Finally, someone is discussing the bizarre townhall that McCain held in Scranton on Monday. We're still in the middle of a financial 9/11, Pearl Harbor, WW II -- pick your metaphor -- and McCain opens his townhall with an Irish joke, makes a few comments on the economy and then launches into a talk about the importance of encouraging trade/immigration with .... Ireland. McCain has lost it. Even when he tries to pander to his townhall audience, he blows it.
UDATE: Link to joke at this page
http://www.necn.com/...
The leader of a major Irish organization, Seamus Boyle, has written a letter of protest to Senator John McCain for opening his townhall in Scranton on Monday with a joke about Irish twins.
Boyle, the president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, told McCain:
It was a great meeting but when you began your speech with a joke about the Irish, I and many of our fellow Irish Americans in the Ancient Order of Hibernians, were shocked. It was really an insult to a whole nationality to be stereotyped as drunks. The Irish are a jovial people who enjoy life, work hard, help the needy, support our community and our country yet get depicted as drunkards and partiers. As you stated in your speech yesterday the Irish have a great education and work ethic.
Senator, I was not the only one offended and I received numerous complaints from a variety of people throughout Pennsylvania and other parts of the country. On behalf of these people, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and myself and my family, I wish you would refrain from demeaning the Irish or any other ethnic group by telling such jokes in the future. I think an apology is in order to those millions of Irish in the United States who were offended by your joke.
If you're Irish like I am, get off your duff! Write or call McCain's Senate office now and tell him we are offended. Of course, we're offended by practically everything McCain does. But maybe an Irish "joke" will get Old John's attention.
UPDATE: By the way, the "joke" is not included in the official transcript released by the McCain campaign:
http://www.necn.com/...