Raven in Philly here finding myself in agreement with Hunter today:
The guy who changed his stance on tax cuts, Roe v. Wade, immigration, gun control, the confederate flag, torture, public financing, and his own anti-earmark rhetoric is the "straight talker".
Apparently, not only is he a "straight talker," but is also honest. When the bit about his apparent confusion on contraceptives came out, I seriously just could not wrap my brain around it. I knew he had been Pro-Choice and so, one would think, that he knew something about the reproductive system, but it's becoming clearer and clearer by the second that the "one would think" scenario is not the case... ever.
P.S. Snark Alert.
Someone actually said this in a thread I monitor on another site (names and places left unnamed for the safety of the innocent). This was a woman's response, a medical student, to McCain's ignorance over contraceptives:
I applaud Mc Cain's honesty- it's refreshing, so he gets a cheers from me on his honesty. He wants to do the research and give an honest and informed answer instead of changing the subject. "'I don't know' is a valid answer." (The most amazing attending I have ever had the honor of working with said that and it's true)
Not only that, but...
McCain is by far ((emphasis hers)) the most honest of the three candidates and the least intentionally misleading. For now, I'll take his word on it. As I've said before, honesty in a candidate is a HUGE plus in my book. If McCain had told all the lies that Hillary and Obama have, I may question his words on this issue, but he hasn't and I think he's earned some trust.
Okay... granted, saying "I don't know" is an honest answer. I'll even say that it's valid because if you honestly don't know, then well, you don't know. If this is the case with McCain, then the best I can give him is that he is honestly ignorant on sex, the human body and contraceptives. But then, if you're a fan of Dr. Couburn, then this should not be surprising.
Mr. McCain: "Well I think it’s a combination. The guy I really respect on this is Dr. Coburn. He believes – and I was just reading the thing he wrote– that you should do what you can to encourage abstinence where there is going to be sexual activity. Where that doesn’t succeed, than he thinks that we should employ contraceptives as well. But I agree with him that the first priority is on abstinence. I look to people like Dr. Coburn. I’m not very wise on it."
I'll not disagree that abstinence is the best way to keep from getting pregnant and/or STDs, but this emphasis on "abstinence" is frightening, considering we all know damn well that "abstinence only" programs don't work. Humans are... human. If the teens did what they were told at all times, then there would be less teen pregnancy, less spread of STDs amongst them, less car accidents brough on by driving while drunk, etc. This isn't the case and we still have teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs like HIV/AIDs. This is stuff that has been ingrained into my brain since I was in fifth grade. It's common knowledge. But, you know, John McCain is an old man and therefore, his confusion is somehow... excusable? Sorry, I don't buy into the age argument.
As all of you, who have read this exchange between McCain and a reporter, know that he goes from saying it's a "combination" to "I haven't thought about it" to "I think I support the president's policy" to "I'm stumped" to "I'm sure I've taken a position" to:
Mr. McCain: (Twelve-second pause) "Get me Coburn’s thing, ask Weaver to get me Coburn’s paper that he just gave me in the last couple of days. I’ve never gotten into these issues before."
And he is "by far" the "most" honest of the three candidates? Really? I mean... really?
Well, he did say he was "not very wise" on it (being the issue), so again we're back to my best guess that he is an honest ignoramus.
Yes, an honest ignoramus. This is what I think I'm going to have to tell myself over and over to keep my temper down. I do not understand the logic behind a man that used to be Pro-Choice, who comes up with a variety of different answers to one simple question in the span of a few minutes. At worst, this may be because there isn't any logic - other than he was stalling. Is McCain pandering to the group of right-wing extremists like his multi-million dollar televangelist supporters (read: Hagee & Parsley) by saying he supports King George's policy and that Dr. Coburn's emphasis on abstinence is correct - because he's not very wise on it? Yes, I think this is the case.
More importantly, replace McCain in the conversation with "Obama" or "Clinton" and re-read it. My response would be no different. If either Democrat decided to pull this ignorant crap on such a simple issue, I would still retain this scathing opinion and said candidate would probably not get my vote. Also, I'm sure it would have turned into an overnight, media sound bite sensation and promptly ruin the campaign for said candidate in this hypothetical situation. Yet, somehow, McCain blunders through.
Yes, I agree that honesty is a huge plus in a candidate. Kudos to McCain for being honest about his own ignorance. Makes one wonder how much experience he really has on this topic.