John McCain’s temper is well known to most of us and you’d figure he’d do his best to keep it in check. He lost it a little bit today with the Times’ Elisabeth Bumiller. I guess she’s not allowed to ask about an actual event that happened to him involving John Kerry back in ‘04. FOX didn’t show the whole exchange unfortunately.
Update: Watching it again, I think “cranky” is a better description. You may remember how nasty McCain got with Barack back in ‘06 after Obama decided “he preferred his own party’s legislation to a task force and suggested McCain take another look at the Democratic caucus’s Honest Leadership Act, which does not have a Republican cosponsor.”
Wrote Obama: “I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work[.]”
McCain wasn’t very happy and fired off this response: “I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party’s effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness.
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New York Times correspondent Elisabeth Bumiller: Senator can I ask you about Senator Kerry. I just went back and looked at our story, the Times story, and you told Sheryl Stolberg that you had never had a conversation with Kerry about being, about Vice President –
John McCain: Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that. That I had a conversation. There’s no living American in Washington -
EB: Okay.
McCain: - that knows that, there’s no one.
EB: Okay
McCain: And you know it too. You know it. You know it. So I don’t even know why you ask.
EB: Well I ask because I just read –-
McCain: You do know it. You do know it.
EB: Because I just read in the Times in May of ’04 you said.
McCain: I don’t know what you may have read or heard of, I don’t know the circumstances. Maybe in May of 04 I hadn’t had the conversation –
EB: But do you recall the conversation?
McCain: I don’t know, but it’s well known that I had the conversation. It is absolutely well known by everyone. So do you have a question on another issue?
And then we have McCain throwing an F-bomb at Rep. John Cornyn last March over an immigration dispute. Do you think McCain could use a few anger management meetings to help him with his temper? (the rest of the exchange and take the AOL Hot Seat poll below the fold)
EB: Well can I ask you when the conversation was?
McCain: No. Nope, because the issue is closed as far as I’m concerned. Everybody knows it. Everybody knows it in America.
EB: Can you describe the conversation?
McCain: Pardon me.
EB: Can you describe the conversation?
McCain: No, of course not. I don’t describe private conversations.
EB: Okay. Can I ask you –
McCain: Why should I? Then there’s no such thing as a private conversation. Is there (inaudible) if you have a private conversation with someone, and then they come and tell you. I don’t know that that’s a private conversation. I think that’s a public conversation.
EB. Okay. Can I ask you about your (pause) Why you’re so angry?
McCain: Pardon me?
EB: Nevermind, nevermind.
No Trackbacks To “John McCain flies off the handle with NY Times Reporter over John Kerry VP question“
…. and stay off my lawn!
“I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public’s.”
-John McCain
Someone get Grandpa more prune juice. He seems a bit stuffed up.
Sorry for the cliche….but….frist.
Would be interesting to have Kerry be McCain’s veep. Might draw from the democratic pool.
But just how bad can it be when a 90 year old man flies off the handle?
AAAAAAHHHH got out fristed!!!
great. Give HIM the Noo-kew-lur switch. Nothing like a hothead trying to settle shit down…
McAsshat.
You are correct McCain, there is no such thing as a private conversation anymore in America. Terrorism and all, you know.
Wow. McHotHead!!!!!! Perhaps he is having a McFlashback to his McHotShotz days!
He sounds a bit like my mother-in-law used to. Fly off the handle over anything. One year she did it at Thanksgiving. Except it was AT the dead turkey! We put her in a home.
fiver @ 5:
Well…that depends on how good his bowel control is.
Imagine that - a senator that feels his privacy is under threat when asked questions. Now imagine if there was a big telecommunications corporation just feeding all the senator’s private communications to reporter’s without his permission… i think that would get him even more upset - ya think?
Great reporting!!
McCain is such a tool, its kind of funny to watch.
Looking forward to the gen election debates
McHotHead
McFruitcake
ManiaMcal
Hussein AND Proud @ 10:
Hahahaaha…………his McUrinaryTract is unstable!! Look out, he’s gonna blow!
You know you’re on the McSame shit list when he doesn’t call you “friend.”
here we go again, another fucking bastard repug for president.
there should be a third party for people like bush and mclame, crawl-in-a-hole party or
i can fuck myself. want to watch? party
What a warrior!
He’s not going to have many ‘My Friends’ with that attitude.
McCain is the John Kerry of 2008. Kerry was SUPPOSED to lose in 2004 just like McCain is SUPPOSED to lose this year. It’s all part of the plan.
Concerned”Hussein”Canuck @ 15:
INCOMING!!!!!
McNut going McInsane? Holy McFreak, this is totally McCrazy!!
And they took Dean out of a race because of HIS temper?
Dean was a lightweight compared to McSame.
I’m not so sure I want this guy answering a 3AM call either,
not if has access to the nu-cu-lur [sic] button.
Grumpy, old man.
i hope everyone keeps pushing mcsame’s buttons, so we can watch him come apart in public piece by piece. “honorable maverick” my ass. the man is a morally vacant self-absorbed hypocrite. i hope this campaign pushes him into the dustbin of history, where he belongs.
So the “nuclear button” isn’t really a big red button in an unlocked drawer in the presidential desk, right? (gulp)
And the list keeps on growing. McCranky
They should ask John Hitler McCain about the “kindergarten” he attended as a child. That’s where they indoctrinate people into Nazism, you know.
the love affair with the press is going to come to an end if they keep asking intelligent questions….
lol a little defensive isn’t he? but seriously who cares, he has no chance and is irrelevant.
I would love to see this happen in a debate against Obama. All Obama has to do is flash that smile while McCain erupts.
Oh my goodness my friend. This is going to be a rather enjoyable general campaign.
And the rest of the conversation:
EB. Okay. Can I ask you about your (pause) Why you’re so angry?
McCain: Pardon me?
EB: Nevermind, nevermind.
McCain: I’m not angry you f’ing jerk. (Slaps EB)
EB: (Bleeding)
McCain: (In his meek, passive voice, looking at the other reporters) Any other questions, my friends??
Reporter: Are you Bipolar? (Runs to other end of plane laughing.)
Johnny McWarrior……..”I quit my anger management classes cuz they really PISSED ME OFF!”
What an arrogant piece of shit.
Look out! He’s going for the can of Spinach!
John Amato @ 27:
Is there a full McList somewhere to download?
Grumpt old men who I love:
George Carlin
Andy Rooney
Jimmy Breslin
Unless McCain can be pissed-off AND funny, he has no place being grumpy. Grumpy doesn’t win elections.
Dale @ 36:
He’s McPoopEye the McSailor man….he lives in a garbage can……he’ll stomp on your balls, just before the old coot falls, he’s McPoopEye the McSailor man…TOOT! TOOT!
John Amato @ 27:
McCrabapple
Dhalgren @ 38:
Wasn’t Grumpy one of the seven dwarfs?
I don’t have to answer questions like that from the likes of you, you hippy! You 30-somethings, walking around with your underwear sticking out, listening to the Rap music, and getting Matlock canceled! In my day, (five minutes of unintelligible mumbling).
TlalocW
“Then there’s no such thing as a private conversation. Is there (inaudible) if you have a private conversation with someone, and then they come and tell you. I don’t know that that’s a private conversation. I think that’s a public conversation.”
Maybe it has something to do with your choice of career? Nobody forced you to be a perennial presidential candidate, and you should be smart enough to know that with that territory comes a whole lot of attention and scrutiny. leaving aside the total irony that, thanks to your good buddy Tap-Dance George, in this country private conversations just aren’t what they used to be.
Rusty Hussein Shackleford @ 28:
McHitler was kicked out of kindergarten when he snapped and broke all the crayons, making another student (GW) cry.
Yeah…HERE’S the guy we want to have on the nuclear trigger!
8 years of Bush…and potentially at least 4 of McCain…shit…our luck has to eventually run out.
that wasnt anger…that was fear
remind the neocons that mccain was seriously thinking about leaving the party, and he looses the base and his money dries up
Captain Hussein Kangaroo @ 37:
Proud2BHumble has a master list.
Dale @ 41:
Well, Dopey just served his 8 years, so why not? Sleepy was elected just after Carter.
Hey, maybe he can hold another barbecue. And I want my ball back out of your back yard, you cranky son of a bitch!
McLostIt
Maybe there is a god cause I have been praying that something like this would happen. The more tired he gets the more often he will get all cranky. Imagine him having a meeting with some head of state and he does something like this. Yeah baby, that’s just the personality we need to repair the damage around the world right now.
About a half hour ago bush spoke about the economy. He said he recognized it was weak, but his economic stimulus plan is going to fix everything. Case closed.
How about this (don’t wake me up at 3:00 in the McFucking morning) Mr. McInsane: “Well, it was a private conversation and I would rather keep it that way. Thank you.” Now that would not be so bad would it?
Someday soon, this senile buffoon is going to explode while the camera is rolling. I look forward to that day.
John Amato @ 27:
Is that the new Presidential hamburger…the McCranky?
Concerned”Hussein”Canuck @ 48:
Horney was after Bush Sr.
TlalocW @ 42: