You, like your hero Dick Cheney, can go fuck yourself.

McCain is old, dumb, and belligerent. all we have to do during the general is poke him with a stick at the right time and watch him snarl. Four more years of the Bushista regime. Johnny's had his nose up Georgie's tushie since Gee Dumb was sworn in.

This is dumb. Candidates are not responsible for what people in the audience say (unless they are plants, of course, but that's another topic...), and they are not in a position to start an impromptu debate with their supporters. It's just not appropriate! We really, really don't need to pick apart McCain's response to this idiot in order to show what an idiot he himself is. I am as interested as anyone else in the "shadow campaigns" conducted by surrogates and all that, but this just isn't an example of that. It's an example of McCain showing respect for a fellow veteran even though the guy is obviously insane. Believe me; being polite is the best approach in that situation.

You are a complete ass. Get off my team.

McCain was swiftboated right before the South Carolina primary in 2000.

GW has used the swiftboaters since he ran his first campaign for governor of Texas.

I do not believe McCain was paying any compliments to the veteran who made the swiftboat remark unless McCain is a certifiable hypocrit or has Ronnie Reegan disease (or both).

This is the way republican voters are. Lecture you about "morality" on one hand, do whatever it takes to win on the other. It's called hypocracy and it's how the right has done things for at least 30 years. Even if McCain himself would never officially sign off on such tactics, I'm sure he wouldn't try very hard to stop them either.

BTW: Don't you have to be a veteran to be "swiftboated"? I could be wrong about that.

Salon.com also used to decry the "politics of personal destruction," seemingly as a matter of genuine principle.

Of course, that was before the all-Wright-all-the-time editorial policies of today.

John McCain thanked a supporter. Salon.com has actively become a private mud bath.

It's certainly worth noting that your publication has sunk much further than McCain has in this particular area.

I used to have a little respect for McCain as a man! He appeared to be different than all the other 'bottom feeder Republican's'! In 2000 I might have actually considered voting for him. But, when you get down with the bottom feeders you either get like they are or you never survive! Eventually it starts showing in your character. It was the same with Colon Powell! After he started associating with bottom feeder Republican's he lost his integrity and my vote! McCain has made a complete about face on so many issues I don't believe a word he says anymore. I don't know how people can support him???

Trust me: I don't think that McCain will be distant from the Swift Boats. I am sure that plausible deniability will be pushed to a point where only McCain himself will be able to sleep at night.

However, we should be fair about this particular comment. A "hey, howyadoin'" response with the supporters isn't quite fair game for much analysis. Although Senator McCain is quick on his feet, rope lines and 'we love you John' sorts of moments aren't much for policy announcements.

Yes, there will be more junk like the Congressional Club (and the voter suppression in NC is nothing compared to the the worst cases we will find, later, in Florida and Ohio) in NC, the Harold Ford-styled ads, and all the rest. It's just that this particular moment isn't evidence of it.

But how'd you like a nice swift kick in the ass?

if McCain wants a 'Swift Boat' treatment, then he ought to prepare for a work of fantasy in which he relaxed in bed with Jane Fonda in downtown Hanoi for the duration of his naval career

According to CNN's report, Air Force veteran Clif Sams told McCain that he had done a “damn good job” surviving his imprisonment during the Vietnam War. He then told the senator: “I hope that we have somebody called Swift Boats for McCain come out and help you. You’re damn good.”

“Thank you sir, and thank you for your service,” McCain responded.

+++++++++

Looks to me like McCain (no friend of mine) just wanted to get on with it. His thank you -- one for Sams' compliment and the other for his military service -- was a polite brush-off.

Big deal.

Can anyone tell me what you think an Iraqi Insurgent is?

I will explain...

Every minute of our day as Americans we go about our everyday life and view it as the norm. For most of us this is life as we know it. We go to work, school, shopping and take our families out to the beach or the movies etc.

One morning before you have to crawl out of bed. You are awakened by loud explosions heard in the distance. Your first thought is maybe it was one of the near by refineries that had an explosion. Then you turn on your television to find out that Washington DC and several other major US cities has been invaded and attacked with foreign missiles. A few seconds pass by and pure terror runs through your body. Your first thought is to wake your family up so they can watch the news unfolding on television. An hour goes by and you’re still watching everything unfold on your television when you hear loud engines outside. You look down the street and see military soldiers from a foreign country going through the houses on your street and separating the families. So before they make it to your house you run to your gun cabinet and prepare to fight to keep them out of your house.

You are now considered an American Insurgent. So how different are we from Iraqi Insurgents? Would you sit back and allow this to happen without fighting? I would hope not.