“That One” in ‘08!
It’s nearly impossible to describe last night’s presidential debate as “thrilling” or “exciting” in any way. After a rather large dinner, I found myself often struggling to even stay awake during certain aspects of the tedious and uninspiring performances from both candidates. I’ll say that in hindsight Senator Obama did pull out the victory, but not because of his usual eloquence or flair… but because John McCain appeared flat and uninterested. However, there was one moment of the debate that caused me to take notice. As I sat on my couch, nodding off from a combination of too much dinner and a large gulp of NyQuil, I heard two words that shocked me back into life.
“There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one!”
Did I just hear that correctly? Did John McCain just call Barack Obama “That One” on a nationally televised debate? I snatched up the remote, rewound the broadcast and sure enough, there it was. Senator Barack Obama, a man just footsteps away from becoming the leader of the free world, had been referred to as “That One” by his senate colleague on a national stage. In a body that prides itself on rules, courtesy and respect through differing opinions, this type of language is completely foreign to our political process, not to mention quite unbecoming of a United States Senator. While we may fiercely disagree, we still commend our opponents and unwaveringly refer to them as “the gentleman from (insert state)” at every turn. So yes, this was jarring.
During the hunger strikes in the north of Ireland, I saw - in the midst of some chaos - a young man ( a kid, really) shout out “murdering bastards” at some British soldiers. The one soldier screamed, “WHO SAID IT? WHO?” and another pointed at the kid and said, in a voice that was utterly like McCain’s - dead and with inhuman contempt - “THAT one”, pointing to this kid. (More ..)
http://corygraham.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/that-one-in-08/ One of the responses to Cory Graham's blog is well worth reading. It points out how condescending McCain was (regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to the African American man who asked the second question at the debate (I think his name was Oliver):
singe Says:
October 9, 2008 at 8:56 am
This use of phrase is of a piece with another McCain slight in the debate. When man of color asked a question about the economic crisis McCain launched into an answer in which he stated that the guy had probably never heard of Fanny Mae or Freddie Mack…the guy smiled. McCain assumed a person of color wouldn’t know about these organizations which have been so prominent in the economic news for the past month. McCain needs to not only lose the election but to resign from the senate as well.
Was McCain's "That one!" his
Macacca Moment?
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