The Hollywood Liberal

EX-JUSTICE OFFICIAL MAY FACE GRAND JURY PROBE
EX-JUSTICE OFFICIAL MAY FACE GRAND JURY PROBE

Iran leader trusted over Bush: poll
A new World Public Opinion poll of 20 nations finds that just 2 percent say that they have “a lot” or “some” confidence that President Bush will do “the right thing regarding world affairs…”

FLASHBACK: McCain Brushed Off Allen?s ?Macaca? Remarks, Praised Him For His ?Courage?
During a press conference today, a reporter asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) if he was offended when, in August 2006, former Virginia senator George Allen used the word “macaca” to refer to a campaign volunteer of Indian descent working for Jim Webb’s campaign. McCain brushed off the question about the racial slur, saying only […]

During a press conference today, a reporter asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) if he was offended when, in August 2006, former Virginia senator George Allen used the word “macaca” to refer to a campaign volunteer of Indian descent working for Jim Webb’s campaign. McCain brushed off the question about the racial slur, saying only that he “thought it was very wrong” and “urged Senator Allen to apologize for that very quickly“:

Q: Many voters in Virginia took offense when Senator Allen used the word ‘macaca’ to describe one of Senator Webb’s volunteers who was of mixed ethnic background. Did you take offense when Senator Allen used that word?

McCAIN: Well, I thought it was very wrong and in fact, right away I urged Sen. Allen to apologize for that very quickly.

At the time, however, McCain didn’t seem all that offended by Allen’s remark. McCain appeared with Allen at a rally in Norfolk, VA, just five days after the incident. During that appearance, he praised Allen for his “leadership, his vision and his courage.” “We all make mistakes, and I have made my share,” said McCain [RichmondTimes-Dispatch, 8/17/06].

In fact, it’s not clear that McCain understood why the Macaca reference was offensive. Macaca often refers to a “monkey,” but can also be “considered a racial slur against African immigrants.” Yet at that rally with Allen, McCain remained attached to monkeys and cracked a joke about a man who used a monkey to get out of performing air raid drills. In the end, the monkey — rather than the man — is promoted to admiral. An excerpt from the joke:

I caught this monkey, and I trained the monkey that when the siren went off, he’d come out of the jungle, get into my airplane, start the engine, sit there, the “all clear” siren would go off, he’d shut down the engine, get out of the airplane and go back in the jungle. It was wonderful. I was sleeping like a baby.

Well, sure enough, one night it was not just Washing Machine Charlie. It was a real Japanese air raid. I came out of my tent just in time to see that monkey taking off in my airplane. I said, ‘Well, I can certainly see why you were not promoted!’ He said, ‘That’s not what makes me mad. The monkey retired as an admiral last week!’

Allen also went on to showcase McCain in television ads during his campaign.

– Pat Garofalo

Party of Defeat
As the President’s term comes to an end, his critics are out to define his legacy in their terms, particularly with regard to Iraq. Of late, their efforts to rebuke the war effort in Iraq seem to have intensified, and no doubt they will continue in the months ahead. The latest rehashes all repeat the same charges we have heard for years now–President Bush and his administration distorted the facts and in doing so initiated the war in Iraq on “false pretenses.” The charges have no empirical support, but it seems critics hope that, with enough repetition, their attempt to rewrite history will one day be accepted as the truth.

Fixing Our Covert Branches
David Ignatius, Washington Post