"If I were dictator, which I always aspire to be" - McCain

[Covenant]

I don’t think most people – including most politicians – have that kind of exceptional self-control. You’re demanding that the man give up the off-the-cuff remarks that make him seem like a normal human being. Politicians say idiot things all the time. Look at Biden. Do we hold it against him? We might, but it’s asking a little much, frankly, compared to what the average person says, or is capable of.

Frankly, this is still just absurd. I flat-out reject the idea that this is exceptional self control, and will under no circumstances admit that someone can't think before they speak. I'm asking him to give up the off-the-cuff remarks that make him look like an insane old coot, not folksy things or even the occasionally bluntness. Biden's remarks were insensitive, and yes, people held it against him. Calling Barack a, what, real clean guy? We know what he meant, but it was a touchy time in race relations and it was a stupid thing to say, and we all hold it against him. Fair is fair.

Also, I don’t share your worry about dictatorship. This makes it impossible for me to sympathize with the argument that McCain’s statement is troublesome because his predecessor took positive steps in that direction.

Well, then you're just irresponsible. Bush isn't going to be deploying the national guard to round up liberals anytime soon, but there are a lot of very, very boring and unglamorous liberties that have been shit on over these past eight years. With Sarah even today talking about further expansions of the Vice President's powers, it'd only be worse under McCain.

Because that doesn’t quite get at it. McCain needed an analogy in which he was free to do anything, without restraint. The President can’t enact that law, just as he sees fit, all alone. The head of the finance committee can’t. I’m afraid that you’re illustrating my point about the validity of the comparison when you try, and fail, to find alternatives.

No he did not. I don't even need the rest of the text you wrote, since it all hinges on this.

It's not required to make a joke like that, so what he made was a choice to act funny or congenial instead of presidental. Fine, but he's no F.D.R. He could say, then, "If I had it my way," and go on from there. How's that for fitting the bill? Dictator though? Lack of discretion, lack of sensitivity, and lack of an understanding of context. This isn't funny, and it's inappropriate. There's nothing positive to say about this, and it's fundamentally foolish for anyone seeking the Presidency to even joke about this. How can you be so spineless? The President's one real job is to defend and uphold the Constitution. If he does nothing else, that's his job. That's it. In fact, I'll quote the Presidental Oath of Office:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

That's the whole damn thing. Sure, I'm touchy about this because McCain is an embarassment as a man as an a politician. But this old sack of shit needs someone to pull him aside by the ear and tell him to take his fucking job seriously, or to go back to the Senate seat he won with his one-time Mistress's beer money inheritance. In the grand scheme of things, these are fractions of a percentage point, and it wouldn't matter if he wasn't already flunking so damn hard, but this is someone who still stands a decent chance of being my President for four years. It's not enough for me just to not vote for him--since I honestly, dearly want this man to be capable and serious. Even if I don't want him to be the President, I want to be able to vote knowing that even if the country goes against me, I can wake up the next day and still believe in the leadership. McCain needs to start picking up these fractions of a point, not continually losing them.

Honestly, I hold politicians to a higher standard than your average moron, and it baffles me that you treat McCain more delicately than I would treat my own Father. Maybe this is just a difference in culture, but this guy wants to be the President. It's chilling that you found this funny and beyond reproach, and that you're so far outside the norm that you can't see why people would consider it improper for the Presidental nominee to even joke about wanting to be Dictator. But I guess that just says all it needs to say. Best of luck to you!

[Axis Kast]

Frankly, this is still just absurd. I flat-out reject the idea that this is exceptional self control, and will under no circumstances admit that someone can't think before they speak.

I think that the “damage” done by this remark can be estimated at likely so insignificant, it wouldn’t be worth dwelling on the matter as a case-in-point.

Biden's remarks were insensitive, and yes, people held it against him. Calling Barack a, what, real clean guy? We know what he meant, but it was a touchy time in race relations and it was a stupid thing to say, and we all hold it against him. Fair is fair.

I think Biden’s statements about race are evidence of a much greater problem than John McCain ever foreshadowed in his “dictator” comment. Biden is on record as giving evidence of the large Indian population in Delaware by saying, in so many words, “You have to be Indian to enter a 7-11 or a gas station, these days.”

Well, then you're just irresponsible. Bush isn't going to be deploying the national guard to round up liberals anytime soon, but there are a lot of very, very boring and unglamorous liberties that have been shit on over these past eight years. With Sarah even today talking about further expansions of the Vice President's powers, it'd only be worse under McCain.

I already agreed that we could consider McCain’s comment a bit ignorant on that count. He might not have thought about the kind of associations he’d dredge up – memories of a failed presidency, and such.

No he did not. I don't even need the rest of the text you wrote, since it all hinges on this.

He needed the analogy because he was instructing that the ideal outcome – which he could only acquire with omnipotence, or something equivalent in the political realm – couldn’t be allowed to take precedence over the best possible outcome at the time.

But this old sack of shit needs someone to pull him aside by the ear and tell him to take his fucking job seriously, or to go back to the Senate seat he won with his one-time Mistress's beer money inheritance.

Is it too much to ask you to have a little decency when you discuss politics? You don’t see me parading around calling people names. It makes you look small and impotent.

Even if I don't want him to be the President, I want to be able to vote knowing that even if the country goes against me, I can wake up the next day and still believe in the leadership. McCain needs to start picking up these fractions of a point, not continually losing them.

Which means you’re upset because he gave you another reason to despair. The fact that he made a gaffe. Fair enough, although I don’t think this was worth all the upset.

It's chilling that you found this funny and beyond reproach, and that you're so far outside the norm that you can't see why people would consider it improper for the Presidental nominee to even joke about wanting to be Dictator. But I guess that just says all it needs to say. Best of luck to you!

I don’t consider any job so sacred that somebody can’t have a sense of humor – especially gallows humor. That, again, is asking superhumanity. You know, one of the things I would hope of any president is that they can separate fantasy from reality. Why would you be so worked up about this, unless you felt that there was really a danger, or that it was just unforgivably stupid? You haven’t made either case well. I think there was nothing remarkable about his statement, and almost nothing wrong with making it.

[Covenant]

I've already given you my Willy Wonka "Good Day Sir!" but yes, it is far too much to ask me to be decent when discussing politics and politicians, especially this politician and his politics. Until he decides to take up an occupation not directly funded by my taxes, I'll exercise the right of free speech people putting the fucker in there to defend. If he's got a problem he can shit out his ears for all I care, and the same would go for you . I've certainly stopped caring what you consider to be appropriate speech, but I suppose asking you to just laugh it off as a little gallows humor is a bit too much. I'll stop telling the truth about him when he stops telling lies about us. I've got no intention of being nannied into compliance, so I doubt this debate is going to go anywhere except down in flames. I repeat my "Good Day Sir!" and open the floor to someone else who gives a shit.