MyDD :: McCain is a Pandering Dork

McCain is a Pandering Dork

by Matt Stoller, Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 12:30:24 AM EST

I read this article in the Arizona Daily Star, and I literally thought it was a joke.

"Let the student decide." With those well-chosen words John McCain summed up his view on the teaching of "intelligent design" along with evolution in public schools.
Even -- or perhaps especially -- with controversial topics, Arizona's ubiquitous senior U.S. senator has an uncanny knack for saying things his audience wants to hear. In this case, Mr. Straight Talk was imparting words of wisdom in an interview with MTV News.
A lot of malleable, future voters watch MTV. It's where they get tidbits of the real world between episodes of "Cribs" and "Pimp My Ride." It's hard to imagine any of them disagreeing with the Man Who Would Be President.
McCain probably wouldn't champion the same letting-students-decide approach for, say, homework or blowing off algebra. No matter. He came across as an entirely reasonable and rational father figure on MTV.
"There's great uncertainty out there," said the senator who knows best. "We have to provide a lot more certainty for young Americans. That's my job."

In case you've forgotten, John McCain, who backs spying on Americans without a court order, also backs the teaching of creationism in schools.

And they say it's libruls that lets them kids run amock, teaching 'em the stupid version of history in which we lost some warz and always getting kids to talk about their feelings 'n self-esteem 'n stuff. I guess not. So next time some mean ole' conservative sez that kidz needs discipline, you can fire back at 'em 'i dunno about that i say like john mccain that we gotta let the kids decide.'

UPDATE: Roy Temple has more.

Tags: General 2008 (all tags)

Permalink :: 8 Comments :: Post a Comment

2 + 2 = ? (3.00 / 1)

Let the kids decide.

by Gary Boatwright on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 12:33:39 AM EST

2+2=16 (3.00 / 6)

Democrats say that 2+2=4.
Republicans say that 2+2=22.
The media says, "We've got to give equal weight to both sides." Thus 2+2=13.

But David Broder weighs in and says, "2 and 2 are both even. So it only seems right that when we add them together, the result should be even as well. It just seems like the sensible thing to do. So, since the Republicans are the Daddy Party, we ought to lean in their direction. So I say, 2+2=14."

Then O'Reilly weighs in. He's waving a study from a conservative mathematician from UCLA, using Chinese Squares, the Sieve of Eratosthenes, game theory, Reimann integration, Galois Theory, Guassian geometry, Dedikind cuts, Pascal's Triangle, brown seaweed and a dirty hot dog to prove that 2+2 cannot possibly be divisible by 7. It has to be at least 16, though O'Reilly insists that GOP was right all along, it is 22, after all.

Upon carefull reconsideraiton, David Broder and Mickey Mouse (the NY Times new Editor-in-Chief) issue a joint statement declaring that 2+2=16. At least until the next election.

by Paul Rosenberg on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 02:44:31 AM EST

He's got it all wrong (none / 0)

I'm confused. The star claims McCain has a knack for saying the right thing to the right crowd, then follows that statement with 'let the student decide' to MTV? Excuse me? Kids just out of school have taken biology. I'm 17, I and most of my friends watch MTV, and I've only met one creationist. Now, I live in Connecticut, but teens and the youth vote overwhelmingly go Dem. We know enough to know the truth of evolution. And we are the exact WRONG group to spout creationist arguments to. This was a mistake. And we're not too stupid to miss it.

by pluto101 on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 04:22:30 AM EST

Re: He's got it all wrong (none / 0)

Things are a little different down here in Georgia, I'm afraid. Lots of young people very receptive to creationism. A fair number of college students, too.

by arenwin on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 08:03:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

You have to win creationists to (none / 0)

win a republican primary. Anyway, he won't win them, and he is too far right on the war to win the general election.

Dameocrat Blog also Stray Roots Messageboard

by Dameocrat on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 04:35:55 AM EST

He's going to end up (none / 0)

as a joke in the history books. The man who could have been President, but for a lack of balls.

I don't want the right-wing neocon president, so I am okay with that.

BlueNC - Progressive NC Politics

by Robert P on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 07:26:09 AM EST

I wrote the other day (none / 0)

that Colin Powell exhibits a massive display of Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder, but is only topped in this arena by REPUBLICAN John McCain.

Watch him come out against ID in the next year or so. When one really takes a look at this REPUBLICAN McCain, he has more flip-flops than your local IHOP grill, and more backtracks than any other poltician I can think of, though Rick Santorum seems to wanna give him a run in that area lately.

Please keep posting these informative articles about REPUBLICAN John McCain. He has referred to the media as "his base" and it will be interesting to see if and when they turn on him due to an influx of these types of diaries and articles all over blogland and elsewhere.

by Sam Loomis on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 07:44:47 AM EST

Are you serious? (none / 0)

Do you think it worries McCain that he is to the right of the number 1 Grand-Puba-GOP-jerk himself Rick Santorum on the issue of intelligent design? Even Slick Rick has said that ID has no place in the science classroom.

This is pandering at its worst. What the hell else are we going to let kids decide? If a bunch of 8th graders all agree that math is wicked lame, will we let them decide not to take it? If EVERYONE, even the cool kids, agree that the social studies teacher is like, totally gay or something, do they get to decide not to take that class and supplement it with video games 101?

Yes, I know my examples are a little absurd, but sadly so is McCain's comment.

by DemocraticBass on Tue Dec 27, 2005 at 09:37:49 AM EST

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