Pound Me If You Must - But I Honestly Pity John McCain

[THUNDER HANDS]

Look, despite whatever policy differences we might have between us and McCain, it's really hard to watch him suffer through this campaign. Between him heading towards not only a certain defeat, but an almost certain blowout loss, and him having to be attached to a doornob like Palin and his WWF-like rabid crowds, it has to be grating on him.

Say what you will about him, but the guy DID run against Bush in 2000 and knew the guy wasn't going to be a good president. We'll never know how the general election would have turned out if McCain won the 2000 primary, but had he become president, I think we can all believe that this country couldn't possibly be worse than it is now. At the very least I get the sense that McCain actually *cares* about what sort of country America is, unlike Bush, who doesn't care about anything but baseball and campaigning.

I'm not going to sit here and spout on about him being an honorable man or anything, he burned that bridge with the campaign he's run and the people he's chosen to run it.

But I think, and I hope I'm not alone in thinking this, that when the final conclusion to this election takes place, and McCain gives his concession speech, he'll be VERY complimentary towards Obama. I think a big part of that will be that he's seen how Obama has conducted himself, and seen how his supporters have conducted themselves, and knew that the right team won.

He can't be happy with his crowds, from their vile attitude, to their much more vocal support of his virtually unknown running mate, to them actually getting up and leaving at the start of his speeches. He has to feel disrespected. Combine that with the fact that he know the country wants change, and he can't undo the clock on his own age, or his physical appearance, or his history in the Senate. He can't be what America wants right now, and that just kills him, because he might have been that eight years ago, except he was undone by the same vile hate and scum that infests his own campaign rallies nowadays.

And you know...and no doubt he knows, that the moment the election is called for Obama, his "supporters" will already be printing up the Palin 2012 signs. He'll be forgotten about and thrown under the bus and every factor that went into Obama's win and McCain's loss will be placed solely at his feet.

He'll be a leper within his own base. Or rather, he'll go back to being a leper to his own base.

Not to say that McCain, after the way he's conducted himself, deserves better. But I certainly wouldn't want to be him right now, or in a month from now. I pity him.

[last1standing]

1. I have no pity for anyone who stirs the flames of racial hatred, only disgust.

Whatever excuse he uses, or is used for him, there is no excuse for spreading hatred like he and his reptile running mate have done. I will never pity, nor forgive them.

[1corona4u]

8. Yeah, what you said.

[beac]

30. Agreed. No sympathy for McCain. He is SCUM.

And he has been for a VERY long time-- this campaign is finally peeling away his thin faux veneer of "maverickyness."

Look back over his life. He's been a selfish prick every one of his 72 years.

No I, like you, shed no tears for McCain.

[lisa58]

2. pity him when it's over

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Not me. Faust signed his contract willingly with Mephistopheles.

[ZeitGuy]

48. This was precisely my intended response. (nt)

[YOY]

4. Pity is for November 5th.

Until then he and his team will do everything they can to destroy us.

[npincus]

9. you beat me to it.

No pity, no mercy, until it's OVER.

[Lancer]

5. I agree with you.

Well said. He did used to have some decency and civility, but that's been gone for a long time.

[Buzz Clik]

6. I have similar feelings.

I have a great deal of scorn for the organizers of his campaign. They ruined McCain, and they are trying to ruin Obama. Country First my ass.

[BlueIdaho]

7. I may mourn him after his funeral

Until then - I will maintain this asshole is unfit for command - period.

[annabanana]

10. I remember one of his last visits to The Daily Show before he "went there". .

Jon said "Tell me you're not going to crazy town".. and McCain said "yes, I'm afraid so". . IIRC
(This was shortly before one of his first meetings with Dobson)

[Starry Messenger]

13. I remember that too.

I had hoped he was joking.

[Okie4Obama]

11. I was a Republican in 2000, and I voted for McCain.

I do feel sorry for him. He must be disgusted for what he has become, exactly that which he despised eight years ago.

[Bucky]

41. Welcome home, Okie.

As a lifelong Dem, I feared a McCain nomination 8 years ago. I knew he'd swamp us because he was a man of integrity and balance then. I guess he's stored up a lot of anger over the past five years or so, having to kowtow to the crazies in the White House. Last week, I almost predicted that he'd step back from the brink of unleashing the crazies.

I still don't think most Republicans are racists--I think they're just scared people misled into paranoia about "the other" by dishonest leaders who'd rather win an election than move toward the future.

[DesertRat]

12. No pity at all here

Here's your pounding: :spank:

;)

[Ikonoklast]

14. Those that sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

He got exactly what he wanted.

McCain is a dishonorable man, and I turn my back on him.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. I care as much about mclame as he does about me.

[Willo]

16. I do pity him. He sold his soul to the devil

to win and now he's facing the reality of what he's done.

On a side note, STFU Chris Matthews!! He's been enjoying this way too much. Sick SOB!

[Barack_America]

17. We all have the choice of how far we'll let ambition take us.

John McCain chose poorly. But what he is suffering now is due to the choices he made.

[Barack_America]

18. self-delete.

Dupe.

I sneezed. lol.

[mamalone]

I feel the same way.

I really dread these next few weeks, partly because the venom and negativity is likely to continue, and possibly mature into who knows what kind of monster. But also because I hate seeing an old man end his career in such a humiliating and degrading way. It's a painful thing for me to see anyone suffer.

That said, I keep reminding myself how vitally important this election is. Our whole way of life is at stake. What with the war mongering the repubs have been up to, our lives themselves- or even more importantly, the lives of our children might just be hanging in the balance. With that in mind, I steel myself. I put my head down and insist that we have to go in for the kill... not let up, not be overconfident, or moved by pity. We must win this election.

There will be time enough for pity and condolences afterwards.

[MrScorpio]

19. I refuse to pity the fool

[napi21]

20. Sorry, I can't pity him. I did back in 2000 because of what ShrubCo

did to him and his wife. That pity all went out the door when he buddied up with Shrub, and at least appeared to have forgiven all! He has adopted the "win at any cost" attitude, and threw out all his ethics & honor.

[grantcart]

21. He has not only sought this road he has chased it down

I hope he becomes a broken man and suffers, but suffers long not like the hate monger Joe McCarthy that went quickly.

[Shakespeare]

22. That man is inciting violent rage in his followers--not one iota of pity for him.

Let him reap the whirlwind.

[Compline]

26. 2000

I actually liked him in 2000...not enough to vote for him, mind you, but he was the best alternative to GWB we had at the time, if we had to have a republican in the white house. Although I doubt the post 9/11 years would have been very different under his regime. Now, however, he has turned absolutely repugnant to me.

[Lubernaut]

23. I relate.

But he is the the type of person who is caught stealing from a friend, receives forgiveness and then steals from him again. He is a classic tragic figure, a victim of his comrades, and of himself. He does not learn from his mistakes.

Save your pity for when he is no longer dangerous.

[TheCowsCameHome]

24. I pity anyone who falls for his crap.

As for him, he made a choice on his own and no one twisted his arm.

He danced with the devil, now he must pay the piper.

[DevonRex]

25. I have no pity for that SCUM. He stoked the fires of hatred and CONTINUES

to do so. It is WAY too late for him to tell one single person in a crowd that Obama is a nice guy. What a joke. He has already told the nuts it's okay to say and DO whatever they feel they must.

His ads about Obama are STILL on TV. And several of them are just as hateful as the garbage being spewed at his hate-filled skinhead rallies.

As far as I'm concerned the man should be arrested and serve some MORE time as a prisoner.

[DeschutesRiver]

27. Would you still feel that way if something bad happened to Obama or his family

as a result of what John McCain has done with these town halls where he has been whipping low info, low brain matter voters into a frenzy?

I had some similar thoughts of just general pity for a guy who previously hadn't seemed this dishonest or desperate to me. Until I realized that no matter how desperate I got, I could never put another human being running for office against me at personal risk, in an effort to avoid issue talk. Never, it isn't in me.

It is inside McCain to be this way, or he never would have done this. Whoever I thought McCain was, he is not, and likely never has been. And he would be willingly continuing in this attack direction, had not someone threatened the little bastard within an inch of his life if he continued on his path of shredding whatever was left of the Republican Party. Without such threats, I don't believe John McCain would have backed off this way, because now that he has backed off his hate position with the whipped up mob, he will never have a peaceful, cheering rally again. They will ALWAYS be in wait for him, attacking Obama, and then attacking him to his face if he doesn't give them the hate they want. It is gonna be an absolute mess from which he can't extract himself.

[THUNDER HANDS]

32. I wrote what I wrote

because I have 100% confidence that this election is going to be a landslide and Obama will be regarded as one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had.

If I was nervous in any way, I probably wouldn't have written it.

[DeschutesRiver]

37. You are a more generous person than me

I am not unwinding very well about the risk that McCain and Palin have inflicted on the Obama family by their recent behavior. And this is whipped up frenzy risk that can keep on giving long after McCain has lost the election.

Also, I too believe that McCain loves this country; however, I think he is so deeply flawed that it is almost like he has a split personality. Good John, bad John, and it wasn't just the POW experience (that probably only twisted things up some more). I read a brief bit of one of his ghost written books, and remember that as a small child, his temper tantrums were legendary in his family (throwing cold water on him to snap him out of his rage. He was under 3 years old and raging, mixed in with moments of absolute charm and playfulness). Same John we see today - at turns, vile and rage filled, and then gracious and decent.

I don't mind good John; but bad John is horrific, and can and has caused much harm to people. I too think the stars are lined up for an Obama victory, but because of all the bad stuff John has stirred up of late, I probably will remain a bit nervous myself until the deal is closed.

[TheCoxwain]

28. McCain is Ambitious but Incapable Sonovabitch .... He will destroy us ..so no pity for him

[gravity]

He was one of the few Republicans I respected

because he cared about his integrity and doing what he believes is right. This guy wanted to have a positive campaign, and reached accross the aisle to have Lieberman as the VP. Now the Rovian strategist have taken over the campaign, and destroyed McCain's integrity. I never thought it was McCain's idea to go so negative in this campaign, and he always seemed out of place making attacks.

The weird thing about McCain, is that he seems like one of the few Republicans that experiences shame. I don't think he will be feeling good by this.

[Chloroplast]

29. I can't pity a person that no longer exists; a maverick would stand up to the hatred but he hasn't.

[calmblueocean]

31. He listened to Rove & Co. because he wanted to win. Now he realizes they lost him the election.

That's the biggest problem for him. McCain once upon a time had a natural, authentic voice. He would call out BS when he saw it. He was still a Republican, but he had the guts to be his own man when the situation called for it. I think a lot of this stemmed from his involvement in the Keating 5, and his desire to be seen as a man of honor once more.

But the lure of the presidency was too big for him. Instead of campaigning the way he did in 2000 (when he lost), he decided this year to listen to advisers trained in the ways of Karl Rove. They told him to smear Obama as a terrorist and as un-American. He thought he could just dip his toe in that water, but now he's drowned himself in it.

And McCain knows it. He still wants to win, desperately, but he knows that he's poisoned his base with hate, and now he looks like he's leading a lynch mob. No mainstream American wants anything to do with the hateful racist kooks he's aroused as his core supporters, and McCain doesn't know how to fix it. He can sense that he's going down, that he's stained his honor once more, this time irreversibly.

It must eat at him at night. To make it all the way to finally being the nominee for president, and then to blow it by listening to the same stupid assholes who beat him in 2000.

[Starry Messenger]

43. This is the best summing up I've read on this. Thank you.

The last line really hits home I think. After the election I predict he's going to be "spending more time with family".

[jberryhill]

33. He had a choice

He didn't have to pick St. Sarah of the Tundra.

He could have really tried to come from behind on the basis of his own professed principles.

He did it to himself.

That said, so does an alcoholic I suppose.

If he wants to endorse Obama, it might be the most redeeming thing in the history of politics.

[mokawanis]

34. I will never feel pity for McCain or Palin

they are running a sleazy campaign and deserve nothing but contempt.

[political_Dem]

35. I am revolted by his behavior. I do not pity him.

Instead, his behavior lives up to his sorry record of entitlement and condescension. He could have not even gone there. He could have stuck to the issues.

But he didn't. He went there and now he expects people to pity him for doing the right thing now?

He deserves what he gets. He and his running mate used behavior which put one of their colleagues in mortal danger. It should be censured, not forgiven. They should also be shunned for their nasty, uncouth actions.

[liberalpragmatist]

36. See, I used to think he'd be a better president than Bush...

... now I'm not so sure. He holds the same militant views and he's a giant flake. He's a horrible manager and exhibits the worst kinds of leadership traits. He's erratic and hot-headed.

Yes, he was right about a lot of things in 2000/2001. But I'm not sure he was right for the right reasons. I mean, I'm sure part of him was being sensible -- but I think a big part of his opposition to Bush was more personal. He felt slighted, so he was receptive to Democratic arguments and receptive to sticking it to Bush.

But ideologically, he's very squishy. He sort of blows in the wind and is very easily influenced by whoever has got his ear.

[Overseas]

38. Yeah. Poor little guy just wants to Bomb Iran and Cut trillions out of Medicare and Social Security.

Awwwww pooooor fellaaaa

John Sidney McCain III, with $520 loafers, too many homes to count and a second wife who's an heiress to replace the one who got too fat after her auto accident.

Awwww poooooor JSM III.

[Bucky]

39. He got a good, up close look at what his campaign was unleashing. He stepped it back.

McCain is one of those rare conservatives capable of comprehending nuance. This is how he reacts when he sees that his base can't grasp the difference between "not Republican" and "commuterrorist."

[barack the house]

40. I strongly disagree with McCain but on an empthtic level there is a lot to your post.

[ecstatic]

42. Can you save your pity for after Nov 4, when we have President-elect Obama?

[Raineyb]

44. The man is revolting, his tactics are despicable and he's a danger to us all

His lifelong, overdeveloped sense of entitlement has led to him riling up the most hateful members of his base in a desperate attempt to stem the tide on what looks like a huge loss. God only knows if they'll decide to take out some brown skinned people if Obama wins and you're wasting your pity on this piece of shit?

John McPunk has no one to blame for his predicament but himself. No quarter!

Regards

[agentS]

45. We are Democrats not Republicans

I have no pity for McCain. He was born scum and he grew up to be garbage and his campaign is run by K St. trash.
But I won't pound you either.
We're not a party bound together by hatred of 'others' like the racist Republicans.

[old mark]

46. In years past, I supported and respected him. I was wrong.

The things I have learned about him in the past few weeks have changed my mind completely on McCain.

Please read the article in the Oct.16th issue of Rolling Stone (there was a link here at DU, but RS is online.) Or google some of the Veterans sites - thereare several vets organiozations against McCain's presidency, as well as a lot of former military officers who served with him, even several former POWs.

He has never been an honest man.
He has always sought to blame others for his own mistakes and to let others take the consequenses for his bad acts.

To me, the fact that he chose the person he chose as his VP is an insult to the people of the US and shows the lack of respect he truly has for his country.

He is an evil, nasty little man, and should really be in prison.

mark

[Shae]

47. I've even heard Palin supporters saying . . .

something like, "If McCain is elected, of course, we don't wish anything bad to happen to McCain, but if it did . . . oh, well." Also, when they've appeared jointly at rallies, she speaks, and when it's his turn to speak, people start leaving.

I think it's a good thing that you feel pity for McCain. Whether he deserves it or not, is beside the point. We should open ourselves to empathy for others even when they are heading down the wrong path.

[ZeitGuy]

49. McCain is driven by the same self-possession as Bush.

And he has made his bed willingly. I say let him rot in it.

He gets no sympathy from this vet.

[immoderate]

50. Empathy is a common trait of Democrats.

We like to see the good that is in the worst of people, and sympathize with anyone who has to undergo unpleasant circumstances. McCain deserves whatever shit is thrown his way. He is shallow, opportunistic, venal, and egotistical. But like you, when I see him in trouble, I feel a twinge of sympathy for his plight.

Remedy: Lie down until it goes away. :)

--IMM

[progressivebydesign]

51. Sorry. I have no pity for that vile man. n/t