I gotta say it. one night only and I'm not even going to question his motives...

[Curtland1015]

and I'm sure I'll go back to hating you tomorrow. But...

Thank you John McCain. You did the right thing today.

[asdjrocky]

1. I gotta say-

John McTroll, go fuck yourself and take the Barbie with you.

[skooooo]

7. I think you speak for me there too.

[asdjrocky]

26. That old fart has no one to blame but himself.

I think the only reason he did it is because the Secret Service sat him down and had a little chat.

[ibegurpard]

2. Really?

Started a fire and then chastised those who were joining him in throwing gasoline on it?
I think not.

[Condem]

3. Fuck him, Curtland

I don't trust him. He knows what he's doing.

[graywarrior]

4. He did it for himself

[liberalmuse]

5. I have to give props where props is due.

He did the right thing for a few moments tonight, and it couldn't have been easy given that ugly crowd. That's all I'll say.

[Raschel]

28. That ugly crowd IS John McCain. That's all I'll say. ,/t

[gateley]

6. He did the right thing for his campaign -- if this approach hadn't blown up

in his face and hurt him, he'd still be encouraging the fear. He did it to help himself. That's all.

[WinkyDink]

8. He did not. BOTH incidents shown involved his RESPONSE to an audience member. McCain NEVER INITIATED

"the right thing", when he plainly knew he had let loose the dogs of war.

[NYC Liberal]

9. BS -- if he was ahead in the polls he wouldn't be saying jack.

[Bicoastal]

10. Yeah, and thank you too to George Wallace--

--you fought segregation for decades, but then, after provoking mobs and ruining hundreds of lives, you said you were sorry.



He did the right thing this Friday only after he did a very wrong thing since LAST SATURDAY. No Kudos here.

[renie408]

11. I think he tried. I hesitate to say it here, but I am not sure that McCain is as evil

as we sometimes think. I feel like he has this vision of himself that he would LIKE to live up to, but always has trouble with that. I also think that he has sold his soul to the devil in an effort to get elected and knows it. It makes me wonder if he now thinks it was worth it.

[WinkyDink]

15. The devil is winning.

[The Shadow]

32. I Think That Has Always Been McCain's Problem

I have always thought that his vision of himself has always been in direct conflict with how others perceive him. He has, for the most part, never been well liked by anyone in DC, from either party. Most have always thought of him as a mean, nasty son-of-a-bitch, which is why many say that they "respect" him. When Biden says he is a friend, he is just being a gentleman about it.

[Clio the Leo]

12. I agree completely.........

.... man almost made me cry. You know that was NOT easy, to have his own crowd booing him. In that moment salvaged some respect for him.

[Clio the Leo]

38. ok changed my mind.....

... that lasted what? 20 minutes? After that statement re: Troopergate and blaming the findings on Obama supporters, yeah ..... John's a doodie head!

[Lucy Goosey]

13. I agree, to a point.

He made me believe that he is actually principled, like I used to think he was, if only for a few minutes.

BUT. He is still letting his running mate and surrogates lie and sling mud and whip up racist fear. Until he actively calls that off, I'm reserving judgement. (And I think it goes without saying that I don't want him to be president of, say, my Condo board, let alone of the country.)

[my2sense]

14. McCain did that for McCain

and no other reason. Screw him and the bitch he rode in on.

[bleowheels]

16. Me too

I almost, I say almost, felt sorry for him today. I saw that clip of him in Minnesota and you can kind of see him acknowledging (in his mind) that he started this. I like to imagine that he is thinking, "Wow, these people are idiots!"

[Raschel]

30. Eh, this is the same guy who said,"that one".

He's full of hate and resentment. And I do think he's a bigot. Too bad for him it didn't work. Good for America.

[ClarkUSA]

17. Democrats are too quick to take things at face value without looking at underlying motives.

Unfortunately, McCain still hasn't pulled his horrible Ayers ad. Today, a campaign surrogate ttied to tie Michelle Obama to Ayers in a
conference call with reporters. Also, Palin signalled that she intends to continue attacking Obama. So really, this is a good cop/bad
cop performance.

[Erin Elizabeth]

18. I've thought about this.

And I think thanking him wouldn't be appropriate for me to do. He shouldn't have incited this fucking mess in the first place, and I think Republicans in party leadership have TOLD him to take it down a notch or two, worried about the down ticket Republicans.

I don't think there's really anything to thank him for.

Though it is funny in a weird way--never thought a candidate's supporters would get so out of control that it forced the candidate to DEFEND his opponent!

[parasim]

19. Thanks... Of course, we can continue the hatred that his campaign started...

or we can give him a hint of praise for doing the right thing. As you just did.

The thing that many of us don't seem to get is that he is the only one that can perhaps calm the mob he created, we sure can't.

And we do need calm.

[Raschel]

37. I don't think we should praise him. He's not two. He needs to be made an example of.

Let everyone see that America doesn't put up with this anymore.

This isn't a frickin' game. As you well know people have died due to this kind of crap. Yet he was still willing to go there. Still willing to use ignorance to benefit one person, John McCain.

[Curtland1015]

20. Again, one night only. I'm not questioning his motives.

That's for tomorrow. Today, I'm just going to be happy that his actions were the correct ones.

Don't for a second think I'm being "fooled" by any of it.

[Left Is Write]

21. I have to question his motives.

I think it might finally have sunk in how dangerous these people can be, and McCain is furiously backpedaling to avoid having any blood on his hands.

[ladjf]

22. I'm very skeptical. Something external changed his mind.

That could have been his pollsters, his fellow Republicans, the FBI or the Secret Service. I do not
believe that McCain suddenly had a sudden change of ethics.

[blonndee]

23. Screw that noise.

You're entitled, of course, but AFAIC, that jerk can take a short walk you-know-where.

[The Shadow]

24. Don't Thank Him, That Son-of-a-Bitch!!!

He didn't do the right thing at all! That miserable old bastard incited hate-filled lynch mobs all over the country all week long until somebody (unknown) told him that there could be ramifications of his behavior that could extend beyond politics. And, by the way, the baked alaskan continued her attacks while McSame tried to show that he was doing the right thing. A little too late if you ask me. If you want to be scared of a candidate, you want to be terrified of an erratic, old, bitter man that has decided that winning the presidency is more important than any semblance of decency. You should be very afraid of a McSame presidency. His behavior this week is a perfect example of not being presidential material at all.

I do know what you are saying though, and I for one am also glad he said something. I was beginning to wonder if he wouldn't be satisfied until harm came to Obama.

[ReadTomPaine]

25. Notice how he started getting pissed at his own supporters during that speech?

Nobody's kidding about his short fuse.

[1corona4u]

27. He gets NO pass from me. Too fucking late.

[demokatgurrl]

29. I can understand you saying that because you are

obviously a decent person.

McCain, on the other hand, is not. He started the whole thing with is rhetoric, fed it, allowed it to fester, stirred it, stoked it.... and then saw that it was backfiring.
I don't recall any apologies to Obama. I don't recall any regrets, I don't recall any public chastising of the mobs until his half-assed effort today.

He created his own situation. He EARNED the loss of respect of many who previously admired him or gave him the benefit of the doubt.

[Tatiana]

31. He's fucking scared of the monsters that HIS campaign has created!

He was warned by his own party to tone it down. He and Bush are taking all Republicans down with them and they are trying to stop the bleeding.

[cottonseed]

40. I agree with you there.

I was watching some of those rallys and honestly, the old man probably started to get a little scared of what he built.

[AlCzervik]

33. no, he let it happen, sorry, no quarter.

[stillcool]

34. Did you hear an apology?

I didn't.

[AlCzervik]

35. me neither.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

39. Me neither...And Mooseburger hasn't backed down a bit either...

[Forkboy]

36. Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here.

[The Shadow]

41. A Couple More Things

First, McSame made the fatal mistake of underestimating the danger of the same stupid people he is using to further his political ambitions and the real danger they potentially represent.
Second, how will he fulfill his promise to the supporter yesterday when he told him he would tell Obama to his face at the debate next week.

[On the Road]

42. He Did the Right Thing, Probably at His Own Poltical Expense

So I'm not going to question it.

[FLyellowdog]

43. Until he stands up and apologizes for this mess...

I don't see how we can trust him or anything he says. An honorable man would say that in his fervor to get to the WH,(1) he allowed people to be led in the wrong direction toward divisiveness and (2)that while he differs with Obama on many issues, he does not condone and will not allow the continued use of negative ads against Obama. THEN, he should pull all his ads and rein in Palin. She's a bigger part of this problem because she actually says what McCain has been implying.I don't think for ONE MINUTE that he'll do this...but an honorable man would.