So, McCain is trying desperately to regain the women's vote, huh?
Somehow, I don't think this story is going to help him any.
Huffington Post's Nico Pitney highlights a pretty explosive article by Michael Kinsley** at the new Daily Beast.
Because of the somewhat sensational aspects of the story (it takes place at a craps table in Puerto Rico, of all places), the underlying point may be missed, and that is:
McCain is a man filled with rage, arrogance, and possessed of a hair-trigger temper that is, simply put, too dangerous for this country to risk in the office of the President.
Follow me after the jump for the truly unsettling details.
Kinsley said this story was relayed to him by his longtime friend Jeff Dearth**, apparent former editor of The New Republic.
Jeff was playing craps (McCain's favorite game) when the Senator joined the table. Now, those of you who play the game may Know that apparently, you are always supposed to keep your hands above the table when the dice are being thrown.
Let's see what happened when McCain, for whatever reason, forgot about that SOP, and a woman at the table tried to point that out by "pulling McCain's arm away":
"McCain immediately turned to the woman and said between clenched teeth: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME.’ The woman started to explain...McCain interrupted her: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME,’ he repeated viciously. The woman again tried to explain. ‘DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO?’ McCain continued, his voice rising and his hands now raised in the ‘bring it on’ position. He was red-faced. By this time all the action at the table had stopped. I was completely shocked. McCain had totally lost it, and in the space of about ten seconds. ‘Sir, you must be courteous to the other players at the table,’ the pit boss said to McCain. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? ASK ANYBODY AROUND HERE WHO I AM."(emphasis mine)
Um, holy shit. Kinsley continues:
This being Puerto Rico, the pit boss might not have known McCain. But the senator continued in full fury—"DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"—and crisis was avoided only when Jeff offered to change places and stand between McCain and the woman who had touched his arm.(emphasis mine)
As Kinsley points out, the issue is not just the mind-blowing temper, but the arrogance, and the lack of judgment:
What is bothersome about this story, if it’s true, is only partly the explosive anger. More, it’s the arrogance. At the craps table, who cares who he is? And there’s the recklessness of such a performance in a casino full of journalists (unless McCain absolutely couldn’t control himself, which is even scarier). But this gamble paid off. Although there were published reports that McCain had gambled late into the night, which properly treated that matter as charming, this particular episode has gone unreported until now. (emphasis mine)
Um, this is not a small deal. The man who wants to lead this nation, hold the nuclear "football," and interact with leaders who may "know who he is" but frankly not care, EXPLODED at a total stranger (a woman, no less) over the smallest possible offense.
Stories like this make me believe all the more that the Obama campaign is not only right to highlight McCain's "temperament," but that it could possibly be done even more... and maybe that's where we come in.
McCain's love of gambling is well known. Sadly, this incident is not. Let's see if we can change that.
(There is a great overall "temper" diary by DavidKC, currently on the Rec List.)
**Disclosure: btw, it is noted in the article that both Kinsley and Dearth are Obama supporters. I don't think that changes anything.
UPDATE: According to the diary police, bless their hearts, "Shocking" may be the new, widely vilifed "Breaking." The 2 terms aren't really connected in my mind- something that happened a long time ago can still be "shocking" while quite obviously not "breaking". But so that content is not overshadowed by semantics, I've changed it to "Disturbing". Thanks for reading!
UPDATE #2: h/t to Deoliver47 for the Digg link!