By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What a difference a word makes. Republican John McCain's presidential campaign has nicknamed rival Barack Obama "The One" to ridicule what they see as the Democratic candidate's messianic tendencies.
For McCain himself, Obama is simply "that one."
Referring to an energy bill during Tuesday's debate, McCain said: "You know who voted for it? You might never know."
"That one," he said, pointing to Obama.
McCain was criticized after the first presidential debate on September 26 for refusing to look at Obama.
The Obama campaign seized on Tuesday's remark as further evidence of McCain's contempt for his opponent in the November 4 election.
Others were jarred by the remark. Washington Post columnist Tom Shales called it "demeaning, nasty."
"The snarled 'that one' also contributed to McCain's image as a kind of mean old Scrooge, not so much a battle-scarred warrior as an embittered one," Shales wrote.
bitter and nasty