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sauvagerie May 23 2008, 14:05:18 UTC
Impressive. Her tone is reasoned, her argument is clear and simple and understandable to anyone, and I think the comparison to other civil rights issues is SO apt. Since 1776 this country has moved steadily in the direction of more rights for more people and certainly away from the "separate but equal" idea, and this issue is another step in that direction. And McCain obviously has no meaningful or substantive rebuttal. Neener neener neener!

On another note, one of my favorite things about democracy is the fact that a person can sit down next to a presidential candidate and say "You've absolutely got it all wrong," and not only be free from reprisal but also expect a good answer.

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lady_frolick May 23 2008, 14:21:43 UTC
I know! Theoretically, years from now, she could regale her grandchildren with tales of how she once let the future president know, publicly and to his face, that she thought his position was that of a squirrelly douchebag.

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wheeljak May 23 2008, 14:10:21 UTC
That's why I love Ellen. Not only does she seem like a cool person, but also, she's all class. Could you imagine the carnage that would have ensued if Rosie O'Donnell still had her own show, and John McCain had been on? It would have been an ambush like that crap she pulled with Tom Selleck over guns; she would have gone ape, firing at McCain and everyone who agrees with him over open sights, and it would have backfired, embarrassing her and the position she supports. Ellen addressed the subject because it needed to be addressed, but she did it with respect for her guest, who she knew disagreed with her, and supported her position gently but firmly, with sane argument rather than emotional ranting. Go Ellen!

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lady_frolick May 23 2008, 14:23:53 UTC
Yep, all class. I also love her.

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coquette_not May 23 2008, 15:19:55 UTC
Well played, Ellen. Some thoughts:

1) Who in the HELL on McCain's team thought it was a good idea to book him on Ellen's show? There was no conceivable way that it could have been good for him. Really, really poor judgment in purely political terms. Which, you know, makes me happy.

2) Wow. McCain does not think well on his feet. He sounded wishy-washy, and like he really doesn't believe in his own position. I can only imagine how he will fare in debates against one of the most talented speakers of our time. And you know, this also makes me happy.

3) What makes me sad? (Other than the bigotry, of course). That McCain doesn't come across as a smug asshole here. He seems like a decent guy that has found himself the king of a pile of crap he doesn't actually believe in. I kinda feel sorry for him. He had a distinguished career that he could be proud of, and now he's going to go down swinging for the cynical Christian-right asshole-machine that creamed him in the 2000 election.

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coquette_not May 23 2008, 15:21:33 UTC
If I do say so myself, "cynical Christian-right asshole-machine" would be an awesome name for a band.

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Cynical Christian-right Asshole Machine lady_frolick May 23 2008, 15:41:13 UTC
is awesome. If you don't mind, I'll give it to my brother, who makes new bands all the time. He's currently recording with his group White Flight, which is a pretty funny, if cynical, name for a Detroit rock band.

And, yeah, you can almost see McCain's thought process as he's talking: "I sound like a total asshole. Did my mother raise a total asshole?"

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Re: Cynical Christian-right Asshole Machine coquette_not May 23 2008, 15:43:14 UTC
It's his! And he's recording? That sounds very promising!

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cainteoir May 23 2008, 16:22:26 UTC
the only thing better is if she was talking to McCain while sitting in the hula chairs. That would be Daily Show worthy.

And McC always seems to do well when on with John Stewart -- he can be funny when he wants to be, but yeah, you can see that he is really walking around the issue very gingerly.

And, I wonder if he is invited to Ellen's wedding? :)

hell, am I invited to the wedding? I must go and text Portia for an invite.

And -- I love the name White Flight for a Detroit band. Most excellent.

--K

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coquette_not May 23 2008, 17:03:23 UTC
Yeah--when I said it was poor judgment, I didn't mean that he can't do well on a talk show. He does do well on TDS, and from what I hear, on SNL as well. It's booking on the Ellen show in particular that seemed an incredibly poor choice, from a PR perspective.

Ellen had just publicly declared that she was getting married to her same-sex partner. It was almost certainly going to come up--and there was no way he could come out a winner from that particular conversation. Lots of folks in his base are going to be mad that he didn't call her an abomination or some such, so he loses there. I mean, he wished her well! They shall not be happy with that.

And he's not going to win over anyone who is in favor of gay-marriage either by telling Ellen that she has to sit on the back of the bus. So I think it was lose-lose for him, and I can't imagine what his campaign was thinking by agreeing to it.

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littlelilylizzy May 24 2008, 06:52:57 UTC
While I completely agree with Ellen, I have to give props to McCain for even agreeing to be on her show and discuss such a timely topic. I think his reasoning (which consisted of...it's no because, well, it's just no) was crap. He even seemed to think it was crap. But, I still have to give him credit for going on her show. Bush would have gone on and had "his people" tell her not to talk about it at all.

And Ellen--just plain awesome. She always has been. She made her point, very wholeheartedly, but didn't push the issue either. I mean, she knows he's not going to admit that she's right--but she doesn't have to be pushy either. It was very classy. The joke at the end was perfect too.

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lady_frolick May 24 2008, 14:34:31 UTC
I agree with both you and Coquette: McCain's decision to go on Ellen's points to the huge difference between McCain and Bush, who would never have tried to get the votes of the people who watch Ellen (ie, regular dems), but nonetheless the appearance did not work in McCain's favor. He got his ass handed to him.

I actually like McCain, but not on this issue and not as my president.

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