JUNE 11, 2008
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Last week I pointed out--and, for my troubles, received a swift pummeling from our commenters--that McCain's "special interest" charge against Obama was a subtle allusion to Obama's race.
Having done that, it's only fair that I mention the Obama campaign's use of the word "confused" in reference to John McCain. Like they did today, for example, when discussing McCain's comment that it's "not too important" when our troops come home. According to Ben Smith, both John Kerry and Obama aide Susan Rice used the word on a media call:
"He confuses who Iran is training, he confuses what the makeup of Al Qaedais, he confuses the history going back to 682 of what has happened to Sunni and Shia," Kerry said.
Rice cited a "pattern of confusing the basic facts and reality that pertain to Iraq."
When pressed, Kerry and Rice both insisted their choice of words had nothing to do with McCain's age. And, as with "special interests," it's basically impossible to prove otherwise, since there's a perfectly legitimate interpretation in this context. Having said that, it would shock me if the word choice wasn't intended to conjure images of a doddering old man.
--Noam Scheiber
18 comments
Sorry, Noam. If people think age is the reason he's confused, as opposed to the guy's being a lot dumber on policy than he should be after 100 years in the Senate, then so be it. The pattern is real.
I didn't read the special interests piece. Will go check it out now, but this desire to be "balanced" can be taken too far. Someone caught McCain subtly exploiting racism so now we have to make up examples of Obama subtly expoiting ageism? Well, what if hte neat analogy doesn't fit reality. What if McCain is really confused? The charge would stick if McCain were 41 instead of 71.
- stgla
June 11, 2008 at 3:46pm
Ok, I read the other post and Scheiber was wrong both times. McCain was not playing into racist fears and Obama was not playing into ageist fears. Nothing to see here.
- stgla
June 11, 2008 at 3:48pm
But there's a real difference in dog-whistle politics here, right? I mean, didn't the McCain campaign say that the candidate was "confused" on those issues? Isn't McCain a "doddering old man"?
On the other hand, is there a record of Obama giving handouts to racial groups and other "special interests"?
- kerouac9
June 11, 2008 at 3:48pm
Oh yes, it would certainly take these comments to make me think of McCain as a doddering old man. His terrible speeches and mistakes CERTAINLY wouldn't give anyone that impression.
- ReganaD
June 11, 2008 at 3:49pm
You're reading too much into both phrases. McCain has categorized anyone who opposes him as beholden to "special interests" long before anyone know who Barack Obama was, and Team Obama is calling McCain "confused" because his rhetoric simply reflects confusion. There will be plenty of racism, and likely some ageism as well, in this campaign. Don't call it - it'll call you.
- ackyri
June 11, 2008 at 4:01pm
Kerouac and reganad are right. When it comes to McCain, images of a doddering old man don't need to be "conjured." They're just there.
- ejbenjamin
June 11, 2008 at 4:02pm
This is more an issue of sensitivity than content. I'm over 60 and will get hot when someone is condescending and tells me I'm 'confused". Hate to say this to all you young bunkies, but it happens more than you'll honestly admit to anyone (including 20-30 year olds). There is serious age discrimination in this country that no one seems to want to own up to. At the same time, I'll firmly say that McCain isn't as sharp as I'd like a Presidential candidate to be. He waffles, changes his mind, says folks just don't understand him, etc., etc. Sounds like a problem to me, and one or two years out won't help at all.
- WaltB
June 11, 2008 at 4:26pm
Actually, Obama early on talked about McCain's "over 50 years of service" which I'm pretty certain was the same thing. As a tactic, it doesn't really feel all that good, and its been removed from his stump now, but it does hit on the same topic. I do believe that age is a difference and an improtant one, but I've got my doubts about this being a way to make the point. I would rather have McCain actually BE confused in a face to face debate...
- dbhuff
June 11, 2008 at 4:38pm
I think the difference is that "Special Interests" has vague undertones which can be interpreted in a variety of ways, and confused is a specific condition denoting, among other things, some level of cognitive dissonance.
I prefer "lost his bearings" to "confused", sounds like more of a smackdown when rebutting McCain's allegations and policy stances; but I guess I can settle since "confused" is probably more accurate.
- GSpinks
June 11, 2008 at 4:41pm
I don't understand why TNR's talented writers (and I think Noam is one of the best in the business, not just at TNR) waste their time with this Rachel Maddow style bullsh@t. You guys are too good for this blathering nonsense. We're getting off to a bad start here.
- ralphnelle
June 11, 2008 at 4:51pm
Wait a second, I am confused here, if McCain acts confused, we can't say he is confused because it is ageism, neverminding the fact that his age might be the reason why he is confused?
It might sound horrible to say, but the years in Vietnam took additional years off his life, I wish we had a clear understanding of the age of his mental faculties. Also, the WH has notoriously aged people.
WaltB, sorry but McCain has a lot of the old vote already and few younger people are going to get in a snit about words like Confused, in fact it is fairly effective because if McCain starts to complain about it then McCain has to explicitly bring it up and explain that he wasn't confused because of age but because of...what exactly now?
I do wish McCain had been elected in 2000. That way we can now be saying, oh well he only has a few more months to go.
- blackton
June 11, 2008 at 5:31pm
The Reagan Presidency proved that we need to be vigilant for signs of senility. Sorry if the oldies are offended. I do believe that older folks have a unique asset in their experience and long view, and there are many "seniors" who are smart as a tack -- but they tend to be women.
- stgla
June 11, 2008 at 5:48pm
Failing to keep facts straight would seem to be associated with a propensity to make decisions on the basis of ideology or preconception rather than on scrupulously observed facts, and that is troubling whether in a President the age of John McCain or George W Bush.
- aduncanson
June 11, 2008 at 5:59pm
"a propensity to make decisions on the basis of ideology or preconception rather than on scrupulously observed facts"
Beautiful!
- GSpinks
June 11, 2008 at 6:09pm
I am with you, ralphnelle. I hugely admire Noam's journalism, too, but can't we do better than this?Literatehobo is right; there is too much trivial stuff out here. I am all for the occasional light and humorous post but there is too much no-account blogging going on at TNR.
- liberal reformer
June 11, 2008 at 9:26pm
Confused is just a polite way of saying what's already becoming obvious: John McCain is having trouble trouble keeping stuff straight, and this is most likely a function of his age. If this is the way he is now, what's it going to be like in a couple of years combined with the stress of the office?
It's not a question of his age per se, but rather his behavior. And it's only going to get worse as he gets older. It's just a fact of life and it would be foolish to overlook it.
- areteone
June 12, 2008 at 5:24am
Ah, we're all so sensitive these days. Simple, obvious truths are considered either gaffes or as evidence of insensitivity. I am a healthy 70 years old. I get confused now more than I used to, a fact that my wife is more than willing to point out (no PC in our house). I suspect that a lot of us elders, well acquainted as we are with memory lapses and the gradual mental decline that is normal to the species, will share the concern about the level of McCain's acuity. I believe it is NOT ageism but rather a legitimate concern that should be permissible to acknowledge and talk about.
- JackR
June 12, 2008 at 1:30pm
Perhaps I'm a ageist (I don't think I am), but McCain seems to act like a doddering old man. Now, I don't suppose this is because he's old, but rather because he confuses Sunnis and Shiites and the like. He's not so bright, and it shows.
- skipper2379
June 12, 2008 at 6:42pm