Saturday, May 10, 2008

Blast from the past; Bush and McCain moments.





What is beyond dispute, however, is McCain’s past hatred for George W. Bush. As Time reported in March 2000, McCain then showed a visceral disgust towards Bush and his scorched earth campaign:

But many close McCain advisers think the personal rift between the two men is too wide to bridge, at least in the near term. After all, the last time Bush tried to smooth things over-at a South Carolina debate in early February-the result was less than promising. During a commercial break, Bush grasped McCain’s hands and made a sugary plea for less acrimony in their campaign. When McCain pointed out that Bush’s allies were savaging him in direct-mail and phone campaigns, Bush played the innocent. “Don’t give me that shit,” McCain growled, pulling away. “And take your hands off me.”

And:

Lawyer: McCain told me in '99 that Bush 'dumb as a stump'

As a lawyer might say (OK, I am one), I have no personal; knowledge of whether John or Cindy McCain voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 election. However, now that that has been called into question by Arianna Huffington (
who says no) and Huffington's truthfulness has in turn been questioned by the McCain campaign (although not yet by the McCains), I can offer the following anecdote as admissible hearsay shedding a little light on the subject:

Over the Fourth of July weekend of 1999, I had the good fortune to accompany my then fiancée (and now happily my wife) to the McCain vacation home in Sedona where she was interviewing them for a Home and Garden Television show. The interview itself was entirely apolitical, focusing on fabrics and furnishing in their lovely Oak Creek abode, topics about which I do recall the senator was less than comfortable discussing.

Always the goods hosts, the McCain's also invited us to spend the day with them, including for barbeque, a favorite of John's. And as McCain flipped burgers, I could not help but ask his views about then candidate George W. Bush.

"He's as dumb as a stump" McCain offered. We then went on to discuss other matters (including Vietnam) but that quote remains seared in my memory.

So how the McCain's actually voted that November is between them and their voting booth. But if John McCain did end up voting for Bush, then by his own admission he voted for a stump.

1 comment:

airJackie said...

It must be hard to suck up to a man who called your daugher the black child you had fathered out of wed lock. I really thought it was really low when the Republicans talked about McCain's children and family. But it shows what's more important. McCain would sell his Mother for the White House and never blink an eye. Gerald Ford lived to see his mistake by not letting Nixon be impeached and take his punishment. Yes Ford saw Cheney up dated the Nixon criminal play book and has brought down the United States of America. Greed is the fuel of these people and hell is the place they will end up.