On CNN's McCain Revealed, Feingold says McCain has temperament to be prez, he'd be a good president

[flpoljunkie]

(I would ask Feingold would he really want the trigger happy McCain to be our Commander-in-Chief. What in the hell was he thinking!)

From CNN's transcipt of "McCain Revealed":

KING: Democrat Tom Daschle is among many in Washington with memories of McCain's sharp tongue.

(on camera): So it's a string of expletives and insults? DASCHLE: Right.

KING: The end goal being to let off steam or is he trying to bully you?

DASCHLE: Probably a little of both. I don't know. I'm not a psychoanalyst. I have no idea what may behind those outbursts. But they happen with some frequency.

KING (voice-over): Daschle describes McCain as emotional, visceral, yet distances himself from Democrats who say McCain is too volatile.

DASCHLE: I'm not saying I'm right. All I'm saying is I don't view it as a -- as a problem.

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: I'm for Barack Obama for president. And I think he has a perfect temperament to be president of the United States. But even though I feel strongly about that, I can't sit here and say that John McCain doesn't have the temperament to be the president of the United States. I frankly think he does. And I think he'd be a good president.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/20/se.01.html

[Hugabear]

1. How much of this is just him being polite?

Still, I wish he wouldn't make comments like that. Stuff like this only helps independents and "blue-color" Democrats gravitate more towards McCain. We simply cannot afford to lose this election!

[Alter Ego]

10. It's Feingold being polite.

[flpoljunkie]

16. Polite? The trigger happy McCain does not have the temperament to be president.

And, we will, no doubt, be seeing Feingold's character affirmation of the neocon McCain, in an RNC ad.

[Cha]

28. I don't think it's being "polite", either...

is it polite to lie? Or is there something in Feingold that can't see the john mccain who's shown his true character numerous times over the decades?

[TwilightGardener]

32. It's Feingold taking revenge on Obama for not taking public financing.

Russ is a jealous, vindictive little guy, methinks.

[Cha]

37. Ohhh, I

didn't want go there but I thought of it. True colors and all that..pity that.

Anyway, he shows why he doesn't have the judgment to be prez and it's only going to get more obvious.. Russ.

[bunkerbuster1]

48. I honestly hadn't considered that.

Boy, that'd sure be petty.

For all the stuff I've hurled at Russ already, I really hope it wasn't because of that.

[Alter Ego]

49. I don't think you will

because Obama will turn right around and use Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin as counterpoint. Both of them have praised him for different things.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Daschle did OK. Feingold can go to hell.

[wyldwolf]

3. where's the pile on?

[scheming daemons]

15. Feingold has 1/10th the stature of Bill Clinton.... so its 1/10th the pile on.... that said....

Feingold needs to STFU.

[wyldwolf]

19. but since those who pile on Clinton say he's irrelevant now, all things are about equal

[IndianaJones]

4. why is this traitorous idiot helping McCain win? nt.

[...of J.Temperance]

14. Senator Feingold is hardly "traitorous"

He's just stuck his foot in his mouth, hopefully he won't do any repeat performance.

The word "traitor" gets used too much to describe things that aren't traitorous, example, if someone doesn't agree with you or say what you want them to say, that doesn't make them a traitor or disloyal to the Democratic Party.

Feingold ISN'T Holy Joe....what Holy Joe is about to do, is pretty traitorous considering the POS still caucuses with the Democrats in The Senate....they need to kick his ass out.

On Edit: Dammit....another "o" in too.

[wyldwolf]

20. IndianaJones was being sarcastic because the term "traitor" has been applied to the Clintons...

..quite seriously here in recent months.

[...of J.Temperance]

21. It's rather disturbing when

Just because a politician in our own party doesn't say what someone wants them to say gets called a "traitor"

The Clinton's aren't traitors either.

[ProSense]

25. Remember when Carville called Richardson "Judas" for endorsing Obama?

That was disturbing too.

[...of J.Temperance]

27. Carville gets overly emotional sometimes

He just blows off steam sometimes, I don't actually believe that James Carville was serious in his comments....and I'm sure that Carville will vote for Senator Obama.

The thing is, I've seen the word "traitor" put about on DU quite a lot over the years, especially if some vote comes up in the Senate and Senators don't vote the way a certain poster wants them to vote and I think it's rather unfair to call them "traitors"

Holy Joe is a traitor, Zell Miller is a traitor....Feingold isn't and neither are Senators who don't ALWAYS vote in the Senate the way you WANT them to vote, you have to look at the bigger picture on their total votes in their voting records, and not just the odd vote here and there.

[ProSense]

30. You can excuse Carville as blowing off steam, emotional, maybe you can afford DUers the same pass.

Carville should know better, it was just an endorsement.

I'm also sure that DUers had/have no intention of voting against the Democratic nominee.


I agree about Joe and Zell.

[...of J.Temperance]

36. "I'm also sure that DUers had/have no intention of voting against the Democratic nominee."

I hope everyone does, and that means if Senator Obama chooses Senator Bayh to run with as well.

[specterderrida]

23. Calling a great Democrat tratorous is beyond the pale.

[wyldwolf]

26. see post #20

[vaberella]

5. Oh man. Well even if there was a niggling support for Feingold, it's been killed. Damnit!! n/t

[geek tragedy]

6. Screw you, Russ.

Sellout.

[...of J.Temperance]

7. People have already had 8 years of

A borderline nutter who has a vicious temper and is prone to displaying bullying tactics in the WH with W, I think the last thing that normal people want, is another borderline nutter with a vicious temper that's prone to displaying bullying tactics in the WH.

With regard to Senator Feingold's comments, considering we're in the Presidential election season, I don't think ANY elected Democrat should be on the airwaves praising Senator McCain, I mean why would anyone want to praise the opposition candidate during election season?

I think sometimes people on our side play too nice and are too polite, and during an election we need to stop that shit....the opposition are the enemy, just like the opposition consider our side the enemy, you never see or hear the Republican's praising Senator Obama.

You treat the enemy like the enemy, you don't play nice with them, praise them and be polite about them.

[Cosmocat]

13. All ANY of them have to say ...

is what you just said ...

We have suffered greatly in SO many ways with a president who has what most politely can be described as a questionable temperment ... The country REALLY could use someone with a more balanced temperment ...

THAT easy ...

WTF IS WITH DEMOCRATS ...

As noted, in the heat of a presidental race you don't endorse the opponent in ANY WAY ...

[...of J.Temperance]

17. Exactly

They DO ALL need to say that.

I've always felt that McCain was probably batshit crazy mentally unstable.

I have no idea what compelled Senator Feingold to make such comments, he should know that considering how desparate the McCain camp is, they'll probably lift his comments and put them in an ad if anyone else dares questions McCain's temperament and mental stability.

[Thrill]

8. TYpical of Democrats. We need to win Wisconsin. And he's out there praising the other guy

[Spazito]

9. Russ Feingold has always struck me as a bit of a loose cannon....

and this certainly doesn't disabuse me of that notion.

[ProSense]

11. A "good president" who supports

torture

Feingold is progressive, but he has always had judgment problems. He needs to keep a low profile and stop praising McCain because most of the things he says are idiotic and wrong.

[vaberella]

24. He's currently supportive of a reinstatement of a draft as well. n/t

[gblady]

12. with friends like that...

who needs enemies?

[bunkerbuster1]

18. Good god, it's the Senate Gentleman's Club...

I know you guys sometimes think you walk on water and your shit don't stink but damn. Russ, could you help some of us out here? We're trying to get a Democrat elected president. We're not trying to see who's the most gentlemanly and good-manners.

Christ on a fucking trailer hitch, this pisses me off. I'm tired of trying to win elections with our own guys tying our hands. There are so many ways that Russ could've imparted the notion that he didn't necessarily think McCain is crazy or prone to violence without saying "And I think he'd be a good president."

I really thought Russ was one of the good guys. arghh.

[...of J.Temperance]

22. Except McCain ain't no Gentleman, he's pretty much a thug n/t

.

[TwilightGardener]

38. Can you imagine a Repub Senator saying Obama would make a good President?

[Inuca]

39. Yes. One. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

40. Oops, forgot that Hagel did say that, but he's already pretty much

been marginalized from his party and is leaving the Senate. The other GOPers wouldn't DARE say such a thing--they would be severely punished. Not even Lugar is going to come out and praise Obama now, and I know he's got a lot of affection for Obama. Feingold has an agenda--and it's not pro-Obama.

[Inuca]

42. Lugar

did not praise Obama, but was quite critical of McCain on CNN last Sunday. Unfortunately, I cannot remember for the life of me what he actually said :blush:! Something FP related, of course. Anybody else with a better memory saw that?

[TwilightGardener]

43. I saw part of that interview--he disagreed with McLoon that we should

kick Russia out of the G8, and said that we still have important reasons to deal and cooperate with Russia.

[Inuca]

46. Yep, that was it

Thanks for the memories :-). Lugar is definitely not a member of the "we only talk with our friends" club.

[Metric System]

29. The Clintons made him do it! Oh, and isn't Obama the post-partisan candidate? Attacking Republicans

is contradictory to post-partisanship.

[TwilightGardener]

35. Are you this obsessed with the Clintons that you have to turn a thread

that has nothing to do with them into a Clinton thread? We're bashing Feingold, same as we'd bash any Dem who praises McLoon two months before the election.

[Overseas]

31. He could at least have said-- But he is a Republican and their policies have ruined our country./nt

[flpoljunkie]

33. But, inexplicably, he did not.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

34. Feingold could have said something else, he knows McCain won't be a good president

[Inuca]

41. Feingold being his mavericky self

I have no idea whether it is also an expression of some resentment or another against Obama, but I doubt it. I think that it's simply Feingold refusing to play political games. I also think that in this case he was wrong twofold 1) McCain would NOT be a good president; and 2) even if he thinks he would, which is his right, he should have played politics and kept his thoughts to himself.

[OwnedByFerrets]

44. I am sick to death of Dems being NICE to repugs who

are fucking our country and us. So, FU Russ.

[Skip Intro]

45. TRAITOR!!! That's IT! I'm DONE with him forever. He needs to be kicked out of the party asap.

He's FINISHED!

He's a fake Democrat and a fraud, just trying to undermine Obama and scheming to make a play for 2012!

Get in front of the bus, Russ.

[Inuca]

47. This is sarcasm, right? n/t

[Hubert H. Hubert]

50. Gee, thanks for the endorsement, Russ.

I can't sit here and say that John McCain doesn't have the temperament to be the president of the United States. I frankly think he does. And I think he'd be a good president.

In other words: "If your racist ass is leery of Obama, don't worry; McCain would be an awesome president too!"

Brilliant!

[goddess40]

51. Unanswered letter

I wrote to Feingold one month ago and asked him about an article I read in our newspaper that quoted Feingold saying although he wanted Obama to win he thought McCain would probably be the winner. He also said something to the effect that we wouldn't have to fear a McCain presidency as he would act in a responsible and effective manner. I asked him to refrain from endorsing McCain.
I have written to Russ several times in the past (I am one of his constituents) and have always received an answer. I have yet to receive and answer to this letter. I do know Russ has a thin skin and does not like to be criticized but I feel he should have answered me by this time.

[flpoljunkie]

55. Interesting.

[Upton]

52. Feingold is a big mouthed jerk

I have had it with his kissing of McCain's ass. Maybe he ought go join Lieberman and attend the Pubs convention.

[jsamuel]

53. Remember when people used what Feingold said about Edwards against Edwards?

What he said about Edwards tipped me off that not all was well in Feingold land.

[Arugula Latte]

54. What.The.Fuck.

Seriously.

Republicans don't do this. Why do Democrats, especially Democrats who we once admired so much?

[flpoljunkie]

56. An excellent question. I see no good reason for Feingold's 'endorsement' of McCain.

[No Elephants]

57. With friends like these, who needs enemas?

[endthewar]

58. I hear a bus getting revved up for Feingold

He needs to stop praising McCain right now. Maybe he's still bitter over Obama's FISA vote?