Comments on: McCain moment

By: Steve Body

Steve Body — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:33:31 +0000

Everybody has unguarded moments and this was one of John McCain’s. Any normal person knows that McCain isn’t like this 24×7. Howard Smith’s comments exemplify the dangerous change that has overcome journalism where it is treated as “defamatory” to present something that actually happened or was said, or to present politicians as if they are human. This attitude leads to excessive deference: these people are supposed to be our servants, not we theirs. It then creeps into reporting on their policies, as if they, too, are flawless; that to e.g. question the ‘evidence’ of Iraqi WMDs is also “defamatory”. Smith should disclose who employs him, so we know what organizations distort the news, so that we can discount them.

By: CC

CC — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:47:10 +0000

It would have been 10 times funnier if Sarah Palin was in front of him.

By: CC

CC — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:45:03 +0000

Good point made by others:

This is the same thing as the overplayed Howard Dean yell & other overplayed campaign moments. Most people know the context of the photo anyway, so it won’t hurt McCain by anyone. Its just a dang funny picture!

By: Dalena

Dalena — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:04:48 +0000

C’mon guys – this picture is hilarious. When has any funny picture of a presidential candidate or president ever been hidden from the public. I think there are entire websites dedicated to funny pictures of George W. Personally, I’m thankful I live in a country where pictures like this can be freely shared. I have to admit, I laugh every time I see this picture.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:25:05 +0000

It seems to me that McCain is closer to the camera than Obama is – That he isn’t even behind him.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:09:01 +0000

As much as it’s an emarassing photo for McCain and his party, the reality is that it captured the moment perfectly. It hasn’t been manipulated and wasn’t shot out of context (Obama is in shot). It’s therefore fair game to use this.

I don’t know that it’s particularly newsworthy in it’s own right though…I think you’d have to use it carefully to remain balanced. But it is nevertheless a good shot that most of us would be happy to have captured simply because the timing has to be perfect (as confirmed by the number of people who missed it).

By: JAS

JAS — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:05:58 +0000

I beleve that is the real face of Republicans. This photo is very popular because every body knows, that Mac Cain lay’s to the American’s….xxxx

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:18:46 +0000

All this tongue jutting seems rather involuntary, which is troubling because it’s a sign of incipient Alzheimer’s disease.
When an adult licks his lips you think he’s up to something, when a septuagenarian compulsively juts out his tongue quickly, you suggest that his doctor run some tests.

By: shane

shane — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:39:54 +0000

Howard, did you ever think that maybe the incident happened in front of millions and the photographer is simply putting it out there for all to see. It might be embarrassing to McCain, but this behavior would also be embarrassing for the USA if he did this after a meeting with world leaders.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:22:12 +0000

McCain needs to check with Cheney to see if he is using the same anti-medication. Cheney never lapses into moments such as this.