|
|
May 18, 2013
|
|
|
|
 McCain’s Basketball FoulPosted on Mar 4, 2008
Truthdig wasn’t around in the year 2000, but if we had been, we probably would have posted this clip of John McCain blowing it in a big way. In light of the Republican Party’s racial sensitivity research, this seems timely, even eight years later—and how sad is that? Watch it: For the record, we don’t recall this incident from the 2000 campaign and we cannot find a news story that refers to it. It may just be the type of thing that didn’t show up in the pre-YouTube news cycle. Or it could be taken grossly out of context, or perhaps doctored in some way. However, it seems authentic and, as such, worth passing on. Advertisement Previous item: Clinton’s ‘Pretty Pathetic’ Time With Stewart Next item: The ‘Colbert Bump’ = $$ for Candidates New and Improved CommentsIf you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy. |
Arctic Tundra ‘Will Turn to Forest’
 . '/' . substr('9780807859858',-6,3) . '/' . '9780807859858' . '.jpg'; ?>)
Email 
Print
Share
Email to a friend
Newsletter 
Like Us
Follow Us
Get Our Feed
Tags|Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|FAQ: Comments and Moderation | Google+
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.
By ted tyson, March 9, 2008 at 2:44 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
pretty obvious it was a reference to the man’s height. this site should talk to lori van auken, mindy kleinberg and bob mc illvaine—ask them why they’ve been appearing publicly with 9/11-truth documentarian dylan avery. find out what mccain says about that. be journalists. your ancestors would insist.
Report thisBy James M, March 8, 2008 at 9:59 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Seriously, this is hardly the sort of clip or story one would expect to find on an award-winning political website. Do the editors at truthdig seriously believe that John McCain is a racist? Cmon!
By joining the MSM’s game of political “gothcha,” truthdig has lowered its standards in a massive way. If this is the type of “insightful” posting we’re going to see on this site during the upcoming campaign, then I’m pulling truthdig off of my list of bookmarks, and every time Robert Scheer talks about integrity on “Left , Right and Center,” I’ll turn off my radio.
Report thisBy Puddin Tain, March 8, 2008 at 7:38 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
So, wait a second ... I have a very troubling observation about the person who *posted* this video to begin with.
You saw McCain talking to a really TALL guy about basketball, and all you could think about was:
“That dude’s so BLACK! I mean look at him! All BLACK and DARK and BROWN! What with the LIPS and the curly HAIR! This MUST be about RACE! Sure, the guy’s maybe 6’8”, but look at how BLACK he is! So very ... *BLACK*! The response from McCain must be about skin color. Even though he’s about 6’8”, all I can see is his skin. And his skin ... its so ... BLACK!”
Well, person who originally posted this, you jumped to a big conclusion there. I think your conclusion is more about the way YOU think, than it is about the way McCain thinks.
In fact, McCain has a multiracial ‘blended’ family. He’s a career Navy man, who served in our intensely multiracial military. His voting track record also shows that he’s pretty colorblind on the race issue.
Report thisBy sns, March 7, 2008 at 8:05 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
next time a candidate blinks accuse them of (_____________)
Report thisBy smz23, March 6, 2008 at 11:15 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I am a 6 feet 2 inches tall, white woman. I get the same question WEEKLY!
Posting this video to convince people that there is more behind it then just some polite conversation, is really in poor taste.
I expect more for you!
Report thisBy William, March 6, 2008 at 7:05 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I really respected this website until i came across this post on McCain making some kind of racist allusion is simply ridiculous. It’s hard not to lose that respect after reading something like this. There’s no dirth of sounclips and video bites of McCain making a complete fool of himself. Why choose this ?
Report thisBy cyrena, March 5, 2008 at 5:49 pm Link to this comment
It’s true that we didn’t get the question, which may have helped with the perspective.
I’m trying to decide though, how so many of you decided that the kid was ‘really, really, tall. How the hell could anybody tell that? Everybody around him is SEATED, and we only see the top of him when he stands up. I don’t get how we’ve decided from this clip, that he’s REALLY TALL, or ‘at least 6’8”!
What nobody appears to have noticed, is that there weren’t to many other visible black folks in the audience. THAT, (if one knows anything about the racial demographics of Virginia Beach) would be the biggest’clue’ to the basketball question from McCain.
In other words, if you’re a black kid at a High School in Virginia Beach, (where all of the other students in the audience are white) it’s either because your parent(s) are in the Navy, or because…YOU PLAY SPORTS!!
In this kid’s case, football would seem more likely than basketball.
Report thisBy Bobo, March 5, 2008 at 6:07 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
If the guy was 4’4” and black and McCain asked the same question then maybe MAYBE you could make a race hatred thing out of it.
The guy’s super tall. Come on.
I don’t like the guy any better than you, but come on, this is really reaching for something to nail him on. Find something substantive, like, you know….issues, voting record and things that actually mean something.
This is stooping to the same level as the wingnuts when they make fun of Obama’s middle name.
I’ve made some racial faux pas in my life too, and it still doesn’t make me a rascist.
Report thisBy Jeff, March 5, 2008 at 12:17 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
This is the kind of post that really hurts the credibility of this site. When the young man is both Afro-American and very tall, why jump to the conclusion tat McCain’s comments are prompted by race? This borders on the tactics of insinuation championed by right-wing radio and Fixed News. Bad form.
Report thisBy Nick, March 4, 2008 at 2:12 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
What is the big deal, the guy looks tall?! Truthdig must have been having a slow day at the office to post this. Come on!
Report thisBy niloroth, March 4, 2008 at 9:26 am Link to this comment
seriously, this is really really reaching. about par for the course recently though.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, March 4, 2008 at 8:22 am Link to this comment
I bet its that Mike Mid-City guy on Truthdig posing as “mcva2000” who posted the video on Youtube. He usually gets things all wrong, uhh. http://www.myspace.com/mikeatmidcity
Some would say that McCain asked this kid if he was on the basketball team because he’s tall. I’m guessing that if the kid was white, McCain doesn’t make the same assumption. And after the kid responds that he’s not on the basketball team, McCain should have left it alone…
Report thisBy Expat, March 4, 2008 at 8:16 am Link to this comment
^ statement. I’m no McCain fan, but you’re right on; fair is fair.
Report thisBy Douglas Chalmers, March 4, 2008 at 8:08 am Link to this comment
We didn’t even get the question….....
Report thisBy Gary Noel Sargent, March 4, 2008 at 7:17 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
The individual McCain is speaking to appears to fairly tall. This is a more likely reason than ethnicity for the comment.
Report thisBy Aegrus, March 4, 2008 at 6:03 am Link to this comment
Seemingly authentic = valid. Yep.
Since the context is unknown, I think judgment should be reserved. Even when it seems something is thoroughly implied, I think everyone misses their mark with words on occasion.
Report thisBy Matt S, March 4, 2008 at 5:48 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Really everyone—the guy is very, very tall. It’s just as likely that McCain was making a reference to his height as he was to his race. Think about all the people substantially above six feet tall you’ve known, and how many times they been asked if they played basketball.
Maybe McCain was playing on a racial stereotype, we can’t know his mind. However, it seems equally likely he was playing on a height stereotype.
Report thisBy Nathan Seligman, March 4, 2008 at 5:29 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Wait a minute, was McCain alluding to the young man’s race or to his height. Its hard to tell in this context, but the guy with the microphone seems pretty tall. Im guessing the implication is that McCain assumed the guy played basketball because he was african-american, but it is impossible to tell from that clip alone. Maybe premature to post it as well?
Report this