McCain called wife a 'cunt'

Defensor · 04-08-2008, 04:46 PM

The Raw Story | Book: McCain temper boiled over in '92 tirade, called wife a 'cunt'

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John McCain's temper is well documented. He's called opponents and colleagues "shitheads," "assholes" and in at least one case "a fucking jerk."

But a new book on the presumptive Republican nominee will air perhaps the most shocking angry exchange to date.

The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter, which will arrive in bookstores next month, reports an angry exchange between McCain and his wife that happened in full view of aides and reporters during a 1992 campaign stop. An advance copy of the book was obtained by RAW STORY.

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

The man who was known as "McNasty" in high school has erupted in foul-languaged tirades at political foes and congressional colleagues more-or-less throughout his career, and his quickness to anger has been an issue on the presidential campaign trail as evidence of his fury has surfaced.

As Schecter notes, McCain's rage is not limited to the political spectrum, and even his family cannot be spared the brute force of his anger.

Schecter, who also blogs at The Agonist, said in an interview the anecdote is "an early example of his uncontrollable temper." In the book he outlines several other examples of McCain losing his cool and raises the question of how that would affect a McCain presidency.

What should voters make of this pattern? In February 2008 Tim Russert succinctly described McCain on MSNBC's Morning Joe. A devilish grin spread from ear to ear as Russert, no McCain hater, leaned forward and spoke in a whisper, "He likes to fight." Russert got it right. But the big question isn't whether McCain likes to fight: it's who, when, and how.

The exchange between McCain and his wife was not reported anywhere when it happened, Schecter said (a LexisNexis database search confirms this). In 1992, McCain's mention in the national media revolved mostly around his involvement in the Keating Five scandal, and only local reporters closely followed his re-election bid.

McCain is well known for his rapport with the national media covering his presidential bid (he's jokingly referred to the press as "my base"), but Schecter said this incident was buried not out of fealty to the Arizona senator. Rather, it was uneasiness about how to get such a coarse exchange into a family newspaper, and he didn't fault the local press for not covering the incident.

"Members of the media are squeamish covering stuff like this so they let it go," Schecter told RAW STORY in an interview Monday. "Back in '92, when people use naughty words, [reporters] don't know as much what to do with it."

Much has changed since then. President Bush's reference to a New York Times reporter as a "major league asshole" was reported in at least 47 newspapers during the 2000 campaign, when the off-color remark was overheard, according to a database search. And more than a dozen newspapers have reported Dick Cheney's recommendation that Sen. Patrick Leahy "fuck yourself."

McCain and his aides have brushed off suggestions that his temper could impede his ability to perform the sometimes-delicate tasks asked of a president. The candidate was asked about his legendary temper last week on "Fox News Sunday," where he cited his ability to work "across the aisle" while in the Senate.

"You can't scare people or intimidate them if you're going to reach agreement with your colleagues and your contemporaries And I've worked hard at that, and that's what the American people want," McCain said. " The second thing is if I lose my capacity for anger, then I shouldn't be president of the United States. ... When I see the waste and corruption in Washington, I get angry."

McCain's campaign did not return a call from RAW STORY seeking comment Monday morning.

Schecter says McCain's anger is much more than a passion for the issues. One can only imagine what would happen if McCain were to try to squeeze that temper into the tight confines of diplomacy.

"The public certainly has to know what this guy might do as president," Schecter says. Examples like the ones in his book "should worry people, quite frankly."

The Raw Story | Book: McCain lunged at congressman; Spokeswoman calls book 'trash journalism'

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John McCain's campaign is lashing out at a shocking new report (first revealed here on Monday) of his red-faced, expletive-laden tirade aimed at his wife.

Meanwhile, the Huffington Post reveals another nugget from Cliff Schecter's new book The Real McCain, which details a physical confrontation between McCain and another congressman.

Perhaps the most remarkable story of McCain's temper involved Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi. Two former reporters covering McCain, one who witnessed the following events and one who confirmed the facts provided by the first, relayed it to me as follows: In 2006, the Arizona Republican congressional delegation had a strategy meeting. McCain repeatedly addressed two new members, congressmen Trent Franks and Rick Renzi, as 'boy.' Finally, Renzi, a former college linebacker, rose from his chair and said to McCain, "You call me that one more time and I'll kick your old ass." McCain lunged at Renzi, punches were thrown, and the two had to be physically separated. After they went to their separate offices, McCain called Renzi and demanded an apology. Renzi refused. Apparently this posture made McCain admire him, as they became fast friends.

Also included in the book is an anecdote from a 1992 campaign stop, relayed to the author by three sources. McCain's wife Cindy teased him abou this thinning hair at which point he lashed out, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt."

RAW STORY called McCain's campaign for comment before revealing the anecdote Monday morning. No one ever called back, but the campaign has seen fit to decry Schecter's reporting in an interview with a New York gossip column.

Calling the book "trash journalism," McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker tells the Daily News's Rush & Molloy, "The story [of McCain cursing at his wife] is completely fabricated."

The campaign has not yet weighed in on the report of his scuffle with Renzi.

Schecter responded to the accusation on his blog.

No surprise here. It's far from the first time the "maverick" has made himself into a liar, and today's opening statement to General Petaeus once again showed it won't be the last. ...

I have hit McCain with a bit of that old straight-talk. Instead of lying about me because of it, he should try it sometime. How about starting today when we are trying to find a solution to this disaster he helped create in Mesopotamia.

Huffington Post reporter Sam Stein notes that the book's new reports on McCains fiery temper are well supported by other accounts of his losing his cool.

Anecdotes like these would stand out as highly abnormal if it weren't for McCain's history of similarly explosive behavior. As Washingtonian magazine documented (and Schecter notes in the book), McCain once "scuffled" with the Senate's then oldest member, Strom Thurmond, during a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing in January 1995. Three years later, the Associated Press article reported that McCain dropped F-Bombs on at least three fellow Republicans.

"I'm calling you a f------ jerk!" he once retorted to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.

And in a opinion piece last year on Salon.com, Sidney Blumenthal, now an adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton, wrote that McCain once told Sen. Ted Kennedy to "shut up" on the Senate Floor, referred to a fellow Republican as a "shit head" and offered a downright vicious and doubly-offensive joke in 1998 Republican fundraiser about then first daughter Chelsea Clinton.

"Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly?" he asked. "Because Janet Reno is her father."

The anecdote in The Real McCain about the candidate's tirade towards his wife was confirmed to Schecter by three Arizona reporters, who had been covering the candidate at the time. He told RAW STORY Monday he was fully confident in the story's accuracy and wouldn't have included it otherwise.

"I uncovered a lot of stuff that I cannot put in the book," he said.

Migi e! · 04-08-2008, 04:47 PM

"Straight Talk"

Notmyrealname · 04-08-2008, 04:49 PM

She looks like a C*&%. She actually looks like a mannequin, to much botox I assume.

Libre · 04-08-2008, 04:52 PM

What else would you call an opiate addicted whore who stole drugs from her own non-profit organization to get high?

Notmyrealname · 04-08-2008, 04:53 PM

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Originally Posted by Libre

What else would you call an opiate addicted whore who stole drugs from her own non-profit organization to get high?

see.... why do you always have to make it personal?

Migi e! · 04-08-2008, 04:54 PM

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Originally Posted by Libre

What else would you call an opiate addicted whore who stole drugs from her own non-profit organization to get high?

Hillary?

Libre · 04-08-2008, 04:55 PM

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Originally Posted by Migi e!

Hillary?

Hillary is a cunt period. No drugs required.

Ronin Tetsuro · 04-08-2008, 05:42 PM

You know, this is the only McCain brush-up I haven't had a problem with. I don't like using the word myself unless I mean it. Maybe he meant it.

I understand the greater implications of temperament, ect ect but I don't actually believe that Hilldawg or Barry are saints, either.

So walnuts called his wife a cunt. *shrug*

michaelr · 04-08-2008, 05:54 PM

Man were in a butt load of trouble.

william the wierd · 04-08-2008, 07:15 PM

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Originally Posted by michaelr

Man were in a butt load of trouble.

Can I have the over-under line on how many snappy comebacks that straightline will provoke?