Patterico's Pontifications

6/29/2008

Extra! Stop the Presses! Think Progress Lies About McCain

Filed under: 2008 Election,General — Patterico @ 12:38 pm



Think Progress has a post titled McCain: I ‘Don’t See How It Matters’ That I Don’t Know The Price Of Gas. Wow, that sounds pretty bad. Let’s take a look:

In a telephone interview with the Orange County Register earlier this week, John McCain acknowledged he was unaware of the price of gas.

Jeez. That’s really awful. But let’s take a look at the actual exchange that Think Progress is citing:

WICKSOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost?

MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.

Later in the interview, McCain says:

I’ve been on the campaign trail for so long I don’t remember when I last filled up my own gas tank, but I certainly did for many, many, many years and I understand the difficulties and challenges that it poses for the people of California and my home state of Arizona.

Think Progess cites this as evidence of “McCain’s cluelessness about gas prices.”

But McCain isn’t saying he doesn’t know the price of gas. He is saying that he doesn’t remember the last time he pumped his own gas, and how much it cost then.

So, does John McCain know the cost of a gallon of gas in America? Yes, he does. Here’s a news story from June 18:

“The price of a gallon of gas in America stands at more than four dollars. Yesterday, a barrel of oil cost about 134 dollarsm” said McCain.

Again, that McCain quote is from June 18 — six days before the O.C. Register interview that Think Progress uses to claim McCain doesn’t know the price of gas.

This Think Progress post is a lie. At best, the story is that McCain doesn’t remember the last time he pumped his own gas. Even that is a non-story, since nobody pumps their own gas while on the campaign trail. Someone ask Obama when he last pumped his own gas.

Your mission: to go to every single blog that has linked this Think Progress post, and post the quote I just gave you that shows what a lie it is.

Have fun.

UPDATE: Here’s a partial list of bloggers who have repeated this: Andrew Sullivan (now partially corrected), James Joyner (no correction stand-up correction issued), and John Cole (now acknowledging that he may have gotten it wrong). For more, check Memeorandum.

109 Responses to “Extra! Stop the Presses! Think Progress Lies About McCain”

  1. Your mission: to go to every single liberal blog that has linked this Think Progress post, and post the quote I just gave you that shows what a lie it is.
    .

    Feh. It’s a waste of time. Blogs that proclaim a political bent are, for the most part, echo chambers.

    .

    They know they are lying. It’s just more fun to play blog commentator than it is to play solitaire.

    cboldt (3d73dd)

  2. I don’t think they know they are lying. It’s more like they’re so driven by their cult-worship zealotry that they read the devil’s words in the worst possible light. It makes sense to them.

    The real problem is that anyone takes these crazy people seriously.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  3. Blogs that proclaim a political bent are, for the most part, echo chambers.

    Few ‘proclaim’ any such thing.

    steve (c42ca8)

  4. “Think Progress”, huh? Two lies for the price of one.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  5. This is a distant cousin to the lie about George Bush I. It was alleged that he didn’t know what a supermarket scanner was, showing how out-of-touch he was. Only the story was a hoax. Those stories only work with Republicans, somehow. The McCain “100 year war” story is another example. Expect plenty of similar lies before November.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  6. McCain on June 18:

    Reading from a prepared speech.

    It’s clear that he doesn’t remember what he said in a speech that someone (younger) wrote for him.

    Bottom line, McCain is clueless how much a gallon of gas costs.

    David (53756f)

  7. Few ‘proclaim’ any such thing.
    .
    The instruction “to go to every single liberal blog that has linked this” points to a certain species of self-identified political bent.

    cboldt (3d73dd)

  8. Actually, I removed the word “liberal” from the post once I realized that Outside the Beltway had linked it too.

    Patterico (cb443b)

  9. Bottom line, McCain is clueless how much a gallon of gas costs.
    .
    Bottom line, Obama thinks a ban on possession of a handgun is good public policy, even if, bay the barest of margins, SCOTUS finds such a ban to be unconstitutional.

    cboldt (3d73dd)

  10. Someone call these people a Waaambulance.

    Those liberals have a political bend!!!

    Don’t those moonbats know that it’s the duty of every American to submit, without question, to the Reich-wing’s dream of American Fascism?

    American Patriot (53756f)

  11. You know, there is a problem when politicians get everything “comped” by us. When they don’t feel the strain on their pocketbook to watch the price of gas rise, they lose touch. I bet they don’t even see it in their budgets.

    This is emblematic of how quickly these guys get out of touch with reality.

    martin (0bd3dd)

  12. Don’t those moonbats know that it’s the duty of every American to submit, without question, to the Reich-wing’s dream of American Fascism?

    .

    This country is gone so far from the concept of “free state” that the question is less about whether or not to submit, but which “party” to submit to.

    .

    The Republican party is not friendly to freedom, and the Democratic Party urges a collectivist. Pick your poison, I guess. Both are poison.

    cboldt (3d73dd)

  13. So John McCain doesn’t remember the last time he pumped his own gas, doesn’t remember how much it cost, and doesn’t think it matters how much it cost. That’s the line you’re going with?

    Great, let’s get that into 30 second spots.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  14. southpaw, are you trying to be ironic?

    SPQR (26be8b)

  15. “nobody pumps their own gas while on the campaign trail.”

    And when was the last time that John McCain was not running for president?

    By the way, he can’t work a computer and he and his wife own seven homes. But Obama is the elitist.

    Kyle (336b57)

  16. By the way, he can’t work a computer

    Neither can my wife, and she is more qualified to be President than your Obamessiah.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  17. “By the way, he can’t work a computer and he and his wife own seven homes. But Obama is the elitist.”

    By the way, you’ve offered no proof for your inane tirades so far – just more braying to your own genuflection in the mirror.

    Dmac (ea35f7)

  18. southpaw – I’m going to go with Obama’s foreign endorsements, but make them two minute spots.

    Venezuela – Chavez
    Cuba – Castro
    North Korea – Kim Jong Il
    Iran – Imadamnutjob
    Libya – Gaddafi
    Hamas – Rockets-R-Us

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  19. southpaw, are you trying to be ironic?

    Well, yes. This whole post misses the point. It’s not that McCain doesn’t remember the price of gas in 1993 or whenever he last drove his own vehicle. He could have someone look that up. Rather, what matters is that he doesn’t see why it’s a relevant question. “I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.” It matters how much the price of gas means to McCain on a visceral level because of how much it affects the rest of us every day; the question essentially asks How much does the price of gas impact your life? McCain’s first answer essentially was Not much and why should I care. (That’s why McCain tried to go back at the end of the interview and explain that he connected with the struggles Americans are facing with this new expense. And that’s what McCain and his supporters should be emphasizing, not that his first response was the right thing to say. His first response seemed pretty out of touch.)

    southpaw (d41be8)

  20. What a ridiculous conclusion to draw from the answer to the question asked? And if the question were asked of Obama, the answer would be the same and also that his recent failure to pump his own gas and his inability to remember are the direct result of the failed policies of the Bush Administration, which McCain will perpetuate in a third Bush term.

    For those whining about elitism, Obama stepped right into that with his San Francisco comments. And the problem for him is that those remarks were a window into his soul because they reflect precisely how he feels about middle America. Those remarks are dogsh*t that he’ll be trying to scrape of his shoes for the rest of the campaign, and he will track them into every place he appears other that moonbat rallies.

    SAM (d671ab)

  21. I love the “Update” at James Joyner’s blog post now. No admission that he stupidly chose to link to a flagrant misrepresentation of what McCain said. You see, the whole thing’s McCain’s fault for being “dismissive”.

    gatepost (3ec5ed)

  22. Given that the candidates travel so extensively, and the prices of various commodities vary across the country, by giving any specific number to the “how much is a quart of milk/loaf of bread/gallon of gas”, he would be attacked if he was the merest fraction off in his answer, based not on national averages, but on local prices.

    I would even give Obama a pass for not knowing such minutiae, because that isn’t the President’s job. The POTUS and his staff set policy, not prices.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  23. “Extra! Stop the Presses! Think Progress Lies About McCain”
    No. They refer to an interview that you say:
    “Think Progess cites… as evidence of “McCain’s cluelessness about gas prices.”
    And it does point to that. Except[!] that in another interview[!!] McCain knew the price of gas. You don’t know if they’re lying or not and you’re lying in saying they do. Or maybe you just missed the obvious distinction?
    They’re playing a short time game and you’re coming back at them. It’s called politics.
    But McCain’s gas tax holiday is a joke. That’s the bigger issue.

    As you were.

    JAR (864b31)

  24. Almost every single post at think progress is based on a false premise or a lie, so… I’m not even exaggerating either. Straight up liberal pravda over there. After commenting there for a while, pointing out all their bs, now my comments are only visible to me… Think progress did this without even giving me notice… You are not allowed to disrupt the echo chamber…

    Seixon (f63a9a)

  25. The only thing that could have made this non-story st000pider is if McCain had hailed from NJ or OR, where pumping one’s own gas is illegal.

    FYI, Joyner has issued a correction.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  26. Don’t those moonbats know that it’s the duty of every American to submit, without question, to the Reich-wing’s dream of American Fascism?

    Comment by American Patriot — 6/29/2008 @ 1:20 pm

    Sorry, fascism is a left win reactionary belief.

    See “Liberal Fascism” by Jonah Goldberg.

    And, no, you not a patriot.

    N. O'Brain (b343ab)

  27. The ever charming Ms. Marcotte has a new blog site.

    Of course she links Think Progress…and earnestly asks, “why would we want this man to run the country? “

    I anticipate a correction from her any second.

    🙂

    Dana (a61bbb)

  28. southpaw, to the contrary, the question of when McCain last pumped his own gas is extraordinarily irrelevant to his qualifications for President – he won’t find filling up the White House limosines to be among his duties.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  29. southpaw, to the contrary, the question of when McCain last pumped his own gas is extraordinarily irrelevant to his qualifications for President – he won’t find filling up the White House limosines to be among his duties.

    Whoa, you totally killed that straw man. Well played.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  30. All McCain would have to say is that the “prgressives” want higher gas prices and the higher the better. That is a charge that the Democrats can’t defend against and they will end up in the loony bin by even trying to defend themselves from the charge.

    Their argument would go something like this: “We need lower gas prices so that we can afford to drive more and destroy the planet quicker!”.

    j curtis (c84b9e)

  31. For one thing, gas is 70 cents a gallon cheaper in Arizona than California. It may not be that easy to keep track. Second, McCain has been spending a lot of time being ferried around the past year. It always amuses me when the lefties cite Gore with his ‘leventy-thousand square foot mansion with a carbon footprint bigger than Harry Reid’s state outside of Vegas, while Bush has a ranchhouse with all the green features the lefties say they want. Arianna Huffington was on ABC this morning pontificating when she hasn’t lived like the hoi polloi since she married whatsisname, the gay guy.
    “Do as I say, not as I do !”

    Mike K (2cf494)

  32. Whether McCain knows for a fact the actual price of a gallon of gas is meaningless except for those who like to play the “Gotcha” game (yes, both sides do it; even innocent me).

    He knows the price is high, that it’s damaging the economy and that people are hurting at the pump. It’s why he is in favor, of among other proposals, increasing the domestic supply of gas.

    Does anyone believe he doesn’t know the high cost is causing, for want of a better word, problems?

    SteveMG (3061db)

  33. Amusing, southpaw, since the first strawman was yours – as Patterico points out, McCain’s answer in no way indicates that he is unfamiliar with the issue of the price of gas.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  34. His answer indicates that he doesn’t remember when he last filled up or how much it cost, and that he doesn’t think it matters. It’s kind of like not knowing the difference between Sunni and Shia. Nobody doubts that McCain could look it up or be advised about it, but it indicates the general cast of his mind.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  35. No, southpaw, you are simply wrong. Not remembering when he filled up or the price then has nothing to do with the price of gas today. That’s what Patterico established in the first place.

    Your attempt to spin this story fails and rather obviously.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  36. On the left, “spin” is the new “fact”.

    tyree (8971e1)

  37. “The ever charming Ms. Marcotte has a new blog site.”

    Called what?

    I’m a slut that’s nuts?

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  38. Yeah, you’re right. Just patiently explain to us again what John McCain meant:

    John McCain doesn’t remember the last time he purchased gasoline or how much it cost, and he thinks that does not matter.

    Keep repeating that. We’ll all get it eventually.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  39. i’m betting he doesnt know the name of the vice-premier of Crapistan either

    chas (12a229)

  40. Yeah, southpaw, the left is really down with the accuracy thing these days. Here’s Matt Yglesias in the Atlantic. See how many errors you can find here.

    “John McCain doesn’t know how to use a computer. John McCain doesn’t know when he last pumped gas or what it cost. John McCain owns seven homes and forgot to pay taxes on one of them for the past four years. But at least he’s not an elitist like Barack Obama. He earned his money the old-fashioned way — marrying an heiress.”

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  41. I guess we can put southpaw down for the “Keeping lying about McCain” strategy.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  42. John McCain doesn’t remember the last time he purchased gasoline or how much it cost, and he thinks that does not matter.

    Here’s a quick way to clear up this issue. Southpaw, what was meant by the “that” I bolded above? What specifically does McCain think isn’t important in this context?

    Because the way I see it, he’s talking about the fact that he doesn’t know what the price that the corner gas station is charging, NOT that he isn’t aware of the rising gas prices.

    Let’s try this: tell me what the local price of gasoline is? If you get it wrong, you will forever forfeit any right to have your opinion on this subject taken seriously.

    (If you refuse to try, then you are agreeing with McCain that “it isn’t important”.)

    Well?

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  43. “John McCain doesn’t know how to use a computer. John McCain doesn’t know when he last pumped gas or what it cost. John McCain owns seven homes and forgot to pay taxes on one of them for the past four years. But at least he’s not an elitist like Barack Obama. He earned his money the old-fashioned way — marrying an heiress.”

    How many errors, Dailyrocks?

    JAR (864b31)

  44. He probably does not know how to use a crack pipe, either. Or to stand on one leg, rub his stomach and pat his head at the same time.

    And, BTW, that “home” he “forgot to pay taxes on” is an even more BS story than this one.

    nk (11c9c1)

  45. Drumwaster: Agreed, mostly. But I take the quote to mean he doesn’t know what the station WAS charging. Making the ThinkProgress gotcha! even dumber.

    fat tony (601b8d)

  46. Ok. It’s not “his” home. And “he” didn’t “forget”
    Maybe his wife did?
    It’s a comedy. It’s a another senior moment.
    Now defend the tax holiday.

    JAR (864b31)

  47. But I take the quote to mean he doesn’t know what the station WAS charging.

    There are three gas stations I use on a regular basis. I don’t know what any of the three are charging, just that I have to spend more for each fill up.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  48. Now defend the tax holiday.

    Given that government is making three times the money per gallon that the oil companies are, a gas tax holiday would do a great deal to lower costs immediately (an estimated 60 cents per gallon here in California – 34 cents for State and Local sales tax, 18 cents for the State excise tax and another 18 cents for the Federal excise tax). Link as of June 23

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  49. Let’s try this: tell me what the local price of gasoline is? If you get it wrong, you will forever forfeit any right to have your opinion on this subject taken seriously.

    (If you refuse to try, then you are agreeing with McCain that “it isn’t important”.)

    Well, gee, what with the bodyguards, it’s so hard to remember. And frankly, I don’t think your concerns are relevant.

    Just Kidding. At the Shell station where I filled up yesterday in Charlottesville, it was $4.09 for grade 87. Cost me about $55 for a little more than 3/4 of a tank.

    Anyway, I think if you look back at my comments, you’ll see that I’m not discussing whether McCain knows the current price of gas. On the contrary, I’m trying to explain why it’s a pretty bad answer from a political perspective because he appears dismissive and soi distant. I think it’s pretty clear that McCain himself agrees it was a bad answer because he himself went back and tried to clean it up at the end of the interview. If you don’t want to concede that it was a bad answer politically, fine! Keep using it.

    And daleyrocks, I don’t see any errors at all in the Yglesias post. Perhaps you could enlighten me.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  50. So you don’t understand economic incentives either, do you?
    Go buy another Hummer. All my money is bet on idiots like you.
    Make me more money, please.
    I love Capitalism.

    JAR (864b31)

  51. At the Shell station where I filled up yesterday in Charlottesville, it was $4.09 for grade 87. Cost me about $55 for a little more than 3/4 of a tank.

    I wasn’t asking for the price of gasoline where YOU fill up. I was asking what the price of gasoline is where I am (since I am the reporter asking questions of you, the Presidential candidate, in this little scenario). God, how elitist that you think your hometown is where everyone lives…

    But since you say my concerns over the price of gasoline don’t matter to you, that will make a nice headline.

    (See how it feels? Gotcha games are too common to give much credo to, but you attempt to lambaste McCain for giving the same answer you just did.)

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  52. Geez southpaw, who owns all that real estate, Cindy or John? Those back taxes that the left is gloating about? Those were the responsibility of a trust that screwed up a mailing address, weren’t they? I could be mistaken.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  53. Make me more money, please.

    Good thing your boy wants to triple tax those oil speculation profits, isn’t it?

    Better start hiding cash under your mattress. At least until the Dems devalue the currency entirely.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  54. And, BTW, that “home” he “forgot to pay taxes on” is an even more BS story than this one.

    Such BS that the McCain campaign issued this withering response:

    Shortly after NEWSWEEK inquired about the matter, the McCain aide e-mailed a receipt dated Friday, June 27, confirming payment by the trust to San Diego County in the amount of $6,744.42. County officials say the trust still owes an additional $1,742 for this year, an amount that is overdue and will go into default July 1. Told of the outstanding $1,742, the aide said: “The trust has paid all bills shown owing as of today and will pay all other bills due.”

    Those Newsweek reporters must be so embarrassed.

    Just as an aside, can you imagine the shitstorm you guys would throw if Michelle Obama hadn’t paid her taxes for four years?

    southpaw (d41be8)

  55. I se that the Leftists are out in full force, lying their mendoucheous asses off.

    JD (5f0e11)

  56. Those Newsweek reporters must be so embarrassed.

    No shit, huh?

    Oh, wait, you’re talking about something specific, huh?

    Just as an aside, can you imagine the shitstorm you guys would throw if Michelle Obama hadn’t paid her taxes for four years?

    I think Michelle should be more embarrassed about getting that huge raise right after her husband – the Senator – got seven-figure Federal earmarks for the hospital where she worked.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  57. Let’s have a contest and see if southpaw, just another reader, harpy, or Levi is the biggest liar.

    JD (5f0e11)

  58. Patterico: time to break out the Troll No-Pest Strip.

    Paul (0ea0cf)

  59. Geez southpaw, who owns all that real estate, Cindy or John? Those back taxes that the left is gloating about? Those were the responsibility of a trust that screwed up a mailing address, weren’t they? I could be mistaken.

    Devastating niggling. Of course, Cindy is in fact married to John, so perhaps it’s acceptable shorthand to treat their real property as jointly held? Cindy does control the trust that owes the taxes, right? It is the trustee’s responsibility to keep the record address up to date?

    southpaw (d41be8)

  60. This is hardly news, there’s no reason to stop the presses!

    htom (412a17)

  61. I haven’t lied at all. I’m voting for a higher capital gains tax, and I’m living almost entirely off capital gains.

    I guess I’m just a class traitor.

    signing off

    JAR (864b31)

  62. It’s patently absurd to claim McCain is ignorant of the price of gas. One would have to assume that McCain doesn’t own a television, doesn’t watch the news, and never looks out the window at the literally thousands of gas stations he has passed while campaigning. The man isn’t an idiot.

    Of course, the only way to think McCain is clueless about the price of oil is to conclude that he is, himself, an ignoramus. Common sense tells us he isn’t, so he’s surely not ignorant of the price of a gallon of gas.

    Josh Bozeman (3ac031)

  63. I’m off to dinner, but feel free to baselessly call me a liar in my absence.

    southpaw (d41be8)

  64. Of course, Cindy is in fact married to John, so perhaps it’s acceptable shorthand to treat their real property as jointly held?

    Not unless you can prove this. There are many couples in their second marriages that treat their prior personal property as separate property.

    She was an heiress before she was Mrs. McCain, and heiress means that prenups are likely.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  65. I’d be more concerned if McCain didn’t know how many states were located in the continental US -or if he said of his many former friends that he suddenly “didn’t really know them.” Let’s see how the tally adds up: he “didn’t really know” Tony Rezko; he “didn’t really know” Reverend Wright, he “didn’t really know” about his former trade expert when he spoke off the record with Canada, and then he “didn’t really know” about his former economic advisor being a frontman for Countrywide, and of course he “didn’t really know” about his former fundraiser/bomb thrower Ayers.

    That’s a heck of a lot of folks that were close to him that he quickly realized he didn’t know anything about. But you’re concerned that McCain isn’t up to date about what a gallon of petrol goes for as of yesterday, around the block from his home? Nice set of priorities.

    Dmac (ea35f7)

  66. I’m off to dinner, but feel free to baselessly call me a liar in my absence.

    Not a liar, so much as operating from incorrect assumptions.

    Garbage In, Garbage Out.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  67. “Cindy is in fact married to John, so perhaps it’s acceptable shorthand to treat their real property as jointly held?

    Unless it actually was jointly held in fact, it is not acceptable to assume so. And if in fact it was a trust, with Cindy McCain as trustee ( something I’ve no knowledge of one way or another ), then it is even less accurate.

    This is another example of people straining honesty, logic and rationality to be able to maintain a stupid and lame “gotcha” point.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  68. McObama “that’s not the price of a gallon of gas that I knew”. Neither one of them has pumped a gallon of gas in some time.

    AFAIK Arizona is a community property state; and Mrs. McCain’s property owned before marriage remains her separate property; property she inherits is her separate property etc. So it is not “reasonable to assume” that real or other property owned by Mrs. McCain is in fact”jointly owned”. I don’t know if the McCains signed a prenup agreement either; if they did, it may well have an impact on how much, if any, of Mrs. McCain’s property is “jointly owned” by Mr. McCain.

    And while we’re on the topic, I sure hope that Teresa Heinz Kerry had a prenup with the
    Boston Windsurfer. That doofus doesn’t deserve any of her money.

    Mike Myers (31af82)

  69. Does Obama know how many States are in the Unites States?

    Obama 57 States 2 left to go..

    shawn (72dee5)

  70. Does Obama know how many States are in the Unites States?

    That’s the kind of question they ask people to find out how long they have been in a coma. He got it wrong.

    Maybe he was thinking of Teresa Heinz’s steak sauce.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  71. hey y’all, back off of cindy mccain, she didn’t steal prescription drugs from her own charity because she was a bad person, she did it because her husband the senator left her all alone in arizona while he was in washington. show some empathy for a botoxed beer magnate bimbo without a man around to excite her, imagine your own wife under these trying circumstances. john mccain is blameless for tossing his first wife aside, the one who labored tirelessly for his release from the north vietnamese until she was crippled in a wreck and hence no good to anybody. that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and you’d have to be a shameless, envious liberal to find fault with any rich, perfectly coiffed blonde corporate appliance.

    assistant devil's advocate (5418b0)

  72. ADA, those are really cheap, pathetic shots. John McCain himself has taken responsibility for his behavior in his first marriage. I think you are reaching for a low there that ill becomes you.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  73. ADA, those are really cheap, pathetic shots.

    Are you surprised? Obama’s wife is off limits, but McCain’s is fair game. Why is that, I wonder?

    Could it be because they have nothing else? Or is it because they are racists and hypocrites, like all Democrats?

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  74. spqr, you don’t know the half of it. my mother’s aunt was hard of hearing and legally blind. she bought $5000 worth of junks bonds, marketed as bank cd’s, from lincoln savings, the subsidiary of american continental corporation, run by charles keating, the man who bought senator john mccain and kept him in his waistcoat pocket.

    my mom’s aunt redeemed her five grand in junk bonds before the portcullis slammed down, but this didn’t save her from trouble. american continental corporation filed bankruptcy, and under the “voidable preference” law of bankruptcy, the u.s. trustee sued my mom’s aunt to reclaim into the bankrupt estate the money lincoln savings had swindled from her in the first place.

    i was able to help prevent the bankruptcy court from sticking my mom’s aunt a second time, but it was a memorable experience. what happened to my mom’s aunt was akin to being raped by an american flagstick. this happened quite some time ago, but i have not lost an iota of indignation over it. in my world, personal grudges transcend all political considerations. i’m not going looking for john mccain, but if he comes looking for me and gets close enough, i will spit on him.

    assistant devil's advocate (5418b0)

  75. I predict when the inevitable gaffe from Ms. O spews forth, her hubby will inevitably throw her under the bus as well, exclaiming that “Michelle Obama is not the woman I knew.” To be quickly followed by “I’m not the man I thought I knew.”

    Dmac (ea35f7)

  76. ADA, you have your history wrong. McCain was cleared in the Keating ethics investigation. He was the cleanest of the bunch and roped into it because all the rest were Democratic senators. That episode is a poor reason for you to descend into the kind of cheap attack you are engaging in.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  77. i’m not going looking for john mccain, but if he comes looking for me and gets close enough, i will spit on him.

    Make sure you get a few friends to put it on You Tube. I’m sure all of us would love to see you get your ass handed to you by a septuagenarian.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  78. I tried to make this very point in the comments at Think Progress and was eventually banned, the blogger’s equivalent of shoving fingers in each ear and saying “I can’t hear you.”

    RH Potfry (b002ec)

  79. “Those hillbilly rednecks are not the hillbilly rednecks I thought I knew:”

    http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/2008/06/29/8-year-old-news/

    Dmac (ea35f7)

  80. drumwaster, i’d be happy to do a charity bout against this mighty “septuagenarian”. after three ninety second rounds, i don’t think he’d be getting up off the canvas – ever.

    assistant devil's advocate (5418b0)

  81. One idiotic remark does not translate into “some of the liberal politicians want to nationalize the US oil industry”

    Just make sure that it gets on YouTube, big mouth.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  82. I gotta be more careful about quotes. That was from the other thread, but my invitation remains the same.

    Put up or shut up, braggart.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  83. if senator mccain agrees to a charity bout, i promise you i’ll put it on youtube, ok?

    assistant devil's advocate (5418b0)

  84. Come on guys, this does not become either of you.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  85. if senator mccain agrees to a charity bout, i promise you i’ll put it on youtube, ok?

    What happened to your threat to spit on him? Backing down now?

    I thought as much.

    You’re right, SPQR, he’s not worth the time.

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  86. Obama is an ignorant twit for sure, but the fact that the GOP candidate has no freaking clue as to the price of gas and the impact on Joe six-pack (Who is now filing to change his name to “Joe Tall-Boy) should scare us. Of course, he IS the Democrats choice of Republican.

    martin (0bd3dd)

  87. I’m almost at the point where I may not even be able to hold my nose and vote for this man, and I’m sure not voting for no Obama-rookie. I wish McCain wasn’t such a doofus though. He could have just answered the question. It wasn’t a hard question involving massive amounts of knowledge or intellect. Every day that I learn more about McCain makes me want to sit this election out.

    exhaustedrepublican (82f600)

  88. Seixion #24: That thing, that policy or whatever, that ThinkProgress is doing with your comments, is there any terminology for this type of internet deception? If not, there really should be. Blogs that engage in this practice should be held up to public scorn and derision. I’m surprised at Jeralyn Merritt would sanction such a practice. Censorship and deception.

    J2 (b56261)

  89. the fact that the GOP candidate has no freaking clue as to the price of gas and the impact on Joe six-pack (Who is now filing to change his name to “Joe Tall-Boy) should scare us.

    If that were that fact, then I would agree. But since it isn’t true, that makes you yet another “TP” chugging moron.

    Shame. (Do none of these twerps have any original ideas?)

    Drumwaster (5ccf59)

  90. Nice work, Patterico.

    Beldar (e91136)

  91. Another thread devolved into pathetic (and ultimately pointless) partisan blustering.

    I hereby dub the phenomenon “partisentropy”.

    Leviticus (bbbd8f)

  92. ada – I didn’t know John McCain had a securities license.

    How do people confuse CD’s with junk bonds in the first place? There are junk CD’s if they are over the deposit limit or in uninsured institutions, but why blame others for your aunt’s mistakes even though her situation wa unfortunate.

    daleyrocks (1cc55d)

  93. I declare a 3-way tie between Levi, harpy, and southpaw for Most Mendoucheous Lying Crapweasel.

    JD (5f0e11)

  94. Another thread devolved into pathetic (and ultimately pointless) partisan blustering.

    As if you’ve never involved yourself in such activities.

    Paul (0ea0cf)

  95. This is what the Obamabots did to the Clintons. They took every word they said and twisted it around and assigned the most nefarious meanings to them, so get real used to this tactic. No one in the media stood up for the Clintons and I doubt they will stand up for McCain either.

    OxyCon (539ec7)

  96. They should ask Obama what the price was when he last filled a car, which based on SS protection would have been last year sometime.
    HuffPo had the same lie on their front page all weekend:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/john-mccain-doesnt-know-t_b_109601.html

    I kept posting these quotes in the comments:

    Two recent McCain quotes:

    “Opponents of domestic production cling to their position even as the price of foreign oil has doubled and doubled again. They were against it when a gallon of gas cost two dollars. They are still against it when a gallon of gas cost well above four dollars.”

    http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/Speeches/1b708e23-5496-42a3-8771-aec271bf823e.htm

    “Gas is 5 dollars a gallon in Santa Barbara…

    http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2008/jun/26/transcript-mccain-interview/

    juliesa (06ce13)

  97. I didn’t realize until now, though, that the OC interview was so old. HuffPo didn’t provide that data. My quotes are from after that interview.

    It’s still a dumb question to ask a candidate on the road when prices vary by more than a dollar by locale. It hasn’t broken $4 yet where I live.

    juliesa (06ce13)

  98. “I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.” It matters how much the price of gas means to McCain on a visceral level because of how much it affects the rest of us every day;

    Late to the game, I know, but here’s a different take: McCain wasn’t saying that the price of gas doesn’t matter, he was saying that it didn’t matter when he last pumped his own gas.

    And it really doesn’t matter when he last pumped a tank of gas.

    Steverino (b42fd7)

  99. Likewise late to the party. Agree with Steverino, but with one addition: Senator McCain was saying that it does not matter how much gas cost several months ago when he last pumped his own gas. It’s a single data point that has very little independent meaning.

    I wish McCain wasn’t such a doofus though. He could have just answered the question. It wasn’t a hard question involving massive amounts of knowledge or intellect.

    Disagree with that. I have an excellent memory – the kind of memory where I can look at someone’s credit card and remember the numbers a year later – and I cannot tell you the price of gasoline at every point over the past year. I genuinely remember the price of gasoline for maybe half of the past 52 weeks, and I could guess the rest.

    It actually is a hard question. Had Senator McCain answered incorrectly (either with the date that he received SS detail, or the price of gas on that date), he would look like a fool. Had he answered correctly (approximately $3.60/gallon nationwide, roughly the same for supreme in rural Virginia), he would have cited prices that are almost a dollar lower than they are today. Can you imagine the kerfuffle? “McCain Sez Gas Costs $3.50/gallon!”

    bridget (e8e4c8)

  100. Listen, the lobbyist on his bus let McCain go to the bathroom whenever he likes. He is INDEPENDANT, you know.

    If he needs to know the price of gas, they would have told him. The oil companies are doing fine, so why bother him?

    Bruce Williams (0c87a4)

  101. Your mission: to go to every single blog that has linked this Think Progress post, and post the quote I just gave you that shows what a lie it is.

    Already done at The Politburo Diktat before I got to this website. 😉

    I am very fortunate that I live roundtrip from work about 5 miles and all the shopping I do is in between work and home, so I fill up my 20 gal tank about once a month,

    Now I usually fill up around the end of the month, but no I don’t recall what the price was teh last time I filled up. Just that it will be higher the next time.

    DRILL NOW DRILL HERE PAY LESS

    Now THAT is something Obama and the Democrats will not support, which is more important to me that some bogus slam at McCain.

    Obama loose quote, If I were certain that drilling off shore would lower the price at the pumps in the next few years, or the near future I might consider it????

    Dan Kauffman (b31cae)

  102. Bogus slams may very well be the Barack Bese-Me-Mucho Obama stategy for the fall which is why he opted out of public financing. We saw in the recent Illinois gubernatorial election. Blagojevich raise about five times as much as Barr-Topinka so he filled the airwaves with cheap shots and out-of-context soundbites that she could not counter.

    nk (11c9c1)

  103. But, nk, Baracky Voldemort Obama is the post-racial post-partisan candidate that is bringing hope and change to a new generation.

    JD (75f5c3)

  104. I’m from NJ. I can’t tell you when the last time I pumped my own gas was. As for the price, it doesn’t much matter because I need it to get to work. I didn’t marry my mortgage or my car payment (actually the car is paid off), so there is flexibility in my budget for rising costs. Wow! What a concept – living below your means.

    fromNJ (bc14f2)

  105. “Already done at The Politburo Diktat before I got to this website.”

    Ah, the Politburo Diktat. So he fell for it too, huh? Not surprising. Just like converts are the most religious, previous conservatives who have become Democrats, like John Cole and “the Commissar” Stephen, will fall for absolutely any slander against a Republican.

    Patterico (117094)

  106. McCain is so unfamiliar with the price of gasoline he proposed a gas tax holiday.

    These idiots need to put down their bongs.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  107. As might be expected, Think Progress referenced this Patterico post but it mis-characterized it by only referencing the fact that the question referred to the cost of gas the last time he pumped himself. Think Progress completely fails to mention that McCain gave a speech a week before the OC Register interview that shows he knows the current price of gas.

    jt007 (4ee859)

  108. Martin said:

    “You know, there is a problem when politicians get everything “comped” by us. When they don’t feel the strain on their pocketbook to watch the price of gas rise, they lose touch. I bet they don’t even see it in their budgets.”

    Gas for campaign vechicles is paid for from a campaign account. Neither McCain or Obama whip out their wallets at the gas station.
    And the idea that the Secret Service would let their protectee stand out in the open and pump gas is ridiculous on the face of it!

    proof (4721a6)


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