From the debate-McCain " before the intervention of the tragedy at Dallas."

[AlCzervik]

McCain: Well, this has been a tough campaign. It's been a very tough campaign. And I know from my experience in many campaigns that, if Sen. Obama had asked -- responded to my urgent request to sit down, and do town hall meetings, and come before the American people, we could have done at least 10 of them by now.

When Sen. Obama was first asked, he said, "Any place, any time," the way Barry Goldwater and Jack Kennedy agreed to do, before the intervention of the tragedy at Dallas. So I think the tone of this campaign could have been very different.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/15/debate.transcript/index.html

Ok i've read this several times and i still cannot make sense of it, can someone explain this to me like i'm George Bush please?

[CoffeeCat]

1. I think we can all assume that..

...there is corruption so deep and so striking in our government.

It would not surprise me, if, among themselves, they referred to the Kennedy assassination
as an "intervention."

I mean, who knows! Anything is possible with this roving band of thugs.

[GinaMaria]

26. that's what I thought too.

shocking

[Richard D]

2. Creepy

intervention
Noun
the act of intervening, esp. to influence or alter a situation in some way

[gateley]

3. I think that he was trying to make the point that JFK had agreed to town

meetings (or whatever) with Goldwater, but then he was assassinated.

is that what you're not getting? Or am I not getting your question?

[AlCzervik]

6. i guess what i don't get is the "Intervention of the tragedy in Dallas"

doesn't intervention usually imply trying to stop something from happening?

[gateley]

9. I think it was just a poor choice of words - not unheard of for McCain. nt

[AlCzervik]

12. pretty weird though, he screws up a lot but this one just seems illuminating?

[gateley]

17. Yeah, that word jumped out at me, too, but I don't think McCain would

dare have any ulterior motive - the subject is too incendiary. If there was anything there the media and American people would go ballistic. Remember what happened to Hillary when she referenced RFK.

[endarkenment]

15. In november of '63?

WTF?

This is another bullshit fabrication from McBullshitfabricator

From NBC’s Chris Donovan
In McCain's letter he quotes Goldwater as saying a similar deal on town hall meetings "would have done the country a lot of good."

The quote actually comes from a 1988 Washington Post interview with Goldwater -- and it might be interesting to see the full quote in context.

In it, Goldwater says, "It probably wouldn't have happened." Here's the full quote: (and as I type historian Michael Beschloss just made this point on MSNBC):

"Goldwater's eyes remain fixed on the window. 'I would have enjoyed it very much. I even talked to him one day about using the same airplane, going to the same places. He'd get out in one place and start to debate and I'd rebut him. Then we'd turn it around in the next place. It was the Uncle Morris fantasy, and it probably wouldn't have happened. But he liked the idea. It would have saved a lot of money, we'd have had a good time, and it would have done the country a lot of good.'" (Washington Post, 8/14/1988)

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/04/1110876.aspx

There was no agreement between Kennedy and Goldwater.

[aquart]

4. Is he saying JFK and Barry Goldwater agreed to a series of townhall meetings?

Which never happened because JFK was murdered? Why on God's green earth would he have something like that in his mind?

[damntexdem]

16. It was a lie anyway. There was no such agreement.

Of course McCain may be channeling JFK and know that JFK would ultimately have agreed to the events.

Mmm-hmm.

[dflprincess]

22. I wondered about that

Certainly, in November 1963 it was generally thought that Goldwater would be the Republican nominee in 1964 - but it wasn't a done deal at that point and I can't quite imagine Kennedy & Goldwater setting anything up for the next year at that point.

[norepubsin08]

5. It reads to me as if

John McCain is subliminally saying the Republicans had a hand in the Kennedy assassination...which wouldn't surprise me. Why was George Bush I hanging around Texas that day. Why was Richard Nixon flying into Dallas that morning. Gerald Ford was the working chair of the Warren Commission it's no accident he became Nixon's VP. Arlen Specter another repuke senator was the author of the bullshit magic bullet theory. You draw your own conclusions to McCain's word game last night, I drew mine!

[Democrats_win]

7. Another case of McCain's bad judgment? Some of his things are just too bad to contemplate.

McCain's ideas may make sense to ideologues but reality demands a wiser course than McCain's.

[On the Road]

8. I Think What McCain Was Groping for

was a way of rephrasing "before events intervened." It was very odd, though.

[Mme. Defarge]

10. Hillary did it, and now McCain, and I must say

that I was creeped out by it both times. I don't EVER recall candidates mentioning assassination during their campaigns before this election.

[Solly Mack]

11. assassination is called an intervention? So..the play was interrupted by Booth?

[malaise]

13. Intervention was a really bad choice of word

but another key point was that it was a ridiculous illustration if he was attempting to show the usefulness of his town hall meetings. After all Kennedy was assassinated.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

14. You're making a mountain out of a molehill

What he said is very clear. How anyone couldn't understand it is telling more about the reader than the man who spoke those words.

Events intervened. It was an intervention. Perhaps not the most graceful language, but then, your post is kind of muddled, too, as I'm sure this post is, as well.

Christ almighty, I just defended McPOW. This guarantees a whole day of heavy drinking for me........................

[AlCzervik]

18. wow you're kind of unpleasant and over dramatic, i asked a question, that's all.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

25. Ya think?

Read it again.

You might come up with another interpretation.

After all, we've already established that reading comprehension isn't your long suit.

[gateley]

19. I'm in agreement with you - nothing there. Pass the bottle. nt

[magellan]

20. First of all, Goldwater and Kennedy agreed to NO SUCH THING

Here is what Goldwater said about the idea of doing town hall meeting style debates:

"I would have enjoyed it very much. I even talked to (Kennedy) one day about using the same airplane, going to the same places. He'd get out in one place and start to debate and I'd rebut him. Then we'd turn it around in the next place. It was the Uncle Morris fantasy, and it probably wouldn't have happened. But he liked the idea. It would have saved a lot of money, we'd have had a good time, and it would have done the country a lot of good." (Washington Post, 8/14/1988)

As for the "intervention of the tragedy at Dallas", I'm going to be generous and assume McSame meant he believes if JFK hadn't been assassinated then he and Goldwater would have held town hall style debates. But Goldwater's own words say that isn't true -- it "probably wouldn't have happened".

McSame's just trying to score points by distorting facts. No surprise there.

[AlCzervik]

21. k, thanks.

[CitizenPatriot]

23. I am calling BS on him bringing this up at all

WHY are there references to an assassination at all? WHY? How can he sit there and say fringe elements shouted these horrible things, and then turn around and reference an assassination that might not have happened if town hall meetings had been held?

Flame away, but that's what I got out of it and it made me sick.

IF he was simply being awkward, well then he has NO business running for POTUS. this is how he would talk to leaders of hostile nations? It was a vague threat. Any time you weave violence into your discourse, whether referencing a past event or a possible future one, you are appealing to FEAR in the listener, even on a subconscious level. This is not normal debate talk. I'm not saying he was threatening Obama-- more like he used the idea of what happened to JFK to put one more notch in the level of hysteria in his base. Great move.

Remember the woman who sued him yesterday for instilling fear in her over the possibility of something happening to Sen Obama? You have to look at this as a whole, not the parts isolated from other events.

I call BS on this. He is irresponsible and misguided and wrong. Thank god he is not going to be representing this country.

[ContinentalOp]

24. So I guess it's a good thing Obama didn't agree to Town Hall meetings?

Were they planning to have an "intervention" at one of the 10 events? :shrug: