A couple of news stories today combined with a great PAC video are painting a chilling case for John McCain no longer having the mental ability required to, you know, run this nation.
This is a cross-post from my blog, The Daily Shocker.
First up, we have "My fellow prisoners." Watch the video, and see McCain confuse "my fellow citizens" with "my fellow prisoners."
Notice the subtle reactions of Palin and McCain's daughter in the background. They flinch, and then immediately get their game faces on. McCain, for his part, keeps plowing ahead, with perhaps a split second of reflection on what he just said. The thing is, this didn't look like a simple slip-up. There was no fumbling for words or an immediate backtrack. This looked, to my non-expert eye, like a crossed wire. Maybe even a flashback. It's a terrible slip-up, not only because it shows a confused man, but because it shows a man 40 years later, still consumed by his time as a POW. Yes, I can't imagine the pain and suffering he went through, but that pain and suffering is clearly still foremost in his mind to this day. It's still driving his actions, and finding it's way into his speeches.
Here's a commnet from Brandon Friedman at VetVoices:
Okay. The implications here are myriad. First, barring any as-yet-undisclosed contextual reasons for
the odd reference, let's be frank about what this is: This is likely evidence of severe post-traumatic stress, or, PTSD. I'm not a doctor, but I don't need an M.D. to diagnose a sucking chest wound, either. It's obvious, and it's out there now. And if, for some reason, I'm wrong, then it's a sign of dementia--which would be much worse. That simply wasn't a normal lapsus lingua.
If that were the only news of the day, it'd be one thing. But when I saw this clip, I immediately thought of a post earlier in the day at AMERICABlog (check out the entire article, it's expansive) declaring that John McCain is currently taking an "energy supplement" that is also used to treatAlzheimer's and Dimentia.
John Aravosis makes two good points on this. One, McCain is taking Ambien, a downer, and these supplements are considered uppers. My After-School-Special-Senses tell me those two don't mix. Secondly, these pills can cause weird side effects. AMERICABlog:
First of all, McCain is having trouble sleeping - that's why he's on the sleeping pill Ambien. At the same time he's on Ambien, a drug that is not good long term, he's taking supplements to up his energy level. That sounds like a rather scary mix of uppers and downers. Might even lead one to become rather erratic, you might think.
Second, and just as importantly, a number of people noticed that last night saw the return of John McCain's strange facial convulsions where his eyes blink asynchronously. I noticed, simultaneously, that McCain's rapid blinking was back - something that happened the last time we noticed McCain's eyes blinking independently of each other and his mouth pulling up in a seemingly involuntary contraction. This got me wondering if, first, the rapid blinking was associated with the asynchronous blinking and facial spasm. I noticed that in a video I reviewed yesterday, of McCain's speech in Albuquerque the day before, there were only one or two barely perceptible eye problems, and all the while, McCain's rapid blinking was nowhere to be seen.
When you start to think about it, it becomes terrifying. Here you have a 72 year old man running for the Presidency with everything he's got, and he's taking uppers and downers just to get thru the day. Add to that his wife's admitted pill-popping addiction, and you have a toxic, reckless, and dangerous environment.She lied once about kicking the habit. Are we sure they're aren't still around? What else is John McCain taking?
If there's one thing I've learned about pill-poppers, it's that they have a virtual associates degree in pharmacology. You being to wonder if Mama McCain maybe has her husband on more than just energy supplements.
Finally, add this new video from BraveNewPAC to the discussion. It talks about John McCain's temper, and his habit of poking people's chest with his finger when he's angry. Combine the picture this video paints with what we've learned about McCain's chemical supplements, and you have a terrifying persona:
Here we have a man prone to acting on rage-fueled impulse, not calm consideration. We'll go from The Decider, to The Rager.
The "prisoners" gaffe needs to be brought up as more than just a slip of the tongue. John McCain has a history now, going back to "Shiia/Sunni" if not farther, with mental slipups. The nature of this last one, combined with the new information that John McCain is striving for Better Campaigning Thru Chemistry, requires that questions be asked of McCain, his health, and his mental acuity. This isn't an issue we need to tread lightly around. We need to make some noise.