VIDEO: Gramm-pa McTongue's anger mismanagement

By GottaLaff

How will IWRC* Palin be able to contradict this obvious proof of the theory of evolution (h/t: AMERICABlog):

At least now we can finally understand Gramm-pa's anger issues. He simply hasn't evolved yet:


*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

Will Gramm-pa McCain finally lose it?

By GottaLaff

And by "lose it", I mean his temper, as well as the election. First, we had Barack Obama telling Gramm-pa McCain to "say it to my face". Now we have Biden:

"All of the things they said about Barack Obama in the TV, on the TV, at their rallies, and now on YouTube ... John McCain could not bring himself to look Barack Obama in the eye and say the same things to him ... In my neighborhood, when you've got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."

Now take a moment to savor what Josh Marshall has to say about that:

And if my take on the inner workings of McCain's mind at the moment is right that should simply unhinge him even more.

As if that were possible, but let's hope for the best... or the worst. Wink.

Gramm-pa McCain: "Don't touch me...Do you know who I am? Do you know who you're talking to?"

By GottaLaff

Remember my post, "Gramm-pa McCain's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Temper 101"? Apparently, I missed a doozy that Michael Kinsley describes in some detail, but his concern isn't limited to Gramm-pa's temper. It extends to his arrogance and recklessness:

It comes in an email from my friend Jeff Dearth, a media investment banker and former publisher of The New Republic. We also went to junior high and high school together in Michigan. He would not make this up. In 2005, Jeff attended a magazine industry conference at a casino hotel in Puerto Rico. (I was there, too, though not a witness to what follows.) The guest speaker was McCain. [...]

McCain’s game is craps. So is Jeff Dearth’s. Jeff was at the table when McCain showed up and happily made room for him. Apparently there is some kind of rule or tradition in craps that everyone’s hands are supposed to be above the table when the dice are about to be thrown. McCain—“very likely distracted by one of the many people who approached him that evening,” Jeff says charitably—apparently was violating this rule. A small middle-aged woman at the table, apparently a “regular,” reached out and pulled McCain’s arm away. I’ll let Jeff take over the story:

“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.”

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.

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. [...]

Jeff Dearth is not an extreme partisan or an activist for either candidate. He supports Obama, in part because he is truly alarmed at the thought of the arrogant hothead he saw becoming president. (“I’d happily gamble with Senator McCain again,” he says, “but I definitely wouldn’t gamble on him.”)

As if that weren't enough, add this to the Volatile Gramm-pa stories:

Meanwhile, a former senior Bush administration official told Political Wire of at least three occasions where he saw McCain fly into a fit of rage, including one time when he got physical and actually push the person annoying him.

Joe Klein: "There is...a pent-up anger to McCain. He seems to be concentrating so hard on trying to stay calm that he doesn't have much energy left over to answer questions in a free and creative way. He is not the sort of person, in the end, that you want to invite into your living room for a four-to-eight-year stay."

And he calls Obama scary.

2006 back story: Revelations on Gramm-pa McCain v. Barack Obama

By GottaLaff

I hate to simply link without much explanation, but this really deserves more than I can fit here. Essentially, the "rivalry" between Grammps and Obama goes back to when the former was setting himself up for a presidential run, making sure the latter was firmly and pre-emptively put in his place.

At the time Obama's star was definitely rising and I remember thinking this old guy is mad as hell that he is being shown-up by this "young upstart". Perhaps it was even more calculated than that. Certainly in 2006 McCain already had this election in mind and the word presidential was being applied to Senator Obama. I felt at the time it was a preemptive smear, trying to knock Obama down a few pegs before he became too much of a threat. [...]

I didn't remember Obama's reply but upon reading it all I could think was how consistent it was with the sort of campaign he has run. Unfortunately it would seem McCain has been consistent as well.

Check out the link and relive the early days, when the bile was just beginning to rise.

And Josh Marshall responds to the above e-mail from one of his readers:

You can really see the kernel of this campaign's psychodrama (in more than one sense of the word) in this first exchange.

In order: Obama's February 2006 letter: Link. Grammps' response: Link. Josh Marshall's 2006 analysis: Link.

MSNBC on Gramm-pa McCain's temperament

By GottaLaff

When MSNBC/First Read zeroes in on Gramm-pa's negative demeanor, it's mainstream. They finally caught up to the rest of us:

Two recent moments might generate more chatter about McCain's temperament. One was the "chilly" reception Obama received from McCain on the Senate floor last night. It was noticeable enough for a few media outlets to pick it up. But the second one was completely avoidable, and that was McCain’s Tuesday meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board, the video of which made the rounds yesterday. The back-and-forth between McCain and the liberal newspaper board was reminiscent of his stint on "The View" -- without the sense of humor. Combined with his decision not to acknowledge Obama much in the first debate, the three moments collectively don't paint the most gracious candidate. We've said before that we think McCain can help himself by channeling voter anger, but he can't be overly cold either.

Aw, that's okay, Grammps. IWRC* Palin's forced, folksy cheeriness will compensate handily... until the corporate media's full-throated acknowledgement that she's as nasty as she is ill-prepared to hold office.

*"In What Respect, Charlie?"

Harry Reid blasts John Sidney McCain on temper

By GottaLaff

Well, somebody has to:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had some of his harshest words yet for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Friday, suggesting his colleague lacks the temperament and judgment to be president. [...]

“Our dangerous world calls for leaders with sound judgment, not those with a temperament prone to recklessness,” Reid said. “Our country deserves more than token shifts and lip service to change. We need to take decisive action to reverse eight years of foreign policy mistakes. That’s exactly what Sen. Obama and Senate Democrats offer.” [...]

“The Republicans talk a lot about experience. When you’re the author, architect and enabler of eight years of devastating foreign policy mistakes, that’s not experience. It’s very bad judgment,” Reid said.

For more on his temper, go here and here.

McCain Chooses Temperament-Appropriate Location For VP Announcement

by Cliff Schecter

Does anyone else find it funny that John McCain will have his first rally with his VP tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio at the Nutter Center?

Just sayin....