
Doh! No better than using the "N" word. - Jeff P. Henderson
I don't get why people are defending the use of the word. I find it highly offensive. - Rodfather
Rodfather - good point. If McCain professes to be such a strong Christian, he should put his money where his mouth is. - Andru Edwards
Bren - rigorous debate is totally palatable here. And, "you're known by the company you keep" is every bit as in play here as any comment McCain has made. Non-sequitur or not. Face it. We're all locked into our positions by now. We're not affecting one another's positions. All we're doing is galvanizing one another. @RodFather - When was the last time we DIDN'T have an angry President. Beats the hell out of the alternatives. - Gerald Buckley
First off, it should be noted that this was a long time ago and he apologized and forswore future usage of "gook," though the apology was weak. Secondly, this is not about McCain being a racist or not -- there's no real reason to believe he is, despite this incident. The real issue at hand is the quality of the judgment and tact of someone who would say this in public and resist apologizing for it when (justly) criticized. Do you want this person being our country's front-man in international relations? - Chester
I love this clip by Jay Smooth on being a racist. It's not that he's a racist or not, it's *that he did a racist thing*. His lack of apology and understanding is HUGE, and that lack of sensitivity (bring in the n-word analogy here) is a problem. Like Bren, though, I wasn't going to vote for him because he lines up with most of the republican party on issues I don't like, so this incident was more "another nail in the coffin." - anna
Yes, Chester, given the two (or three) choices... I most certainly do. Was there a better candidate along the way? YES! But, unfortunately that's off the table now. - Gerald Buckley
