This is "Irritable and Sarcastic?" McCain at Des Moines Paper

CitizenSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:45:53 -0700

If I had a dollar for every time my mom said to me, "it's not what you say, it's how you say it," I'd be able to finance the bailout all by myself. That in mind, the coverage of John McCain's appearance in front of the Des Moines Register editorial board flummoxes me. The AP I mean god bless 'em, they're quick and fair - but the headline, "McCain turns irritable, sarcastic in interview" set my expectations high.

They provided a series of quotes, which reading them coupled with the headline made me nervous. McCain said:

Really? I haven't detected that in the polls, I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck. I don't dismiss him. I think the American people have overwhelmingly shown their approval.

And:

The answer is that most of my life, in serving my country, I have had health care. I did go for a period of time when the health care wasn't very good.

This plus Jonathan Martin saying a "feisty McCain duels," with the Register and calling him "emphatic, combative, and at times surly" and "hard-edged," I was expecting fireworks of an apocalyptic magnitude . . .

You've seen "what" he said - to see the "how" part, read more.

Is it so bad? I mean I wouldn't say combative or surly? I might go impatient, tentatively bordering on flippant, but this? What's the big deal?

Source

Headline: Desperate For Caucus Virgins

CitizenSugar — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:52:25 -0800

First-time caucus goers could be the proverbial straw tonight in the Iowa contests. In the hot, tight, three-way fight for the top, caucus day breaks with Barack Obama holding rehearsals for the Democrats' weird stand-under-the-sign for your candidate routine, Hillary hiring baby-sitters, and John Edwards staying up for days like a frat boy.

It seems like everyone is terrified of the ghost of the Big Dean Caucus-tease of 2004. That's when the legions of new political enthusiasts (then mostly young 'uns) made a big hoopla about voting for Dean, calling themselves hardcore "Deaniacs," and then, um, it was kind of a lot of work to go out to the caucus, and, well, they didn't and Dean was dunzo.

Cut to 2008, and Obama rounding up his own army of first-time "change" voters, Hillary counting on her women over 45 to bravely step into their inaugural fray, and Edwards putting all of his campaign eggs in the rural basket, hoping that his populist message will drive Iowa farm folk out to their first caucus. According to a recent Des Moines Register poll, 72 percent of Obama's supporters are newbies, 58 percent of Hillary's are, as are 55 percent of Edwards'. Those Iowa-newbie numbers are no small potatoes - or ears of corn.

Source

TresSugar

This is "Irritable and Sarcastic?" McCain at Des Moines Paper

Headline: Desperate For Caucus Virgins