No, it was a mean spirited insult aimed at a highschooler. Chelsea wasn't a politician, what's the point of picking on her? Do you have a daughter? From www.salon.com back in 1998: http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html The fact that McCain had made the tasteless joke was reported in major newspapers, as was the vain attempt by his press secretary to initially deny what McCain had done. But in several major newspapers, the joke itself was kept a secret. When McCain subsequently apologized to President Clinton, the Washington Post, in its personality section, noted the apology but said the joke "was too vicious to print." The Los Angeles Times, in its Life & Style section, provided an oblique rendering of the joke that did not fully convey its ugliness. When Maureen Dowd penned a column in the New York Times about the joke, she wrote that McCain "is so revered by the press that his disgusting jape was largely nudged under the rug." But Dowd chose not to relay the joke, either. The joke did appear in McCain's hometown paper, the Arizona Republic, and the Associated Press did report the joke in full, so everyone in the press had access to McCain's words. But by censoring themselves, the Post, the Times and others helped McCain deflect flak and preserved his status as a Republican presidential contender. Salon feels its readers deserve the unadulterated truth. Though no tape of McCain's quip has yet emerged, this is what he reportedly said: "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
"I made a very unfortunate and insensitive remark. It was the wrong thing to do, and I have no excuse for it.'' -- Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, June 11, 1998
VP candidates = 0-1% effect on elections Children of VP candidates = 0.00-0.01% effect on elections Reproductive status of children of VP candidates = 0.0000-immeasurable % effect on elections. Drop it and leave the poor girl alone, (other than KingCheetah's eskimo rumors and frontier living jokes, naturally).
this may be true, but this is a very unique and weird election where there is drama all over. you never had a black man on the top of the ticket before; you never had a very young woman representing as the VP nominee on the GOP. i think everything matters in this election.
His apology means crap. He is still slim in the ice machine. Not presidential material. If I were the Dems, I would release such a barage of campaigns against this idiot who has made so many mouth waste eliminations, that he wouldn't be able to even figure out which one to try to fend off. There is no way in hell that the overall American public would vote him in office if all of this is made public by mainstream media. It amazes me that the polls say that almost half the country support this dude. If they know all of what he has done, and still support him...it just tells me how bad off we are as a country. I wish Romney or Hucklebee or Paul or anyone else would have won. Then there would be a real campaign on issues and how to get this country back on the right track. John McCain is a joke and slim in the ice machine.
Thank-you B-bob -- few realize the importance of an extra set of hands in the frontier lands of Alaska when panning for gold in an icy stream.
I don't see the relevance of this, except maybe in regards to her support of abstinance-only education. I think Obama's statement is right: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/01/obama-palin’s-family-off-limits/ MONROE, Michigan (CNN) – Barack Obama told reporters firmly that families are off-limits in this campaign, reacting to news that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant. “Let me be as clear as possible,” said Obama, “I think people’s families are off-limits and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.” Obama said reporters should “back off these kinds of stories” and noted that he was born to an 18 year-old mother. “How a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off-limits.” The Illinois senator became aggravated when asked about rumors on liberal blogs speculating that Palin’s fifth child - Trig - is actually her daughter Bristol’s. A Reuters report Monday quotes a senior McCain aide saying that Obama’s name is in some of posts, “in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their 'campaign of change,’” “I am offended by that statement,” Obama shot back, not letting the reporter finish his question. “There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us.” “We don’t go after people’s families,” Obama said. “We don’t get them involved in the politics. It’s not appropriate and it’s not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought that there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired.”
Well the hell did you get that impression ( I was referring to TJ's post above) I didn't say it did reflect on her, quite the contrary, I said she is involved in a very a common familial condition that reflects the need to allow for people to make their own choices concerning birth control as they are deeply held opinions and deeply personal choices, as long as within the medically and legaly established boundaries.
Classy statements by Obama -- I'm not surprised, and I could not agree with him more strongly. Though he has yet to acknowledge the added pressures of raising beets on the tundra.
I think more than anything that this brings Palin's character into issue. Do responsible parents kids have unprotected sex at 16? Conservative parents? This election is over..............
I posted his apology to prove that he acknowledged the remark and to show certain posters that an audio tape is not necessary. here's more from the horse's mouth NY Times article so he openly admitted it was a mistake, yet his supporters deny it ever happened?
Some of you people really are obsessed with spelling here. Are you all elementary school teachers or what? It's a forum, not a Phd thesis paper. If you got the point, that's all that mattered.
