. . . can agree to disagree with himself on this issue, to avoid a civil war in his own head.

Oy vey.

the percentage of African Americans and Latinos who join the armed forces? The percentage that regularly attend church? I may be wrong, but I think it's higher than the average in rural, white, America. Just sayin'.

Otherwise why would he bless western PA with such a good football team and curse it with such a lousy baseball team?

Inspiring words, Mr. McCain.

It's been a long campaign. That's what I chalk these things up to. Both of them made misstatements at the debates, and elsewhere. It was clear what they meant. They're both tired, so let's give 'em a break on these kinds of things, please.

No quarter given...

I'm tired of a "president" who thinks he can govern by soundbytes and then can't even deliver his own accurately.

Just a suggestion -- I was watching a video when the page automatically refreshed, cutting the video just as it was coming to the punchline, as it were. This has also happened to me while reading a post, and it is very annoying. The auto-refresh makes sense on the home page, but not on a content page, where people may actually be trying to read or view the content!

I live there and the people here seem to believe that.

It's not that McCain totally flubbed his nasty little phrase... it's the sentiment he was TRYING to convey that is most offensive.

How long did the campaign have to look to find the young woman behind McCain?

Amen porsadgai!

Nothing like stepping on your own line .. couldn't happen to a better person ;-)

I really think McCain is cracking up under the stress of his flailing personal attacks against all the frustrates him. He's using the same playbook that's worked for Repubs for over 30 years. Its a special kind of suck when its finally your turn to play and suddenly the playbook fails.

Poor Americans, of all races, have always been attracted to the military's promise of a fresh start, without the stigma of class.

This really is about class. What some of us from the rural parts of the US might notice is the Right's old divide-&-conquer, get-the-poor-whites-voting-against-their-own-self-interest strategy. (Cf. Helms vs. Gant commercial and the successful deployment of the Confederate battle flag over the SC Statehouse.)

Does anyone update McCain about the news? Didn't anyone tell him that Palin made the same mistake and then apologized for it? Talk about miscommunication on the McCain campaign.

Do you think anything can be making McCain quake with rage more than the fact that no one stood up for McCain when Bush smeared him horribly in 2000, and now that McCain is doing the same thing, everyone, many from his own party are decrying his shameful tactics?

HaHA!

McCain says, "Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about western Pennsylvania lately."

And then he looks all around the crowd with his extra-creepy smile.

What message is that supposed to convey? It's as if he is gloating at them. "Ha ha, someone said something mean about you!"

The best thing about McCain these days is that his campaign is so nasty, and so pathetic, that the only people who are influence by the crap he is peddling weren't ever going to vote for anyone else anyway.

Spend that money, John!

If he's too tired to think about what he says now, then I really really don't trust him as president when the pressure is on.

Anyway, I have been to western PA and was struck by how freely certain racist words were thrown about without any consideration for difference among audience. I just assumed it was the people I had the misfortune to be stuck in a room with -- I was too optmistic to think it systematic. Sigh.

ajk2821:

I know, the one who seems to almost be laughing at him and everyone else, and doesn't even seem to clap? And who looks way too young to vote? It's kind of reflective of the party's current ideas, and the convention, when the first thing i notice/think is, "hey, how did they get a non-white person at a rally?"

my heart truly goes out to the people in western pennsylvania and all the other parts of the country where either from education or ethnicity many many people find themselves unable to find their identity and security as an american with the changing times. we are a country in flux from a manufacturing, coal producing economy where a high school education could still provide you and your family a decent wage and where blacks and browns and others were lower on the income, cultural and educational ladder than you. many many americans are thus finding themselves threatened and frightened about where they fit in and thus feel the need to blame "others" feeling only a victim. what is a sin is the gop's ability to manipulate these citizens by playing to and exacerbating this fear and insecurity only to advance their own "power to the wealthy and super-rich" agenda.

It’s time to cue up the McCain Viagra commercials.

Oh, wait, we may still get to see his version of this:

http://www.truveo.com/Bob-Dole-stage-fall/id/2791660433

I think in the George Wallace school, where Racist America is Real America, these lines make perfect sense.

McCain, couldn't agree more with Murtha that Western Pennsylvania is racist, and he agrees with Western Pennsylvania's perceived attitudes of Racism.

This opinion of course qualifies Western Pennsylvania as being the most patriotic (because they are racist) and god fearing (it's unclear if that is related to their racism) part of the country.

This does seem to be in keeping with McCain's current strategy, so perhaps we shouldn't be giving him the benefit of the doubt.

IIRC, McCain slimed Bush pretty horribly in 2000 too. His campaign robocalled Catholic voters in Michigan to tell them that Bush is anti-Catholic. When some Bush supporters cried foul, McC denied having anything to do with it. After the Michigan primary, McC fessed up and admitted he did it. So not only was he being slimy, he lied about it. This incident didn't get much play with the pundits at the time because they were so hopelessly in love with McC, they should've gotten a room. So, unfortunately, it went down the memory hole, and "journalists" like Joe Klein who are now all ga-ga over Obama won't mention it as they would have to admit their abysmal failure to properly and truthfully inform the American electorate over the past 10 or so years.