Love him or hate him – mostly hate him – he did an awesome job on SNL. Good sport.
McCain Fien Gold. Transcript, for those of you who can’t see the video, after the More.
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: “Good evening, my fellow Americans, I’m John McCain.”
TINA FEY AS GOV. SARAH PALIN: “And, you know, I’m just Sarah Palin.”
McCAIN: “The final days of any election are the most essential. This past Wednesday, Barack Obama purchased airtime on three major networks. We, however, can only afford QVC.”
FEY AS PALIN: “These campaigns sure are expensive.” (SHE strokes the rich fabric of her jacket’s lapel)
McCAIN: “They sure are. So tonight, we come before you to give you some final remarks on our campaign.”
FEY AS PALIN: “And, as part of our agreement with the QVC folks, we’re gonna try and sell you some stuff.”
McCAIN: “This has been an historic campaign, so why not remember it with our line of collectible products. Such as 10 commemorative plates that celebrates the 10 Town Hall debates between Senator Obama and myself. They’re blank; he wouldn’t agree to those debates. Too bad. They’re still nice plates.
FEY AS PALIN: “And who wouldn’t want the complete set of limited edition ‘Joe’ action figures? There’s ‘Joe the Plumber,’ ‘Joe Six-Pack’ and my personal favorite, ‘Joe Biden.’ If you pull this cord, he talks for 45 minutes!
(SHE pulls cord)
JASON SUDEIKIS AS SEN. BIDEN (O.C.): “I take the Amtrak to work every day. Then — after work — I take it home. Let me tell you something about Joe Biden …”
McCAIN: “It’s great if you want to clear out a party.”
FEY AS PALIN: “Or keep deer out of your yard.”
McCAIN: “But we’re not just here to sell products. We’re here with a message. We are at a crossroads in American history. The leadership of the next four years will have many challenges, and I believe my experience and my leadership will make a difference.
FEY AS PALIN: “Also too – sorry — I need to remind you that there are just two minutes left in our ‘Washington outsider jewelry extravaganza.'”
McCAIN: “Are you someone who likes fine jewelry and also respects a politician who can reach across the aisle? If so, you can’t go wrong with McCain Fine Gold.”
(CINDY McCAIN displays the “McCain Fine Gold” like a game show model)
McCAIN (CONT’D): “It commemorates the McCain-Feingold Act — and also looks great with evening wear. Thank you, Cindy!”
FEY AS PALIN: “And what busy hockey mom wouldn’t want to freshen up her home with Sarah Palin’s ‘Ayers Fresheners’? You plug these into the wall when something doesn’t quite smell quite right. Also, too, it’s good because it reminds people about William Ayers.”
MCCAIN: “Having trouble cutting through a tough piece of pork? Not anymore, with John McCain’s complete set of pork knives: ‘They Cut The Pork Out!'”
FEY AS PALIN: “So instead of going to one of those elite department stores with their liberal agendas and overpriced items and their gotcha return policies that violate your First Amendment rights, why not do your holiday shopping with us?”
(SHE turns to a different camera)
FEY AS PALIN (CONT’D): “OK, listen up everybody, I am goin’ rogue right now, so keep your voices down. Available now, we got a bunch of these ‘Palin in 2012′ T-shirts. Just try and wait until after Tuesday to wear ’em, OK? Because I’m not goin’ anywhere. And I’m certainly not goin’ back to Alaska. If I’m not goin’ to the White House, I’m either runnin’ in four years or I’m gonna be a white Oprah so, you know, I’m good either way.”
McCAIN: “What’s going on over there, Sarah?”
FEY AS PALIN: “Oh … just talkin’ about taxes.” (SHE winks)
McCAIN: “Look, would I rather be on three major networks? Of course, but I’m a true maverick — a Republican without money. And I’m not like my opponent; my only showbiz connections are Jon Voight and Heidi from ‘The Hills.’ So I’m here on QVC — and, like QVC, this campaign promises you three things: quality, value and convenience.”
FEY AS PALIN: “And great deals on juicers.”
McCAIN: “So when you go to the polls on Tuesday, remember ‘Country First’; as a reminder, all undergarments are non-refundable; and live from New York, it’s ‘Saturday Night’!”
Comrade Jake
Yeah I thought it was pretty funny too, though I’m not sure why Team McCain thinks it’s OK to allow Sarah to continue to be openly mocked like that.
Also, I read that while this QVC skit was funny, his stint on Weekend Update was pretty bad.
Atanarjuat
Senator John McCain has a good reason to be so relaxed and full of good humor.
On November 5th, 2008, his official government title will change from Senator to President, and, barring any devious voter fraud manipulation via ACORN or other radical left organizations, all of you here will have to bow down to the inexorable truth of a McCain Presidency.
It might be a bitter pill to swallow at first, lefties, considering how arrogantly confident you’ve been of an Obama victory these past few weeks, but I hope you’ll join the rest of America in getting behind President John McCain and Vice President Sarah Palin and helping to get this country back on its feet in a prosperous new direction.
Because despite everything, if you’re an American and you love this nation, then your first thought should always be:
Country First.
sp
It was funny but, at the same time, weird and seemed very un-presidential. I’m glad Obama didn’t do it.
Michael D.
Nahhhh, I thought his whole appearance was pretty good. He was a good sport.
boonagain
@Atanarjuat:
Let’s be sure to remind our troll of these words next Tuesday night and beyond, OK?
The Grand Panjandrum
McCain was a very good sport. But they gave him some weak material. The writing at SNL just isn’t that consistently good anymore.
(The Biden Doll was good for a few yucks but the rest of it fell flat. And I’m already tired of the Tina as Palin thing. )
boonagain
I’m sure in mccain’s eyes that skit was supportive of his campaign.
Town Hall meetings check
Ayers check
cutting out pork check
Again, it was pretty brutal about Palin, but, actually, wha else could they do? She is quite ridiculous.
Atanarjuat
boonagain, repeatedly invoking the "troll" appellation is how you cocoon yourself against the inevitability of a McCain victory, right?
I guess you have to comfort yourself however you can when you’re this close to seeing your preferred candidate humiliatingly crushed. For myself, I promise not to hold against you (and most other BJ lefties) your lack of faith in John McCain’s Presidential win on November 5th.
Country First.
billyjones
I thought the Olbermann spoof was hilarious (and I’m a fan).
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Atanarjuat:
I’m still banging my head against the wall over that impulsive early vote for Obama. I should have listened to you.
Would a cilice be proper for atonement?
The Thinking Man's Mel Torme
No, it won’t; neither man’s will:
Back to junior high civics for you.
Atanarjuat
The Thinking Man’s Mel Torme, thank you for helping to reign in my enthusiasm a bit. You’re right, of course.
The correct title, without question, is "President-elect."
However, the correction doesn’t invalidate my original point above.
On November 5th, 2008, all of you lefties better get used to saying President-elect John McCain and Vice President-elect Sarah Palin. Denying the onslaught of truth will only get you crushed (just like Obama will be on November 4th), therefore you’d be wise to:
– Lead
– Follow
– or Get Out of the Way
Country First.
Svensker
He has run such an awful campaign, it’s always a surprise to find out that McCain can actually be likable.
Josh Hueco
First of all, Election Day is November 4, dumbass.
Second, I will be comforting myself on November 5 with the bottle of Patrón Silver tequila (the preferred spirit of elite, librul, Reconquista-abetting, Murca-hatin’ traitors everywhere) that I will have won in a wager with my TexTard wingnut friend.
Third…since wingnuts are helping me restock my liquor cabinet for free…I’ve got a bottle of Grey Goose that says Obama will win on Tuesday. Care to wager? It’s time to put up or shut up, dipshit.
scott
According to a friend of mine (until recently was a WH reporter, really), McCain’s got a great sense of humor. It was one way in which he ingratiated himself with his former "base", ie. the traditional media.
This clip just shows that aspect of the man. It really was well done.
Atanarjuat
Josh Hueco said:
In your irrationally liberal haste to insult me, you neglected to take into account of just WHEN the Presidental win is officially declared.
Of course Election Day is November 4th. Re-read very carefully all of my various posts on BJ, Josh, You’ll see that I continuously refer to that day in the correct context.
However, the day all Americans go to the polls and the day that Presidential victory is declared unambiguously (meaning, not what CNN opines near midnight on the 4th) are two separate days — one followed by the other.
Try again.
Country First.
dbrown
Atanarjuat
You are either stupid or ignorant; to avoid being stupid, trying learning some truth: since McSame is losing in PA, VA, NM, CO, and unbelievably OH,NC,FL, it appears your fantasy for Bushwhack and bloody-hands cheney from serving another four years is in the toilet were all you Repub-a-thugs operate.
Obama – Presidency winner, pro-life and pro-American and unlike the asshole in 2000, Obama will be our first elected President and will be the first Black American to serve two terms.
Laura W
@Josh Hueco:
Am I allowed to talk booze this early on a Sunday in NC?
I bought extry Ketel One Citroen for Tuesday
nightlate afternoon but eye the Grey Goose often. I think it’s twice the price, however. Should I splurge for Tuesday? What’s the selling point for you on GG? After being a lifelong wino, I only started to enjoy vodka this last summer. (Much more forgiving the day after and the night of than wine in my system, not to mention you can put it over ice.) I tried several brands and always regretted it, going back to KO. I find it’s just the smoothest and least hot for my tastes.An evening of such import demands several days of planning in the Eat, Drink and Toast Barry department.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
I only remember one election that couldn’t be called on election night… are you suggesting that we’re going to have to wait for Diebold to perform their hijinx?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Not if you have blue laws, no. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
;) j/k
DR
I thought it fell flat as a pancake. The McCain-Fine Gold thing was the ultimate groaner.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Yeah, I think it’s so funny how he went on national television and portrayed himself as broke, old and dealing with a VP choice who has gone rogue just a few days before the ballots are finalized. ;)
Atanarjuat
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII said:
Do tinfoil hats come with an adjustable strap, or do you need to have them "fitted," like sized baseball caps?
Either way, I just hope that some clever entrepreneur markets these glittering hats enmasse so that I can trade on their sales on the Stock Exchange. I suspect that with all the frenzied leftist screams of "Diebold! Diebold!" in the coming days, one could make a nice profit on tinfoil hats, or, at a minimum, Reynolds Wrap for those who prefer to "roll their own."
Country First.
Libby Spencer
I didn’t think McCain was that great either. I guess you could say he was a good sport, but I thought the routine was pretty lame. Fey saved the skit IMO. I’m not tired of her Palin impersonation yet. I am however, VERY TIRED of Palin.
Josh Hueco
@Laura W:
KO’s good, but GG is just a little cleaner and smoother. I use it for very special occasions. Normally I use Stoli for just run of the mill drink mixing, occasionally Absolut Black (100 proof) if I’ve got a couple extra bucks to spend.
The Thinking Man's Mel Torme
Once again, it’s back to junior high civics for you:
The Heavenly Host could declare McCain or Obama president-elect on November 4th, 5th, or 30th, but the only thing "official," in the true definition of that word, is when Congress counts the electoral votes. "President-Elect" will certainly be used as a courtesy until then.
Try again.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Hey, I’m not the one suggesting we have to wait for the results until Nov. 5, dipshit, YOU ARE! The tinfoil hat is yours.
By the way, your presence is requested here on Nov 5 so we can watch you grovel. ;) I personally hope you can make a night of it.
Atanarjuat
The Thinking Man’s Mel Torme, now you’re just getting stupidly personal with me.
Do you know what "declaring victory" means?
Do you REALLY think that President-elect John McCain will be unable to think of himself as the victor BEFORE Inauguration Day, or that no one else can state that President-elect John McCain won the Presidential Election?
Quick, you better tell Obama that he doesn’t have to telephone John McCain to concede the election until Inauguration Day, because, by gosh, those certificates just haven’t been ascertained then! Otherwise it’s simply not "official," in the strictest, most anal-retentive sense of the word that you’re harping on like an OCD victim.
I did thank you for your earlier correction, but your following lack of graciousness is telling. Must be a liberal thing, no doubt.
Country First.
Dulcie
@Laura W: Try Tito’s. It’s the best vodka hands down, IMHO. Very smooth, drinks like water over ice, and makes the BEST vodka martini.
Dulcie
Atanarjuat
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII said:
I’ll be imbibing my own preferred celebratory elixirs on that day, thank you very much, along with other people who always held Country First as a guiding value instead of the gimmicky "hope" shell game your leader tried to swindle the American electorate.
Besides, all non-liberals would be well-advised to stay far from BJ and other America Last cesspits. The shrieks and wails of heartbreaking despair will be deafening in both volume and intensity. I do appreciate your invitation, though.
Country First.
Laura W
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII: I feel like I should mix one up right now for the LAST MTP BEFORE ELECTION DAY. What a long slog it’s been.
I’m going to settle instead for eggs over medium with organic sharp cheddar and organic chicken sausages with feta/spinach. And another cx saus with raisins. Can’t remember if I like the raisins.
Darcy
@billyjones:
I second you. "Equipment manager for the cross country team" made me spit out my coffee this morning. I hope to see a stuffed Miss Precious Perfect on KO’s desk on Monday.
John S.
@Atanarjuat:
You better strap on your Nikes and get ready for some fast running because:
Since you seem to have the intellectual range of a a Fisher Price Speak n’ Say, I suspect that of these three options:
The only one available to you is GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Get ready to run, fast runner, get ready to run far away. Or get ready to be run over.
TR
Atanarjuat is a spoof, folks. You’re getting played.
Laura W
@Josh Hueco: Thanks, Josh. I just may splurge on some GG. Appreciate the "endorsement". Haha. Election humor. I’m giddy with Chuck Todd analysis.
rawdawgbuffalo
all McCain has to do is stay white and it is visible from his stump speeches
John S.
We know he is. But there’s a world of difference between "getting played" and "playing with".
Laura W
@Dulcie: You know I read about Titio’s online while doing my extensive Vodka Research Study (without earmarks, I might add.) I’ll have to see if it’s available in NC. They have these bizarre ABC stores here. But they also allow you to buy wine in the grocery stores*, unlike CO, which totally sucked.
*But not before 2pm on Sundays, I believe.
Rick Taylor
If by "getting behind" you mean recognizing McCain as the rightful President and respecting the office of the President, of course! I just hope right wingers will give Obama the same respect in the unlikely event he should win. Some of the rhetoric at McCain rallies have been hearing has been worrisome, and we even had one fellow posting here who said Obama wouldn’t be his President if elected. You certainly don’t have to agree with the President on everything, you don’t even have to like him. But you do need to respect the office of the Presidency, even if the one you favored doesn’t win.
Josh Hueco
We think of Atanarjuat as being a sparring partner who helps us prepare for real-life wingnuts.
John S.
We’ll see if ‘Country First’ actually holds up as a slogan. I don’t think it will.
If I was aided by a wingnut decoder ring, I suspect I would find that the real meaning of the phrase is ‘Whitey First’.
El Cid
If Obama wins this Tuesday, I know that I am going to be watching a whole hell of a lot of FOX NOOZ, and listening to Sean Hanniturd and the rest of his ilk as they eat sh*t on live broadcasts.
Nicholas Weaver
A second on Titos. We use that as our house vodka here.
One other is hangar one, which has a particularly nice viognier snap, and you can drink quite happily at room temperature.
Atanarjuat
Rick Taylor said:
I can’t speak for every conservative, of course, but in the unlikely event of an Obama victory, and should there be no evidence of ACORN vote tampering or other electoral manipulation, then of course I’ll stand behind an Obama Presidency, because the country does come first.
It doesn’t mean that I won’t hold his feet to the fire. Remember, that whole wealth redistribution aspect of Obama’s candidacy is still rather suspect.
All that being said, with all the venom spewed by liberals against McCain and Palin, I do wonder just how much respect and support will be given to a McCain Presidency by Democrats and leftists in general.
If the partisan rancor and calumny endured by Reagan, the first Bush, and the current Bush serve as any indication, then I don’t hold much hope that lefties will offer either John McCain and Sarah Palin their due respect or treat them as the legitimately elected leaders of this nation.
I hope to be proven wrong, though.
Country First.
Laura W
@Nicholas Weaver:
Wino dog whistle!
Must try.
caleb
McCain on SNL……
….what a celebrity.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
You may be waiting until Inauguration Day. I understand these asswipes are going to be living in fantasyland for a while trying to create the illusion that they won and reckoning day will be January 20th (but, for your sake, I surely hope you don’t have to wait that long).
Atanarjuat
John S. said:
Now that’s just low. Totally uncalled for.
I guess this is yet another example of liberal "high-mindedness" — if ever such a thing existed.
Country First.
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
"On November 5th, 2008, his official government title will change from Senator to President…"
Hate to quibble with you boy genius, but his title would be "president elect."
But really, no, it won’t.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
We expect you too. We will also (and I mean in either case, Obama OR McCain).
What I want to know is why didn’t Republicans do the same to Bush?
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
Ahhhh, conditional patriotism.
Country first… as long as other things don’t come first.
Dave
@Atanarjuat:
You mean like all the partisan rancor and calumny the Right dished up for Clinton over an eight-year period? Oh, but that’s different, right?
Throw out all the false bravado you want. I just want you to promise you’ll come take your medicine after Obama wins the election. Or does your bravery end when your candidate loses?
Atanarjuat
Tymannosourus said:
Hate to point out that you should have read further before you knee-jerked, but I’ve already acknowledged the appellation error and have since stated the correct title.
Thanks for letting everyone know how quick-triggered you are, though. You’re in good liberal company here.
Once again, for effect:
On November 5th, you lefties better get used to saying the following:
President-elect John McCain
Vice President-elect Sarah Palin
Maybe if you take a spoonful of sugar it’ll help the medicine go down. I’ll be glad to help on November 5th, all the way to Inauguration Day.
Country First.
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
oops, sorry bud. I can only take so much of your pre-packaged dribble… so you’ll uderstand if I didn’t look to find someone else correcting your many, many mistakes.
jeff
I wonder if McCain’s ED (erectile dysfunction) commercial is in the can yet? He’s going to have one limp weenie on November the 5th.
rob!
i thought the McCain bit was funny. maybe i’m projecting, but i felt like i could see in his body language that he knows this is OVER. i think otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed that shot at Palin, which plays into the exact stereotypes everyone but her supporters have of her (aka "the sane.")
the hit of the night i thought was Affleck as Olbermann–that was hilarious, and i’m an Olbermann fan! i hope they have Affleck on the show and they can do dueling Olbermanns.
Brachiator
I am unmoved. For someone who blasted Obama for being a celebrity, McCain seems to love popping up on TV shows. He plays up his "my friends" good guy image, but keeps pounding away with negative campaign ads, and pitching his campaign to the fearful, the ignorant and the blatantly racist fringes of his party.
And I don’t believe for a minute that he’s a good sport. A good sport treats an opponent with respect. In the debates, McCain could barely stand to look Obama straight in the face.
I will give him credit for being smart enough to exploit the media. Just after the last debate, he made sure to show up on Letterman. And in the final days, he shows up on SNL. He gets free media exposure and gets talked about.
But this is a sideshow to the lameness of his campaign and, more importantly, to Palin’s refusal or inability to hold a press conference, appear on any of the Sunday news shows or otherwise demonstrate that she is not McCain’s worst decision ever. It’s telling that the most "hard hitting" interview with Palin was the incredible puff piece with Mary Hart on Entertainment Tonight.
And earlier on Saturday, the host of The McLaughlin Group tried his best to carry McCain’s water, with clips of Rev Wright and William Ayers, and supposedly breaking his solemn promise to McCain to limit himself to federal matching funds.
In context, McCain’s appearance was a typical and maladroit attempt at media manipulation. It’s too late in the campaign for this kind of stuff for my tastes.
Juan del Llano
Oddly, perhaps, I would never watch that video, and considering the extreme damage he has done with this campaign, nothing McCain could ever do would make me think he was a "good sport" in any context whatsoever. Devoting even a tiny bit of bandwidth to posting it seems careless at best. Why, in heaven’s name, even mention it at all??
This morning I’m afflicted with a terrible moral depression, despite the outlook for Obama. Maybe I’m too crushed and mangled by the avalanche of racism, hatred, lying, rich man’s callousness, and sheer, mind-numbing stupidity to be generous at this point. McCain has given social cover for every evil bastard in this country to walk proudly down the street, for prejudiced cops to take out their frustrations on the innocent, for journalists to lie, and for the worst imaginable crimes to be committed on an international scale.
"Good sport" doesn’t even enter into this discussion, or shouldn’t. Let him sink into the quicksand of history without this humanizing gloss.
georgia pig
How did the troll manage to hijack this thread? Anyway, McCain was pretty good on the opening skit, but it was weird because that skit shit all over his dysfunctional campaign, e.g., the "town hall debate plates" and "pork knives" reinforced how trivial those issues are and Fey’s portrayal of Palin highlighted her ignorance and crass opportunism. I don’t get why he would do this other than a recognition that he’s circling the drain. I guess that makes him a good sport.
I don’t know that will be the case with the knuckle-draggers his campaign has brought out of the woodwork. You know, sometimes I think that McCain deliberately wants to lose this thing in the very manner he’s managing to do, as a means of destroying the modern GOP.
gil mann
See? Spoof.
gbear
Ahhh, Atanarjuat’s here…
…scroll…
…scroll…
…scroll…
Marshall
If Obama wins big on Tuesday, I would not be surprised if Fox News flips to being leftwing. Murdoch has no political principals at all – in China Sky supports the CP – and Fox News from his standpoint is entirely about currying favor and influence.
Atanarjuat
georgia pig said:
What the opening skit showed, and what seems to have gone over the heads of many diehard liberal partisans, is that Senator John McCain — soon to be President-elect John McCain — is in possession of a sense of humility, warmth, and good humor. In other words, he’s a good guy.
Leftists love to characterize Mr. McCain as scheming old vulture, as though he was the personification of Mr. Potter, the evil banker from, "It’s a Wonderful Life." The truth is just the opposite, and unlike the phony, car salesman-like veneer of Obama, Senator John McCain is certainly a personable and charming human being who inspires all those who come in contact with him, and, most importantly, leaves them laughing with good cheer.
Country First.
John S.
You’re fast running on empty.
Comrade Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Renko
Glenn Greenwald is a real constitutional scholor; whereas Keith Olbermann is a jumped up sports reporter, I don’t know how in the world you can even begin to compare…
Eh? Whazzat? You’re talking about vodka?
Oh.
Sorry.
‘Scuse the call.
Comrade Darkness
Just out of curiosity, did you watch it? It seemed to me an *admission* of the lameness of his campaign. His good natured mood in light of that seems almost surreal.
Laertes
You guys feed the troll way too much.
The SNL open was great. Watching it, I found myself liking McCain. If he’d managed somehow to project that kind of warmth and humor and humanity on the campaign trail, I imagine Obama would only be beating him half as bad by now.
I don’t know how to connect the guy I saw on SNL last night with the cranky, nasty, stiff old fool I’ve been seeing on the news. They’re two completely different people.
It almost makes me feel bad that he’s going to have such a terrible week. Almost.
Ah well. Off to the Obama office for more phonebanking.
ThresherK
@billyjones:
I can’t say I liked it that much. An
ignorant asking an NAACP rep for outrage over remarks directed at ethnic Arabs (or Al Qaeda, to up the ante) is one thing. Having Olbermann do that is another.
The bit I enjoyed was namechecking Eric Blair, show off that he knows George Orwell’s given name, then smugly assert that Orwell would be a fan if he were alive today. It satirizes his showy intellectual side and his big ego.
Comrade Darkness
I think some people here want/need the troll as an outlet.
However, newer and better trolls would be welcome.
uila
Adjustment of medication
Len
Kudos to the old dude (and most especially Tina Fey and Seth Meyers) for having the intestinal fortitude to do this, but (though I am sure some will disagree) I do not believe he did himself any favors. He just looked (and acted) old up there with all those young kids. He didn’t fit in. The whole thing was just clumsy. (And I won’t even get started on Cindy.)
The whole thing was kind of sad and surreal. It was like he knows he’s lost this election and was almost giving his concession speech. He wants his followers to know he’s okay with the way things turned out. He wants them to know that he and Cindy will be alright. They should move on now.
Comrade Darkness
Adjustment of outlook? Better night’s sleep?
Exactly. And if not, why has he been letting the campaign paint him as so very different from the character snl showed us last night? Weird. Can he really be that crazy and fiery as well as that far above it all?
Maybe I’m reading too much into it and he’s just an excellent actor who takes direction well, and he had a different director this time.
georgia pig
I guess Atanarjuat blockquoted me to have something to fling shit at. I’m sure McCain can be a "good guy," but he’s run an erratic campaign that chiefly relies on gimmicks like Palin and Joe the Plumber and cheesy guilt by assassination tactics. Kind of a QVC of campaigns, if QVC were run by the John Birch Society. Get it?
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Speaking of Cindy and John, does anyone find it creepy that they go absolutely EVERYWHERE together? It’s almost as if there is a lack of trust there, but is it Cindy making sure that John doesn’t philander again or is it more John making sure Cindy’s hasn’t gone back to being hopped up on drugs?
uila
Being down in the polls by 7 points with three days to go is evidently very liberating. Despite all evidence to the contrary, McCain is surrounded by political pros who surely see the writing on the wall. I’m glad he seems at peace with his impending loss. Hell, at his age he’s probably relieved to be done with it. He’s held up better than most could.
Singularity
@Atanarjuat 12
Rein, not reign. Like you rein in a horse. I thought you wingnuts were English-only advocates.
passerby
The skit was funny. Those plates! Hilarious. And why should he mind them mocking Sarah? She has demonstrated a willingness to use the neck of anyone in her way as a stepping stone.
Watching McCain last night I was reminded why I wanted him to win in 2000. I don’t think his clowning around on SNL hurt his candidacy. Good on him to salvage some of his brand with humor.
So unfortunate that his campaign was run by a bunch of ambitious pretendabees. That NYT Mag piece gave a view of his "handlers" as teenage bride’smaids planning a wedding–shallow, emotional, clueless, self-serving.
McCain, like Hillary, presumed too much, pride going before a fall and all that. So let him clown around–he knows he has lost and he knows why.
vishnu schizt
Dear John,
For the sake of your website please do one of two things:
1. Ban Atanarjuat since every thread simply turns into this troll repeating the same post over and over and over and over regardless of the topic…… The comments section as a whole has become unreadable. At least myiq2xu’s posts showed some cleverness and varied from time to to time.
2. Dump her, his posts into a section all their own, your clown shoes category for instance.
Thanks.
Brachiator
@Comrade Darkness:
I watched it. I wouldn’t comment otherwise. I didn’t see it much as an admission of anything. After all, McCain didn’t write the sketch; he just agreed to participate in it.
I see it for what it was, an easy way to get free TV time. If McCain changed his stump speeches or got rid of the negative campaigning, this would be more a sign that he admitted the lameness of his campaign, and did something about it.
By the way, on Saturday, McCain appeared in a taped segment on one of the Spanish language stations, ch 34, talking about how much he cared about Latinos and pointed out — as though it meant something — that Obama had never travelled to Mexico. But one of the top news stories on the Spanish language news stations here in Southern California was the story about one of Obama’s relatives being in the country illegally. While this was probably intended to solidify some of the Republican base against Obama, it appeared to be having the opposite effect with Latinos, since the comments to the story indicated that Latinos saw the news story as a blatant attempt to demonize immigrants.
So again, in a larger context, McCain’s "good natured" face on SNL is contradicted by the same old McCain nastiness displayed elsewhere in the media on Saturday.
And of course, the final verdict on the McCain campaign won’t be in until the votes are counted on Tuesday.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Yeah, so liberating he’s using Hillary Clinton’s voice in robocalls.
He’s a snake.
Terri
Re: Vodka
I have a friend who does a lot of business with the eastern Europeans. Drinking lots of vodka is a function of these business meetings. Good vodka. If they like you, they bestow their favorite brand on you by the case. Many a night, I have spent at my friend’s house, eating great food and sampling vodka as it was supposed to be made.
Top of my personal fav list is the Luga Nova brand from Ukraine. The "White Queen" premium is IMHO the smoothest, most creative use of the potato known to man. Period. It’s not sold in this country yet, but you can occasionally find it in Eastern European resturants. The Russia House in D.C. has it.
A really, really good vodka that they do sell here is the "Snow Queen" from Kazhakstan. It’s about $20 a bottle and much smoother than Stoli, or Grey Goose, Kettle One, and other major labels marketed here. Even the Stoli Elite is too harsh, compared to the Snow Queen.
Comrade Darkness
@Brachiator, thanks for the thoughtful reply. It fascinates me how different people perceive things so differently based on their own internal frame. Like Passerby, I have an old, more flattering memory of the man that this skit played to. Hard to imagine after everything, but maybe I want to see that old Mccain, and am, hence, looking for him.
Dan
He knows it’s over and he is trying to rehabilitate himself as the ingratiating good-guy that he used go be seen as.
I thought he was really good in the opening skit, and not too bad on Weekend Update.
The The View skit was great as was the Keith Olbermann takedown. I don’t think Ben Affleck is a good actor, but he is a great mimic and a pretty good sketch comedian.
Atanarjuat
georgia pig said:
If you consider my prior, considered response to you an example of flinging "shit," then no amount of reasonableness will reach you.
Congratulations! You’re exactly the type of diehard liberal partisan I’d early described.
I’ll be sure to see you among all the other outraged, teeth-gnashing, wailing-at-the-sky BJ members on November 5th. For everyone else who’s not a spitball-shooting leftist, however, that concession speech that Obama will deliver with slumped shoulders will be sweet to behold.
Country First.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
See my post at 80 and reconsider his wanting to be a good guy. The man has no scruples.
Comrade Darkness
Yes, the campaign is sleezy and without scruples. And yes, at the end of the day the candidate is responsible for the campaign. But I do think the momentum of the campaign has gone beyond what even McCain the person would do if he were really in charge of the details. I think he just isn’t a very good manager. That’s not an excuse, just an explanation, and a very good reason to not make him president, as it would be a Bush III presidency–run entirely by the same self-serving jerkwads behind the scenes.
added: I’m really not trying to defend him, just trying to explain the dichotomy to my own satisfaction
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Thank you Darkness, but I’m still pissed. The only positive I can see is that this will make his campaign look dishonest. People know Hillary is in Obama’s camp now and she does not truly believe the soundbite the Repubs are using. It’s sleezy and it’s transparent to those who are receiving these calls or listening to them being played over and over on CNN breaking news.
uila
I am actually curious to see if, when all is said and done, he does in fact repudiate his campaign. His sins in this campaign (i.e. slander, race baiting, and all around fear-mongering) far outstrip anything he subsequently apologized for after losing in 2000. Given that this is his last go round (electorally speaking), I tend to doubt that he will acknowledge his role in the sleaze. There’s no upside in it for him, better to pretend that it’s just politics as usual and hope history gives him a pass.
Comrade Darkness
@CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII,
All they are doing is playing to the choir now. The independents and undecideds are breaking the way they always tend to, in the range of 50/50 or at worst 60/40 for McCain. It’s not enough to make up the gap.
Hopefully these robocalls will make the Clintons work a little harder here in the home stretch. A little righteous anger from them would go much farther in getting dems to the polls, which is all that’s left of this horserace.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
I disagree. I personally think this wasn’t so much about getting votes as to try to knock the wind out of Democratic sails.
Church Lady
I watched it last night and I thought the opening skit was hilarious. For me, the high points were the town hall commemorative plates (blank) and McCain fine gold. Kudos to the writers for those. I thought the Weekend Update segment fell a little flat, just sort of eh, ok.
Afflek’s take down of KO was great, especially the constant turning for different camera angles and the historonic faux outrage.
Olbermann has based his entire schtick on the outrages perpetuated by the Republicans for the last four (or eight) years, of speaking "truth to power". If Obama is elected and the Democrats gain seats in Congress and achieve a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, what direction will Countdown take? Will it be a constant love letter to the party in power, ala the Fox News prime time echo chamber, or will he suddenly have problems with actions the Democrats might take, pissing off his current viewer demographic? Originally, the show covered a wide variety of topics and was not so overtly political. Of course, it was also in the ratings cellar. How can he maintain his current ratings while still maintaining his position as a scold?
gbear
Here’s what McCain wishes he could have said on SNL.
edit: crap. link didn’t work. I’ll try to fix it in the next 3 minutes….
Comrade Darkness
@gbear, you have to use the provided Ext. Link button or add a ‘rel="external"’ attribute to the A tag.
gbear
@Comrade Darkness:
My link didn’t work because it went to the wrong address. I’ll have to give you an indirect route:
Go to Bob Geiger’s saturday cartoons and scroll down to the Headzup YouTube (a cartoon John McCain standing in front of a flag). That’s what I was aiming for and missed. Bob Geigers’s saturday post should already be on everyone’s agenda anyway.
Kilkee
Artanajuat said:
.
What do you suppose to be the odds that, even after Obama delivers a sweeping, crushing electoral defeat to McCain-Palin, that Artanajuat and his fellow delusionals will concede that it occurred without "ACORN vote tampering or other electoral manipulation?"
Never mind that "ACORN vote tampering" is an obviously meaningless phrase. "Electoral manipulation" will certainly be found in, oh, letting all those people vote.
So, no, it’s safe to say that the trolls will never, never, never concede the validity of an Obama presidency. Get used to it. Faux News will be nonstop "voter fraud" from 11/3/08 through 1/20/13.
Josh Hueco
@passerby:
Hillary and McCain erred in that they ran their campaigns against caricatures of Louis Farrakhan and Al Sharpton instead of the flesh-and-blood Barack Obama.
Josh Hueco
@Terri:
Thanks for the heads up, I’ll have to remember that.
Lesley
I don’t know whether it’s the fact that McCain’s campaign has been consistently mean spirited and pathetic, but when I watched that I just felt sorry for him.
If anything, the writing mocks him and emphasizes how far he’s tanked in the polls.
Btw, if anyone’s having trouble finding all the vids, here’s a link.
Common Sense
Ya know who else was purty funny on the teevee?
Bob Dole.
‘Specially when he was hawkin’ the stuff I can’t even reference hear if I want y’all to read me.
A.Political
Atanarjuat is a field worker for the Obama campaign, he is obviously just trying to encourage all voters to get out and vote since McCain could become president if you don’t. Thank him like I do…good work Atanarjuat.
Mayken
Artanajuat:
I admire your testicular fortitude in continuing to hang out on this site and bash people. But argument by assertion (e.g. "liberals like to [fill in the blank]" and comparing Obama to a car salesman can hardly be called a "considered response." Nor is accusing this site or any other that happens to disagree with you world-view of being "anti-American." If you would like to have rational discussions about disagreements over policies and world-views, I know you’d have more than one taker. But no, you just come over here to play troll. Whatever, dude!
Everyone else:
Long time lurker, first time commentor (LOL!) As far as the SNL skits – I liked the intro. I thought the Fine-gold joke was hilarious actually and I normally cannot stand puns. (Ask my husband; there is a "pun tax" is our house.) The news segment was less funny though. I have to admit that between this and the Al Smith roast I was happy to see just a bit of the McCain I almost could have voted for in 2000 shine through.
djork
RE: vodka.
Having spent some time in Russia, I’ve grown fond of Russian Standard vodka, which is available in the States and is relatively inexpensive. Get this stuff too cold and it can be dangerous.
Liver first.
bago
Yet another vote for Tito’s vodka. Good stuff. If you live in the bay area you can swing by Hangar One on sundays for their vodka tasting parties. Good Times.
Atanarjuat
Mayken said:
Expressing my conservative opinions is not "bashing," and picking out one line from the "considered response" you’re ridiculing just shows how thin-skinned some (most?) BJ’ers can be when confronted with opposing views. Thank you for the civil response otherwise.
I’ve since dropped making such assertions in an effort to moderate my presence on BJ. You have my apologies for being needlessly inflammatory.
I realize that I’ve already drawn to myself a posse of haters who reflexively exclaim, "troll!", "spoof!", and "asshole!", so my attempt at trying to seek a common ground for communication will be jeered at and ignored for some time (at least until a few days after McCain’s presidential victory), but in the end, I’m not here to seek anyone’s approval or pat on the head. I’ve already explained my purpose repeatedly, and I’ll continue contributing my own thoughts sans partisan acrimony.
Country First.
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
I swear to god, dude, keep dropping that "country first" nonsense as long as you like online, but we all know that it means nothing in reality for people like you.
What was your enlistment date again?
Mine was march 10th of 1999.
This is what your cute little slogan actually means:
country first, as long as I don’t have to do anything.
Mayken
Atanarjuat said:
I used the term ‘bash’ because there seemed to be insults of one kind or another in just about all of the comments you’ve made on this thread. I submit that that is ‘bashing’. But I do retract the troll comment in light of your follow-on statements.
Thanks for that and for your stated intent to try to moderate your presence here. I work with several very conservative people and we have long respectful conversations on a regular basis without trading insults. I believe it can be that way on-line. I look forward to having constructive and respectful discussions in future.
Roza Hussein
"Love him or hate him – mostly hate him – he did an awesome job on SNL. Good sport."
Hate him or more to the point, sick of him and his pathetic campaign
Roza Hussein
"Love him or hate him – mostly hate him – he did an awesome job on SNL. Good sport."
Hate him or more to the point, sick of him and his pathetic campaign
Phoebe
About the skit: I think he was supressing cracking up totally when Fey mentioned the 1st Amendment. So good for him on that. But yeah yeah, I still hate him. Palin is his fault.
About Atanarjuat:
He is tiresome. Ban him from everything except have an open Atanarjuat thread, so the people who like to spar with him can do so. It’s not just the Atanarjuat comments I have to scroll past – that’s relatively easy – it’s the responses, which I have to actually start reading first in order to identify them as such.
wrye
I liked it. Props to the old man. It really felt like someone bowing to the inevitable with what grace and humour he could manage. The shot at Palin says it all. He knows what’s coming, and he knows why.
I think it’s entirely possible that he is a funny guy with a sense of humour, *and* a vicious political tactician. I mean, this is a man who dropped bombs on people and fought in a war. Why was anyone surprised he’s capable of political knife-fighting? He threw everything he had at Obama, and the increasing desperation, kitchen-sinkness, and meanness of the tactics is a reflection of desperation at being unable to beat him, and the failures of his advisors. Obama’s simply that good a boxer – he can beat you so smoothly it looks like you’re beating yourself. Just ask the Clintons.
It’s not really fair, after all. George Bush creampuffs his way into eight years of the presidency, and McCain gets stuck with the flaming bag of poop and gets hit by a freight-train of historical proportions. So it’s okay to feel sorry for the sad grandpa–after the polls close, and not a second before.
Limniade
"I’m a true maverick, a Republican without money." LOL!
Best line of the skit.
boonagain
There, all fixed.