Countdown: McCain Supporter Disparages Obama By Likening Him To Tiger Woods
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Apr 08, 2008 12:00pm
SilentPatriot first called our attention to this yesterday and we just couldn't figure this out. At a Vets for Freedom rally outside on the Capitol steps, VFF Vice Chairman and Iraq vet SSgt David Bellavia introduced John McCain to speak to the veterans before he joined the Senate Armed Services hearing with Petraeus and Crocker. Bellavia took the opportunity to apparently try to take a shot at Obama:
Rest assured, that men like Sen. McCain will be the goal and the men that my two young boys will emulate and admire. [sic] You can have your Tiger Woods, we’ve got Sen. McCain. [..] My friends, this is the real ‘audacity of hope.’
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The only thing that SilentPatriot and I could come up with is that it's a vaguely racial comment, although it's unclear how being multi-racial (which both Woods and Obama are) is somehow a bad thing. Guest Michael Eric Dyson isn't sure the intent, but thinks that any way you slice it, it doesn't reflect well on Bellavia, nor McCain, who did not react to the statement at all:
DYSON: Now we can’t discern the person’s intent, it may have been fine. But that’s even more problematic. If there was no specific and particular and conscious intent to do harm, that means that this grows out of a pattern of habit. That it is just a natural reflex. And that one, you know, interchangeable African-American multi-racial person is as good as the other or they’re indistinguishable.
Kind of like how those Sunnis and Shi'as are indistinguishable, right, McCain? But the thing I kept coming back to is that as an insult, it clearly backfires onto McCain, given the stature and achievements of Tiger Woods, something that Keith Olbermann states perfectly:
Since I first heard this today, I’ve been trying to figure out, with some sports background in my past, if the veteran there was not talking about race, what he could have been talking about. Because what is there to be dismissive about about Tiger Woods? He’s an almost unbeatable golfer. He is, in fact, the man who re-calibrated what had been a very non-diverse sport and because of that re-calibration, everybody in it made a lot more money than they would have otherwise. He brought people a lot of green, never mind any other color. If you’re comparing anybody to Tiger Woods on a non-racial basis, the other guy loses, doesn’t he?
Well, here's hoping, Keith. I just think it's hilarious that the GOP proves once again to be so incompetent that they even screw up insults.
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Just what I was talking about in the earlier thread. Thanks for picking this up.
John McCain loses to Tiger Woods, bigtime.
I say to these Repubilcan shills, keep it coming. Just keep it coming, get in your bon mots and have a good snicker. Just make sure that all of your "hard-hitting" speech-writing work shows up on video.
what a dumb way to insult somebody....compare him to the best golfer in the world....the richest most successful sports star in the world.....
it'll be fun to watch all the righty thugs argue this wasnt racist.....
i guess republicans prefer angry, incompetent, adulterous and corrupt white men to everything else...i suppose that's why they are republicans
Maybe he was just trying to say that Sen. Obama cant bowl OR golf (?)
That's substance baiting. Tiger Woods is an entertainer in effect, so if you follow the association...
Sgt. Bellavia sounds like a real master baiter.
The comment appears overtly racial. You evaluate where the comment was made, when, how, why.... and you can see it is clearly another shot in the race war that has begun. Someone doesn't come on the TV and just accidently compare the honkey to a spade guys?
Did anyone attend the Watts Riots? The Detroit Mayhem? The Rodney King show? Don't for a moment think that this isn't what is going to be the theme of the campaign. McCain is not even qualified to run for the office, but he is going to be their nominee. Do you get it yet?
ohio progressive (typical non-typical white person) @ 4:
Sounds like father issues.
Expect these racist comparisons to Obama to increase. Do not expect the racist McCain to condemn them or even acknowledge them.
Hmm... Maybe he was trying to censor himself? He was about to say "negro" but then realized he was being recorded and thought of the first "negro" he could think of... or something?
oldtree @ 7:
I used to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
On the bright side: at least he didn't say "Islamofascist"
this is unbelievable. thought this kind of stuff went out with grammar school. this is NOT a vague ethnic reference. it's a blatant racist comment. "You can have your Tiger Woods, we have John McCain. It's not referencing the fact that both have mixed ethnicity. it's stating both Tiger and Obama are Black. Pure and simple: it's a racist comment. And they are beginning to give play to their true colors. Racist B...ds.
I (Obama supporter) try to give everyone benefit of the doubt but Bellavia is simply racist, ignorant, and stupid. And the people clapping after his comment? The same... racist, ignorant, and stupid. And McCain? As long as he has the guy's support -- he don't care...
Remains to be seen if McCain will condemn Bellavia's comments as he did Bill Cunningham's.
The only black people the repugs can recruit are just as stoopid and crooked as they are.
sad bastard.
emphasa @ 12:
"Islamofascist" is an oxymoron.
i think what he meant was:
you can have your 'the best in the world by a million miles at his sport' guy and we'll take our 'his big claim to fame is being shot down' guy.
Did you see the people in that crowd? Total White Bread WASPs. McCain the great uniter! That young man looked like he stepped out of a Young Republian Meeting. You know the types ,"Keep the war going, but don't ask me to join!" Like Romney's sons, there are just to damn important.
*Shrug*
coming from a mostly white country, it seems silly to me, then again, the most favorable interpretation would be he is referring to Tiger Woods as a charming showman if you will, but not a "working" guy if you will.
For the record, Tiger Woods is cute, and I am a heterosexual white guy.
Or maybe what he really wanted to say was "Barrack Saddam Hussein Obama bin Laden."
Maybe he actually thinks Tiger Woods is the likely Democratic nominee. They all look alike, after all.
Vile Republicans!
What will they (and James Hoffa) think of next? Next they will be comparing Obama to Michael Jordan!
Just look at the crowd behind this guy and McCain, is that representitive of the America you live and work in? I saw maybe one person of color and 2 women.
Hell, I would vote for Tiger Woods before I'd vote for John McAlzheimer.
This clown makes zero sense. He says he wants his boys to emulate McCain...okay...but what is so wrong with Tiger Woods? He's a winner, he gives to charities, he's a good citizen and one of the best Golfers the world has ever seen.
Unless there was something else (the guy hates golf?) why would he say something like that unless he's A) Uninformed or B) Racist?
I dunno...a weird statement for sure. If I was McCain, I would have openly said something but he didn't (what an assclown).
Michael Eric Dyson is a smooth talking, silver-tongued, hip-dip, down with Blues baby, taking the Queen's English mounting it and riding it like some deranged coke-snorting Howard University Political Science Phd, black Thomas Jefferson rapper on a mission.
Perhaps he meant to say, "You can have your Tiger Woods, we've got Bob Hope".
(sorry Bob, RIP).
A bad analogy is like a leaky screwdriver.
ohio progressive (typical non-typical white person) @ 4:
And if he does what he does for another 25 years, he'll be worth what Mchael Jordan is.And in his heyday, if Michael had done what he did for another 130 years, he's be worth what Bill Gates is today.
Puts it in perspective...
One of my favorite comic quotes comes from Chris Rock:
"Shaq...is Rich. The guy that signs his paycheck, is WEALTHY!"
no mattah how good tiger is, no mattah how much money he's made at THEIR game, he's still just another black in their eyes. And that would be called: ta-ta, RACISM. Follow this closely and you will see how it lurked beneath the surface all along, there was a pretense that all was getting better, they were allowed to ride the bus and drink in any fountain they chose. hell, some of them even inter racially married. how liberal can this nation be? but the monster was just waiting as the phoenix to rear its ugly head at the opportune time. During Bush's administration, they felt they were in friendly confines and they felt safe enough to roll out the snake handlers and the race baiting, now, they feel threatened that one of THEM might actually lead this country. now they will bring out all of their racist ammo to fire against this black man who would be prez.
Comparing Obama to Tiger....thank you, ignorant fucker. The only thing worst than a bigot is a stupid bigot. The core group of the Republican party will have to die out before they ever get any substantial black votes.
Norse @ 20:
They were making a veiled reference to the all talk and no action I guess. The thing is that Tiger is the toughest guy out there, physically and mentally. He works harder than everyone else and it shows. To compare anyone to Tiger is to compare them to a winner, but somehow in that guy's head it is a put down? So what makes the comparison a put down for this guy and crowd?
abob @ 27:
Okay Abob, we can go another round with this race shit!
Here's something to chew on. McCain goes up and speaks to a black crowd about his love of MLK. Says he was wrong, says he made a mistake not voting for MLK's b-day as a national holiday. Okay, fine.
When Cunningham put down Obama, McCain went up there and questioned the guy in public. Where was his outrage with this fellow? Is it because this guy served in Iraq and McCain was afraid to question him? How can you speak to the black population that MLK was great, blah blah blah and NOT hold that Tiger Woods comment out as wrong? If I was McCain I'd have at least openly said that Woods is a great man and there is nothing wrong with him as a role model.
Further proof that McCain doesn't get it and I hope to the powers that be he is NOT the next prez.
Chris @ 23:
Or Michael Jackson?
Isn't this sort of like saying, "You can have your Superman, we’ve got Mr. Magoo"?
The only thing that SilentPatriot and I could come up with is that it’s a vaguely racial comment, although it’s unclear how being multi-racial (which both Woods and Obama are) is somehow a bad thing.
That's because you're not a repug voter. Repugs love pandering to racists. It's how they win in the South. The race card will get played to the hilt by the repugs once Obama is the nominee. It'll be done by rightwing 527 groups and by back bencher repug state legislators across the country but it will be done. McCain will give speeches and feign indignation about the tone of the ads all the while laughing his ass off behind the scenes because he knows they'll work.
The Southern Strategy has been an invaluable electoral tool for repugs these past few decades. What they did to Harold Ford a couple of years ago in Tennessee will look like a cake walk compared to what the repugs have in store for Obama during a general election. This won't be pretty people, brace yourselves.
Norse @ 20:
There. Fixed it for you. ;)
mccain is well-versed at surrounding himself with idiots.
today's GOP: black people are interchangeable... that isn't racist, is it?
i think he's going for the fuzzy zoeller crowd with that one. Next he'll be advising obama not to have fried chicken at his inauguration dinner.
continue to call em out on these racist (no matter how clumsy they might be) remarks by mKKKain's supporters. i wanna watch him squirm trying to distance himself from the comments of hagee, falwell, etc.
ysbaddaden @ 35:
Or Jesse Jackson, as Bill Clinton would do.
He's basically saying that Tiger Woods and Barrack Obama are loved first for being black and second for their accomplishments. He's basically playing the brave soul who's willing to point out that if there was no political correctness you'd naturally vote republican. We wouldn't want to talk about the substance of character now would we?
There were a lot of young men in that crowd. Are any of them in the military? Have they sacrificed anything for this war? Then, by all means dudes, join the military! McCain will take care of you!
P.D. @ 43:
actually, i think most there were ex-military
Forget Tiger Woods, Experts Compare John McCain to John Daly
AndrewK @ 42:
huh?
is this sarcasm?
they are grasping at straws maybe groups for freedom ( they support a candiate that wants 100 years of wars??) should do some facts checking oh wait they don't need no stinking facts.
Samson, Your right. I just went on their web-site. I stand corrected.
FTFY
You have Tiger Woods,we have General Buck Turgidson.
Dangit, forgot to close my tags and thus ruined my joke. :(
Don Davis @ 45:
Now wait a minute. Daly IS my favorite golfer. The John Kruk of golf...
I guess the real reason that the comparison came out of this guy's hole was that, in his mind, Tiger Woods was the last, not-entirely-white guy who broke into a mostly-white old boys club. Although, I doubt that those are the words this guy would use.
Racist, yes - but I've heard worse. Ignorant, hell yes.
Would you rather raise your boys to be record breaking, insanely rich, loving (Tiger's love for his father is obvious), happy, eloquent, mixed-race guy (who is sleeping with a crazy-beautiful woman); or would you rather they grow up to be a corrupt, opportunist politician with anger issues just because he's white?
BLACK PEOPLE, you know what that comment was. i'm chicano and the comment made me cringe remembering all the vague references in the past that were directed my way. But maybe we need to make some lemonade here. With that comment out there, there is no sitting on the fence. Just as the ultra conservative self avowed homosexual Andrew, can't remember the last name, had to get off the fence when all of the negativity and hypocrisy of this admin surfaced with regard to homosexuals, now African Americans cannot pretend that this admin welcomes them and wants them to join their party for anything but their vote. If Condoleeza does accept the VP nomination if offered, I can only hope that WE all can see beyond voting for her because of color or gender. She has shown her true colors over the past 8 years.
Jay @ 29:
i disagree rather strongly
tiger woods is wealthy
jordan is wealthy
shaq is wealthy
donald trump is a poor fool
a lot of times, the guys signing the paychecks are just paper pros, not as wealthy as you might guess....it's all borrowed money
If he is a SSgt, how did he treat other service members? The comment was way out of line. A person of Authority is one to be trusted, not to use incendiary remarks.
emphasa @ 51:
No, the tag didn't ruin the joke - I still laughed out loud.
The comment is blatantly racist, there's no way around it. McCain can't separate himself from the commenter because he hugged him within minutes of the speech.
AndrewK @ 42:
Yeah right. There was nothing complimentary in that racist goof's statement. Brave soul? You must be out of your fucking mind! That fool was simply an idiotic race carder throwing red meat to Johnny's like minded followers.
This was a dog-whistle if I've ever heard one.
Why is this a racist statement? The surroundings:
1. Bellavia's voice and demeanor showed a gain of anxiety as he rose to the "stinger" of his speech, the Tiger dig. Watch overt racists speak and it's a strikingly similar phenomenon. They seem to pride themselves in their bravery to "say what needs to be said" in language that in polite company would be reviled.
2. The crowd's reaction. It was a white version of "Oh girl, no you di-int!" If it wasn't a racist comment, they would have soberly clapped and that would have been it. But it reeked of sensationalism and a mixed sense of awe, surprise, and approval.
3. Why Tiger? Because he's mixed? Because he's black but "acts white?" If you want my opinion, it's because Tiger Woods is the only black person in America that you can be sure every white person is aware of. And even though Tiger is a "safe" black man that won't rape your white momma or steal your car, he is still seen in the eyes of racist white America as a threat. Obama is the nonviolent black threat to the white holders of American power like Tiger is the nonviolent black threat to 100 years of white Masters winners.
The fact that McCain smiled, laughed, HUGGED, and generally approved of all this tells you all the story you need to know.
Racism blows. So do Republicans.
Left&Left @ 59:
Yes, Samson, I'm pretty sure that was snark.
nonbeliever @ 58:
I don't know about "blatant".
Maybe "insidious".It is racist in the way O'Reilly couldn't get over the well mannered eating habits of Blacks folks.
Jeez, Hagee, this guy, Does McCain have anyone besides right-wing religious bigots behind him. I'm just waiting for David Duke to crawl out of the sewer to endorse him.
They didn't screw up the insult. It is duly noted: one one non-white guy is the same as the next and we don't care who they are as individuals because we're bigots who revel in our bigotry! Give us the white guy!! Woo hoo!!
And, please bear in mind that this is coming from a guy who recently served active duty military. If anyone thinks for one moment that the bigotry of individual military personnel doesn't become combined to affect the whole is seriously deluding themselves.
If I were a racist redneck fuck, here's how I'd interpret it: "Naggers have just one worthwhile representative of their race they can be proud of, and it's Tiger Woods. Hardworking honest white folk like me can be most proud of John McCain." Then I'd celebrate by heading out to drink some moonshine and shine a few deer.
Tiger Woods aint black.
"I am Cabalasian" - tiger woods
I'm GLAD I don't understand what the f*ck the wingnut means.
this is the extent of the country club GOP's learning from george 'grand wizard' allen's macaca moment: when trying to disparage non-white people; when you are desperate to point out that they are not white; when you are trying to cause division, compare the person you are trying to discriminate against with someone 'safe'
but, really, this isn't very dif from the macaca moment.
that way, when your subtle racism is called out, you can claim that it was, actually, a compliment. perfect game plan there mccain.
today's GOP: subtle racism is to be expected
pinkobait @ 62:
Yeah, where's my m****r f*****g iced tea!
Zack @ 65:
For some reason the quote that came to my mind after reading this was, "you shore got a purty mouth."
katie @ 60:
Well said.
Well, thats fine. If the SSGT wants to make that comparison then I guess I could introduce John McCain as resembling uncle Fester.
ysbaddaden @ 69:
bingo.
ysbaddaden @ 69:
Beat me to it! I love that line.
"you shore got a purty mouth"
That made me do a "side show Bob" shudder...
What's the bad thing Tiger Woods did in their eyes? Married a beautiful white woman. Drives pigs like Bellavia crazy.
The comment is clearly racist.
Bigots on the golf course resent the success of Tiger Woods which not only suggested, but demanded that minorities be welcome to play the game which on many courses is still considered exclusive.
There's an "Obama isn't Tiger Woods" thing going around, apparently
I think I figgered out how to make a million bucks.
Start selling my own line of hybrid buffalo wings and donuts
Should be popular with the wingnuts.
He’s basically saying that Tiger Woods and Barrack Obama are loved first for being black and second for their accomplishments.
So if Woods were white, he'd be a lousy golfer? He only makes putts because the greens give him a break?
i thought it was a compliment considering tiger woods brings his "A" game everyday....
tiger is the best at what he does....
im thinking obama will be the best....
I wouldn't waste too much time trying to figure out if it was baiting or not. The guy that said it is republican. Trying to figure them out is a waste of time. Even if you figure them out, then what? Shit stinks, republicans blurt, it's all the same ain't it?
katie @ 60:
So does ignorance:
The Masters have existed for 74 years, not 100. And previous winners include the non-violent black Asian Vijay Singh, unless you know something about Vijay's propensity for violence you want to share with the rest of us.
abob @ 66:
Poor Tiger. The Caucasian part of his heritage is incredibly small, but he put that first in his self-description because everyone wants to be more White than Black or Asian... at least in his American golf world affected opinion.
fwacbar @ 82:
yes, repigs = shit.
I don't think it was a racist comment... I think that Bellavia (sp?) was trying to say that his young sons won't emulate Tiger Woods, but rather men like John McCain as a role model.
Bellavia (sp?) just chose the wrong role model (list Tiger's accomplishments on the golf course and off... and that he married a European model, geez who would hate that?) and be more like "men like McCain."
It would have been better if Bellavia (sp?) had chosen John Daly, if he still wanted a golfer.
I think it's just (A) poor choice of example and (B) being a general idiot and simply insensitive. I like how slow the audience responded to Bellavia's comment.
Just a bumbling meathead that Bellavia
It had to be a racial crack that backfired. It's true; reichwingers are so stupid they even fuck up insults. But let's think about this whole Obama/McInsane thing shall we? Let's see, we've got a young African American man who is at the top of his political game being compared to one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game (and he also happens to be a young, African American) while the GOP has a semi-senile 72 year old white guy who can't even keep his mouth or temper in check being compared to -uh - what?? An Alzheimer's inflicted Ronald Reagan???
Is this the best the Republicans can do? They have a media event that is supposed to highlight the war machine and all they can come up with is racist sargeant from the Army?
Chris @ 83:
I believe what the poster was trying to convey is that Black males are often seen as potentially-violent regardless of the situation, and those that are not are the exception and not the rule.
BY the way. I'd like to point out that the members of "Vets for Freedumb" are free to reenlist anytime they're ready.
Isnt Tiger Woods the best thing to happen to golf in decades? And comparing Barak Obama to him is supposed to be DISPARAGING? Im confused...