Tales from the Senate: John McCain

OK, you guys seemed to like my Trent Lott/Hillary Clinton story from a week or so ago, so I thought I'd share another with you.

Only this time it features Senator John McCain.

Do any of you know what it's like to campaign with John McCain? I do.

Because, several years ago (I won't say when because I'm trying to protect the identity of the person I worked for and I don't want to give the election cycle away) Senator McCain hit the campaign trail for my boss.

And I got a first hand glimpse of what it's like to be a rider on the Straight Talk Express.

It isn't pretty.

More after the Jump.

John McCain has charisma. There is no question about it. From his POW history (which, even when unstated, is evident when you watch him move) to his shoot from the lip reputation, he is a compelling public figure.

But he suffers, in my opinion, from a character flaw: he has to be the center of attention; the class clown; the stereotypical cocky fighter pilot.

If Top Gun weren't so gay, John McCain could have been Iceman. Or Goose.

Have I seen his legendary temper? Sure I have. I once saw him go ballistic on a campaign staffer who had forgotten to remind Senator McCain what little town they were in at the time, resulting in McCain calling this town the wrong name. A funny, yet embarassing moment. (They were not in Arizona...they were campaigning in a different state).

But that isn't uncommon. Campaigns are hectic things, especially when you travel on behalf of as many candidates as Senator McCain does. And they are often pressure packed, with a number of events jammed into too few hours. Tempers run short, and you learn to ignore the ventings of people who need to let off steam.

What is uncommon, though, was the "off hours". And that is where my impression of the Senator comes into play.

Sometimes, campaign events would run shorter than expected, or you would find other ways to make up time in the schedule resulting in relatively relaxing travel times from one location to another.

On this particular day, my candidate was campaigning with his wife (a quiet, shy person who hated the spotlight) and the Senator from Arizona.

When the Senator showed up (wearing those goofy wrap-around sunglasses that Bobby Bowden wears during FSU games), he decided that things on the bus were too quiet for his liking.

So he started to tell jokes.

Some off which were pretty distasteful. They weren't racist, or sexist, but they were, in most cases, the type of things more appropriate for a high school locker room than a campaign for political office.

But that isn't what bothered me. This is.

McCain could tell that my candidates wife was embarrassed by the jokes. She turned bright red, and visibly shrank in her seat. And McCain picked up on this.

So how did he react? By telling more jokes, each one seemingly designed to draw more attention to her discomfort. "What did you think about that one 'Mrs. Candidate'?". "You know any jokes Mrs. Candidate?"

The man simply seemed to gain pleasure at this ladies discomfort. To his credit, my boss (who, after all had invited the Senator to campaign on his behalf) realized what was happening, and after some nagging, got McCain to start talking about policy issues instead of continuing his quest to be named "funniest man on the bus".

I'm not offering this as a reason to vote for or against McCain. But it revealed, to me, a callous if not outright mean streak.

It was like high school. The cool kid was picking on the nerd. Because he knew he was the coolest and no one would stop him. Sorta like the Biff/McFly scene in Back to the Future.

I was embarrassed for my candidate, and for his wife. But especially for Senator McCain.

Because leading the free world should be about more than being the coolest kid in the cafeteria.

And you would think a POW would understand that.

posted by Jack M. at 04:40 PM

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