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Debate Uncut: McCain audio reveals profanity, insults hurled at Obama

Xeni Jardin at 9:44 pm Sat, Sep 27, 2008

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I, for one, am outraged. Video Link (Thanks, @andrewbaron!)

Update: I presumed the fact that the video above is a one-note quickie parody of a rapidly spreading political rumor based on this original material would be apparent to all comers. I was mistaken. For that, I -- HORSE SHIT! -- apologize. Thank you. (Avram had it right.)

Update 2: Whoah, some people really don't get sarcasm unless it's accompanied by a smiley. THIS VIDEO WAS, AND IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE A HOAX. This post was a joke. My friend made the video.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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  • doggo

    Somebody mod up #80 & #84. Oh, wait, wrong blog..

  • rEDcELL

    Xeni, you have put me in my (special) place!

    I take it all back.

  • Maggie Leber

    The slide into lefty politics here has been particularly steep of late.

  • jessemoya

    I didn’t read all the posts, but the “this original material” link in the post goes simply to “http://”, which is obviously and invalid url.

  • FoetusNail

    Fund raising follies produce impotent gadflies,
    The power tools of greed.
    Double-speaking duels with slashing sound-bites,
    Leave media survivors addicted to polls.
    Follower leaders keep their heads low,
    pushing hidden agendas.
    They’ve only one job;
    Keep the seat at the table,
    Always say yes,
    Never confess.

  • themindfantastic

    I would love to see one where we have shots of McCain talking and inputting some ‘Honky’ and ‘Cracker’ commentary ‘supposedly’ from Obama… fair is fair right? I watched this when it originally aired and using that as a indicator, either choice isn’t a terribly good one. But then we (Canadians) have our own federal election a month before you, and while I get three choices (some people might have four, some might have five… for me its three) I got Blue, Red, or Orange, but honestly no matter who I vote for its all gonna end up brown.

  • minTphresh

    hey maggie, there is always faux newz, or the drudge report, or rush limbaugh, or mike savage, or townhall.com , cns, worldnet daily, conservative news, ann coulter, the national review,888 web today, any rupert murdoch media outlet, shall i go on? any florida news outlet, conservapedia . com, conservative outpost, ad nauseum. perhaps you should go and drink the kool-aid somewhere else. i hope you like grape.

  • danegeld

    #9 Yes, the sound clips are the drill instructor from Stanley Kubriks film `Full Metal Jacket’.

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Nf1MK7lts

  • minTphresh

    hey oh High one! u got my vote. can we rites you in?

  • Maggie Leber

    Funny you should mention Koolaide, Mintphresh. You can always get your own flavor at your own usual pitchers, be they DailyKos, UndergroundDem, HuffPo, whatever. But BB used to be worth ignoring the occasional left-wing excursion for the other fresh, original and interesting content.

    So far it still is, but I was just observing that the margins are shrinking as the election draws nearer. I just hope it doesn’t get swamped completely. That coin is fairly debased of late, there being so much of it; Soros may have overbought a little.

  • Takuan

    true, I really don’t think a McCain supporter would ever find anything here wonderful in the first place.

  • Takuan

    what I think I see as BoingBoing values: (compare with yours?)

    compassion

    social justice

    responsible activism

    fearlessness

    humor

    power of applied thought

    knowledge

    recognition of spirituality

    respect

    memory

    universality

    These immediately come to mind. I see no evidence that the Bush/Cheney/McCain mob have or support any of them.

  • Maggie Leber

    Then it’s educational for you, isn’t it.

  • Takuan

    I rest my case.

  • Daemon

    Mildly amusing at best.

    The “the original material” link doesn’t actually link to anything at all.

    Also, disemvowelling #2 for politely disagreeing with the type of humor seems a bit on the lame side to me. I thought it was reserved for people who were actually offensive / argumentative / trollish.

  • Maggie Leber

    Sorry, did you expect me to play “My values can beat up your values” in blog comments? HAND :-)

  • jimh

    It’s late September and I really should be back at school.

  • Digital Artz

    I would think that Boing Boing is not of interest
    much to the “rank & file”Republican’s but I think
    some of them have found how to actually write here
    and I guess they are stillhappy about the Bush-Cheney Presidency,Funny I guess they still
    have jobs.
    They don’t like comedy either ,this started out
    as a utube type of parody,get loose a bit McCainers.
    What scares me if Palin-McCain wins is that we will
    have an anti-intellectual prison set up beyond
    Orwellian dreams……..Cool!, the plasma screen
    game players (too busy with escape and play) will
    not see this coming,till it’s too late.
    McCain will have to bring back the enforced mandatory draft,that might wake em up.

  • Xohn le Doe

    you mutate in an entirely prescribed manner and you are happy because your betters tell you you are happy

  • minTphresh

    dont you mean proscribed? and who told you i was happy?

  • Takuan

    Maggie, first you must HAVE some values. McCain represents all who see humans as things. There is no ground to stand upon supporting such.

  • Chelvis

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/krisken/2862353537/in/photostream/

  • Metronicity

    Hey what’s happened to the Moderator? I see all these comments having a swipe at Xeni and not one of them has been de-balled…uh, I mean disemvowelled, like I was the other day for criticizing Cory. Wht th fck s gng n?

  • Talia

    mintphresh, exactly. A couple of people seem to be posting explicitly for the purpose of riling others, with not an ounce of actual reason in what they say.

    I feel a bit guilty for having taken the bait. No more of that! :P

  • A New Challenger

    @#33 Foetusnail:

    Damn, I was really hoping that would be an acrostic. Way to let a guy down :(

  • takeshi

    Love the “Democrat” who’s voting for McCain, defending Fox News, and disparaging progressives. A hoot at Thanksgiving, no doubt.

  • Keeper of the Lantern

    Obama should have told McCain to look at him when he was addressing him!

    (OK, the greater mass of RedState Hillbillies would have lynched Obama but it would have been great.)

  • AirPillo

    Also, disemvowelling #2 for politely disagreeing with the type of humor seems a bit on the lame side to me. I thought it was reserved for people who were actually offensive / argumentative / trollish.

    Yeah, me too. Moderating polite opinions because they are supposedly generic, or seem tritely plaintive, is pretty silly and pointlessly restrictive.

    What does that accomplish, really?

    Maybe displeasing the poster once doesn’t really matter much, but still: why do it in vain? :P

  • Tom Hale

    I’m not going to get into a political argument here, but I am a Republican and I love BoingBoing.

    I think the first thing that drew me to BB was an article about Mark Frauenfelder that I saw somewhere on the web – probably on Make Magazine – anyway the article was about his appearance on The Colbert Report and mentioned that he was a ukulele fanatic. It had a youtube video of him playing the intro music to a Gameboy Zelda game – the video was incredible, (unable to find it – I guess he removed it). Anyway, I wikipedia’d Mark, checked out BB and loved it instantly – It is after all “A Collection of Wonderful Things.” The political part of BB is easy to ignore and I have gotten pretty thick skinned to all the Democrat comments after a few run ins with moderators. Even some of the most ultra liberal here seem pretty nice when you don’t try to pick a fight with them.

  • Takuan

    Tom: please tell me; what is a “republican”?

  • Metronicity

    Why, pray tell, do you disemvowel #2 bkdunbar? Because he dares to criticise the posting of this obviously fake video? Tut tut. Hardly cricket. Now we’re at the point where to go against the party line here on BB means instant de-aeiou.

  • Metronicity

    And while I’m at it…perhaps the heading should be amended to “FAKE McCain Audio reveals profanity, insults hurled at Obama” – otherwise you’re just going down the dirty tricks road don’t you think?

  • RJ

    That was pretty damn funny, really.

    “Let me see your war-face! AAAAAH! BULLSHIT! Let me see your real war-face! AAAAAHH!” XD I can see McCain flipping-out like that in real life.

  • jtegnell

    There are several blog posters at Boing Boing, and I’m sure they don’t all share the same lockstep political views.

    But it does seem apparent that one value seems to be in common, and that is a libertarian view toward privacy. We see post after post addressing this.

    And anyone with any basic understanding of developments in the US would have to concede that the presently ruling crop of Republicans have taken us far far away from America’s standard of privacy and into a surveillance state like we have never seen.

    This should be troubling to anyone, Republican or Democrat alike, who has such libertarian leanings, and can honestly only be embraced by 1) nutty religious fundamentalists who think the Republicans will somehow help them achieve their theocracy, or 2) cowering, fearful children looking for a protective daddy figure to keep them safe from the evil tewaists.

    So, guys, which are you?

  • Talia

    #48 Generalize much? Your post drips with bias and extreme ignorance, pretty much makes you just sound like an Ann Coulter in training.

  • avar1ce

    Stupid.

  • Cicada

    @66- Takuan: Able benign tyrants would be, by any measure, far superior to any other method of government. They have only one flaw, however– the difficulty of finding and selecting one. Thus we take a stab at it through elections, and have terms in office just in case we get it wrong.

  • GammaBlog

    Yes it is pretty stupid, so stupid that it made me laugh. How anyone could have taken this seriously is beyond me.

  • Frank_in_Virginia

    Stupid yes, but, at least, he did’t call him a c*nt.

  • george57l

    ‘m s dsgsted by #2 bng dsmvwlld tht ‘m dsmvwlling myslf n sympthy.

  • minTphresh

    though my politics are personal, i am neither republicrat or dempublican. at one point in my life i couldn’t have told you any differance between the two. i have voted in in every election since i turned 18 (1977), though ive voted for candidates in both parties, i seem to lean more to the green party/libertarian side of things. i am a fiscal and governmental conservative and a social liberal. i feel that the state has gotten so large and bloated as to be a parody of itself. i am also a strict constitutionalist, and have read extensively the founding fathers views on each of their amendments. i also love the ‘three inalienable rights’ espoused in our declaration of independence. i feel that both of these documents have been nothing but sullied through these last several admins., but especially during this most recent one. i also feel that this entire administration should be arrested and tried for not only war crimes, but treason as well. they shame us all. add to the list of boingboing values, in my interpretation, would be: personal responsibilty. just my 1.5 cents worth. that would be which was me. err, so to speak.

  • george57l

    oops – missed one
    ;-(

  • doggo

    Horseshit! It’s fucking joke. It’s ironical, geddit? A comment on pundits, and others, thinking McCain would actually mutter “horseshit” under his breath at a debate, and actually discussing it on air.

    McCain wouldn’t do such a thing, and everybody knows it. And if he did, it would be just another example of his poor judgement and erratic behavior. I’d love to see McCain lose it, cussing like a longshoreman with spittle flying. It’d kill him as a candidate and it would be funny/scary to watch. But it probably won’t happen.

    So, for you clowns accusing Xeni & Boing Boing of being immature, etc.: grow up. Or grow a sense of humor. Or discovery irony. Or look up “absurd”. Xeni damn sure knew it was overdubbed, that’s why it’s funny.

    s fr th dsmvwlng, wh ss th pstr ddn’t dsmvwl hmslf?

    Yahogie, edzo, what are you even doing here? Are the Fox News discussion boards down for maintenance?

  • Takuan

    Dear Cicada:

    I’m glad you asked that question! I have the answer!
    “Takuan for Tyrant! You could do worse!”

  • Tom Hale

    @TAKUAN,

    Tom: please tell me; what is a “republican”?

    I’m sure you don’t want the definition(google define: republican). If I were to state what makes me a republican, my beliefs, we’d be arguing about it for quite some time – and I’m done with that. Let’s just say that while I don’t agree with the Republican Candidates on every point, there are a few BIG issues that concern me enough that I vote Republican.

    I’ve met and am friends with many liberal Democrats – some extremely liberal – I’m talking conspiracy theory liberal – and we simply agreed to disagree about those matters. And thats what I plan to do here. I may make a comment every now and then that someone may not like, but I’m through making comments that I know will do nothing but inflame the conversation.

  • Pope Ratzo

    What’s funny is that it was even conceivable to so many people that McCain would have uttered the alleged profanity in the middle of a national debate.

    It actually seemed like something one would expect, given his demeanor and reputation for angry outburst.

  • Takuan

    pish and tosh, further bosh. You may make any statement of position and explanation here you wish without fear of anything PROVIDED you stay within trivial rules of elementary courtesy. If you got kneed in the testicles and had an eye gouged out it was for easily avoidable reason.

    At least then explain what these Big Issues are. Please?

  • edzo

    You seem to be forgetting that he didn’t utter the words….so your diatribe is moot. It’s also typical of the average skin-deep Obama voter. BTW: I’m a Democrat voting for McCain. I don’t take my cues from Fox News talking points NOR do I take my cues from left wing talking points….as some here seem to!

  • Takuan

    (oh and sorry about the organs, here’s the eye back, and you DO have two of both you know)

  • edzo

    I also have to say that at least Fox News has enough intestinal fortitude and good judgment to actually air Democrats and so-called “progressives” unlike left wingers who tout independence of mind and diversity of opinion but who never actually practice it.

  • george57l

    #55 – agreed – we really do need a protocol for indicating self-disemvowelling.

  • mikelotus

    first in with the self disemvowling! no one noticed i left the o in the boing boing. guess i was trying to be too clever.

  • padster123

    I’m with #128 – hilarious, and good satire.

    “Let me see your war-face!”

    That’s just about the level that Bush conceived his foreign policy, and I see no reason to believe that McCain will be any different.

  • TheFool

    This video may be a joke but McCain’s attitude towards Obama and the debate was clear from the continuous smirk on his face throughout. He clearly doesn’t take any of it seriously.

  • Tom Hale

    @ TAKUAN, No – I took a glance at your post history and you seem to really enjoy this and you’re very good at it. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good debate, but I’ve already had this particular debate on this forum. Look at my post history – I listed those BIG points yesterday – and they were given great counter points a few posts later on that article by another person that is also very good at this. I could have countered their points, but really what’s the use? It’s the same things we have been arguing about for years. Therefore, rather than revisiting this issue with you, let’s just let it drop.

  • slywy

    Count me among the unamused (and yes it is very obviously fake).

    #14: There is a lot of talk about McCain’s refusal to look at Obama, his condescension, etc. The general opinion is that his behavior was not presidential and that he did himself no favors, whatever he was trying to accomplish. Just from this clip (I didn’t watch the debate), he looks petulant and childish.

  • AirPillo

    Oh shi-

    how did I not notice the lingering vowels in #2?

    You had me there! D:

  • edzo

    I don’t know whose “general consensus you’re referencing and what sample it was based on, but I watched the entire debate and I didn’t get that impression.

    I’ve followed both men for quite some time and when it comes to condescension, Obama owns a huge share of that particular stock.

  • Deviant

    Takuan Tom: please tell me; what is a “republican”?

    Republicans right now have two major factions: libertarian conservatives and social/religious conservatives. I’m not sure you can currently provide an answer to your question that fits both. The Democrat party is split in even more ways, which is one reason why they struggle to win the presidency despite having substantially more voters. Answering “what is a Democrat?” has, at least in the last twenty years, been extremely difficult as well–so long as you expect an answer that is truly unique to that party (e.g., it doesn’t apply equally as well to libertarians).

  • jeffjonez

    nwndrfl.

  • edzo

    On a larger level I think an interesting point to note in this election is that the Bush Administration has been a miserable failure on many fronts, we’re in the middle of an unpopular war, the economy is tanking, AND the GOP candidate is still running basically neck and neck with the Democratic candidate.

    By all measures a Democrat should have been able to waltz into this White House this time around, yet its still going to be a dogfight.

    That, to me, speaks volumes, as to how far the Democratic Party has fallen in the last 1–15 years. Even if Obama wins this thing, the democratic Party better start checking itself, because when conditions go back to somewhat of a normal state, the Democrats are risking extinction.

  • Tom Hale

    Oh, sorry TAKUAN, the BIG issues that I posted the other day were DV’d. I’m sure if I were to list those issues again, the same thing would happen. I don’t blame the moderator for DVing them – I’m not sure which rule I broke,(the moderator that DV’d them didn’t say) but they were definitely off topic and would easily derail normal conversation about the article – though I was simply responding to an equally inflammatory comment directed toward me by another poster.

  • grantlingel

    too bad that’s what McCain was thinking the whole time during the debate..

  • dbarak

    Boing Boing,

    Get a grip on free speech.

    You can put my gag back on now.

  • Takuan

    religion.

  • Ipsafictura

    I’m a little confused, because I only read this for the first time after the edits went up. Is it possible that this was initially posted with the belief that it was legitimate? Is it possible for a thinking person to watch that video and not be able to tell that someone has dubbed in what is clearly not McCain’s voice?

    Xeni, I have to say this is kind of disappointing, if so. I’m already half inclined to skim your posts as it is because I’ve seen so many urban legends, unsubstantiated nonsense, and plain old meaningless junk come through with your name on it, but come on! We female readers of BoingBoing need better representation from you, five minutes of consideration wouldn’t hurt your posts.

  • Tom Hale

    I don’t listen to Presidential debates or candidate speeches. They are always filled with canned promises and arguments. Plus, it comes to people like McCain and Obama, who are both good speakers,and have been schooled in all the debating techniques (and have probably taken a Xanax), they aren’t likely to say anything stupid.I prefer to go by their voting record or lack thereof. If something surprising actually happens during a debate I youtube it later.

    I can’t wait to see the Vice Presidential outtakes – now that’s going to be good.

    As far as the content of the video – it’s the weekend – BB usually doesn’t post much on the weekend, so I’m just happy to see something new.

  • Tom Hale

    @DBARAK, free speech? Take a look at the moderation policy. It has a section on free speech.

  • UFO Lover

    This video is whack. I expect more from bb.

  • edzo

    #57: nly lft wng Nz wld frst thnk s/h knws wht smn ws “thnkng” drng dbt nd scnd wld mply tht ppl shld b plcd s t thr “thghts.”

    Totally obscene and one reason why the Party of the Donkey is sinking fast! When we throw loons like you overboard, we MIGHT have a chanxce to be a viable Party again…..and not merely the anti-Bush Party

  • Idylapple

    The race is close because John McCain has based the last 16 years of his political career as a “maverick.” Romney, Huckabee, or Guliani would’ve gotten stomped. That, combined with the fact that John McCain is a bona fide war hero, is making this race close.

    Obama is still a better candidate for America, in my opinion.

    Closer to topic, anyone that didn’t get that this was a joke, from the very first instant should also have it explained that there are no real chickens trying to cross the road to get to the other side.

  • mokey

    i was just hoping it would be funnier. i’m all for potty humor, i just wish it went a lot further.

  • kiint

    um…lol? I guess?

    **
    two stars for McClane channeling R. Lee Ermy

  • Rindan

    I think people are digging too deep into the debates. They had a marginal amount of substance. Anyone who was swayed by the debate is likely an idiot… which brings us to the whole failure of democracy.

    Democracy operates under a flawed principle. The basic idea is that whomever the majority picks, is more likely to be the “best”. You are trying to tap into the collective intelligence of a nation to pick the best leaders. Sadly, this isn’t what is actually happening. Most intelligent people have already made up their minds, swallowed back their disdain, and will vote for a candidate based upon purely rational reasons.

    Unfortunately, those are not that people that the battle is over. The battle is for the indifferent and idiots. This is why mindless junk like whether or not McCain looked at Obama mattered or if Obama’s facial expression while McCain was talking was any good. Looking left or having a pleasant looking face has nothing to do with one’s skill as a president, but it does affect how people “feel” about you. Sadly, that is what the debate was about. It was about “feelings”. No candidate brought anything new to the table. If you had been following the campaign up to date, nothing they said would have come as a shock. There was nothing to learn, other than how warm and fuzzy one candidate made you feel over other.

    The only value democracy has it that it provides a game. We just so happened to of pick a game of electioneering. It could be an international scavenger hunt, a game of chess, a 10,000 man game of paintball, or a battle to the death in a pool using rubber noodles. The only virtue that this game has over other games is that someone who is both a complete dolt and has dolt advisers probably can’t win it. It doesn’t prove better policy, and it doesn’t tap the masses collective intelligence to pick a candidate. It does however encourage the selection of a candidate who has some leadership qualities or, at the very least, is able to pick decent advisers. Granted, the advisers in a campaign are only good at advising how to run a campaign, but hopefully their adviser picking luck continues once the game ends and the real work begins.

    Democracy sucks. Too bad all the alternatives suck worse.

  • bkdunbar

    Ct bt smwht chldsh, in my opnn. I thght Bng Bng wld hv mr clss thn ths.

  • Takuan

    what’s wrong with one, able, benign tyrant?

  • ShadowBinx85

    See I can’t be outraged, because it’s all dubbed over and inputed which = fake!
    So whoever is taken in by this, I have to laugh at.

  • technogeek

    As you’ve discovered, a sarcastic sense of humor is dangerous on the net. Unless you make the joke _very_ broad, someone is guaranteed to think you were serious. Your audience is large enough that you’re speaking to at least a few whose assumptions, past experience, style, etc. interact badly with yours.

    I hate smilies, but they’re sometimes necessary as a tool for helping to disambiguate intent.

  • Takuan

    hee!
    BTW: if McCain wins, America dies.

  • kspot42

    Yes I too think it was funny and Definitely dubbed = fake!

  • Brainspore

    I’m all for mocking our political leaders and can appreciate the occasional profanity-laded comedy sketch, but only when it’s funny. This video is mediocre at best.

    I went to a local Obama fundraiser party to watch the debate, and though I had a good time overall I was bothered when people started making fun of a bracelet McCain wore to honor a fallen soldier. I know it’s hard to maintain civil discourse when we have such deep disagreements, but let’s at least make an effort.

  • slywy

    #56, I said “opinion,” not “consensus” — very different things. Many posts on many news sites expressed disgust at McCain’s behavior, which I was pointing out to #14, who had not seen it.

    As for everything else you say, your opinion is loud and clear. Your basis is not.

  • pollox87

    I dislike McCain as much as the next guy, and he came off like a dick in the debate, but I didn’t think that the video was funny or clever.

  • Master Mahan

    I certainly understand why some people might suspect McCain of muttering “horseshit”. I watched the whole debate, and most of what McCain said was horseshit.

  • erissian

    I have to agree with my disemvoweled comrade at #2 :(

  • alowishus

    McCain’s fly was open the whole time, too.

  • JonnyAnchovy

    Pretty sure the soundbites are from Full Metal Jacket – right?

  • noen

    It’s true. I watched the debate and this is exactly how it went.

  • doggo

    “You seem to be forgetting that he didn’t utter the words.”

    You seem to be forgetting that no one seriously said he did.

    “I’m a Democrat voting for McCain.”

    Sure you are.

    “…at least Fox News has enough intestinal fortitude and good judgment to actually air Democrats and so-called “progressives” unlike left wingers…”

    BZZZT!!! Horseshit alert! So much for credibility.

    BTW, before you go hurling the term “left wing” around, make sure you know what it means.

  • Bookyloo

    You guys thought boingboing would have more “class” (or, “clss”)?

    Did you miss the Farting Preacher video?

    I for one have no clss and hope I never get ny.

  • mgfarrelly

    You do not want to see Senator McCain explain why your rifle is for fighting and your gun is for fun.

    You really don’t.

  • Gainclone

    SALTPETER! PINS! SALTPETER! PINS!

  • Digital Artz

    Read todays New York Times story about McCain’s
    gambling habit and his ties to the Native American
    Gambling industry, That’s not H.S.

  • Takuan

    what? he has a frightening Derringer?

  • Wolfairy

    It’s dangerous to have presumptive bloggers. The posters of boingboing (should) know better, since they seem to point out and highlight the presumption of others. Hold yourselves to the same standards. As a side, *yawn* to the parody.

  • SteveKiwi

    This is pretty stupid, but I knew it would be going in.

    Why isn’t anyone asking why McCain didn’t look at Obama once during the entire debate? Isn’t that even more bizarre than dubbing fake profanity? Why would you do that, or why would one of your trainers tell you to do that? Was it the only way he could control his temper, not to look at his opponent or it might trigger something? It was such noticeably weird behavior I’m surprised people haven’t been all over it today.

  • Takuan

    while this pageant gives people something to watch, is anyone actually working on a functional system for Americans to chose their actual government with?

  • BettyG

    Looking forward to the VP debates. There’s already a Sarah Palin Quote Generator that’s got her quotes down pat.

    http://palinquotes.awardspace.com/

  • aj

    huh?!

  • Xohn le Doe

    yeah that list of “values” is the kind of thinking that made burning man into the conformist dustbowl that it is today

  • AirPillo

    I’m not sure if #2 seems like something I’d have disemvoweled. They certainly weren’t being offensive or confrontational.

    Voicing disapproval of a type of humor isn’t wrong :p

  • NE

    Xeni you’ve got to watch your sources-rushing to print has become unacceptable. False/modified news hurts the democratic campaign; take the high road, none of this petty BS.

    It’s too bad that Obama doesn’t understand how one presents themselves during a debate; his verbal interruptions were embarrassing to himself and the party.

  • bkdunbar

    “Let me see your war-face! AAAAAH! BULLSHIT! Let me see your real war-face! AAAAAHH!” XD I can see McCain flipping-out like that in real life.

    xcpt, tht, knw, rl drll nstrctrs dn’t ctll tlk lk tht.

  • juancb

    Can we get a farting McCain video†? That would be awesome! Not to mention that I think it would add nicely to the “farting-old-guy-whose-profession-or-sociopolitical-world-view-we-do-not-agree-with-or-approve-of-and-thus-we-mock-with-our-clever-editing”, genre. I know that the previous bit makes me sound like some sort of McCain loving nutjob, but I assure you that is not the case.

    Note: “we” is to be interpreted in the much broader sense that includes all of humanity and is not to be understood as being limited to just BoingBoing or its readership.

    †Taxes and additional fees may apply, supplies are limited, act now!

  • forbes

    The clip is funnier if you’ve seen this one first. For the uninitiated, McCain muttered “course not – course not” under his breath when Obama talked about McCain’s refusal to meet the prime minister of Spain – and on the audio feed, with McCain’s mushy consonants, it sounded like he was saying “horsesh*t”.

    Keith Olbermann, who was listening to the debate through his on-set earplug, confirmed what McCain was actually saying – but it was a fun twenty minutes of speculation before then.

  • Cicada

    @106 Takuan- Oddly enough, you could probably sell that pretty well in a campaign. It presumes that people much more highly value not getting a bad candidate than getting a “good” one, though. (However they define good)

    Put another way, would you give up all hope of having your favorite candidate in office if it meant avoiding all possibility of your least favorite candidate in office?

  • Avram

    The joke here, for people who don’t follow political blogs, is that at some point in the debate, McCain said “Of course not” in response to something Obama said, and some people heard it as “horseshit”.

  • Big Ed Dunkel

    ntcd bm’s rs stll flp n tht clp, bt n lngr n nsn. Hmmm.

  • Master Mahan

    #63 #57: Only a left wing Nazi would first think s/he knows what someone was “thinking” during a debate and second would imply that people should be policed as to their “thoughts.”

    *blows whistle* Godwin’s law! Penalty 10 yards and an automatic first down.

    Okay, seriously, could we get a count on how many people thought McCain was actually shouting lines from Full Metal Jacket during the debate? Go ahead and raise your hands.

  • Cicada

    @#14, stevekiwi- If I had to guess, it’d be to avoid having a still photo where your candidate is looking at the other while he’s speaking. That pose indicates a degree of deference.

    For a fun social dominance trick, try it yourself– never look at someone when they are talking to you, but make eye contact when talking to them. (In this case, McCain wasn’t really talking to Obama, but to the audience)

  • Keneke

    I seem to be one of the few who found this hilarious.

  • minTphresh

    mccain’s alzheimer’s shows more and more. it is a sad thing, and i’m not making a joke. he is really beginning to show the signs of early onset. insert reagan joke here, i guess. ( and yes, i know the vid is faked ) and eddunkler, i bet that just kills on 4chan.

  • plasmator

    #2 shld gt thr vwls bck, imh

  • nerak

    ya’ll are taking this way too far. take it easy, it’s the internets.

  • minTphresh

    man, the trolls are really out on this thread! here’s a new slogan for yas:”if you liked the last 8 years, then you will love john mccain!” bushlite? no, bush dark gold extra.

  • Nawel

    (¬_¬)

  • bkdunbar

    first in with the self disemvowling!

    N, tht dbs hnr blngs t mslf n pst nmbr 2.

    it’s chldsh bt t lst us fr th slf dsmvwlng fnctn n rby.

  • jimh

    At the risk of feeding the trolls, EDZO:

    “That, to me, speaks volumes, as to how far the Democratic Party has fallen in the last 1–15 years. Even if Obama wins this thing, the democratic Party better start checking itself, because when conditions go back to somewhat of a normal state, the Democrats are risking extinction.”

    I think it has more to do with how the right has managed to get a complete lock-step on its base, and how the Bush administration has managed through a strict policy of talking points control through the media to keep people voting against their own best interest. The fact that this election is nearly tied in the polls represents a party-specific polarization outside consideration of the issues imo.

    BTW, the quote above and your tone makes me seriously doubt your previous statement: “I’m a Democrat voting for McCain.”

    I suspect you are posting for “McCain Points”, since all five of your total comments on boing boing have been in this thread.

  • rEDcELL

    Seriously, what’s next Xeni, fart jokes?

    I dislike McCain as well, but I expect a bit more from bOINGbOING!

    Please, don’t let this be a new trend.

    • Xeni Jardin

      What’s next? Please, man, fart jokes on Boing Boing are so August 14, 2008 and September 24, 2008, respectively.

  • A New Challenger

    The gentleman from California votes “nay.”

    New York abstains, respectfully.

  • plasmator

    Ok, #2: BKDUNBAR:

    You win this thread. I realized after I submitted my own disemvoweled post that you probably had done the same. The inclusion of a few strategic vowels sealed the deal.

    Well played, #2. I see what you did there.

  • jere7my

    SteveKiwi@14:

    Oh, people have been all over it. Political blogs, of course, and it’s the takeaway talking point from the debate for the media. Just ten minutes ago I saw a panel of CNN pundits talking about how badly it played with independents, how contemptuous it made him look, etc.

  • bkdunbar

    @81

    Thr s vry fn ln whn prctcng slf-dismvwlng t mck bngbng’s dsmvwlmnt plcy: y hv t b rdbl, whch cn b hrd t d rght.

    ‘ll try nd d bttr.

    Hl Ers!

    sgnd,

    Smmr Gl

  • Takuan

    if Burning Man isn’t fresh anymore it’s because it’s old. Things get old. Make another art happening then. That aside, what does that have to do with here? “Conformism” in basic values like don’t stab your neighbour in his eye or rape children?

    Once I’m tyrant things are gonna change.

  • mikelotus

    n sht, ths s a bnch f fckng crp frm shtt bong bong.

  • jimh

    Yes, thanks plasmator… All the #2 advocates may not have noticed that a few vowels were missed in that supposedly disemvoweled post. When BB mods do it, they do it completely. (I iz a victm of sensrship, fr realz.)

  • Xohn le Doe

    lmao maybe john mccain will do a goatse next!!!

  • Matt Sanderson

    How on earth do some of these stick-in-the-mud commenters even come to Boing Boing in the first place? Honestly, if you don’t like the blog, go read The Daily Stick-In-The-Ass, or whatever it is that caters to your delicate sensibilities. It’s sad that this post was ever taken as anything but having a few little political lulz. Jon Stewart is crying, somewhere…

    Also, HORSESHIT. *phhbt*

  • Nores

    Oh, “and sometimes” y is considered a vowel here. I was never sure.

  • Secret_Life_of_Plants

    Wow, what’s next? “Larry the Cable Guy” videos?

  • JustDisGuy

    Have to agree with the disemvoweled #2. Figured BoingBoing to be classier. That was a waste of bandwidth.