Just thought I'd remind people of the "even-toned" approach the GOP faithful exhibited when Hillary Clinton was the proposed Democratic presidential candidate. If you'll recall, John McCain chuckled when one of the sweet "small town heartland Americans" asked him that question.

Instead of admonishing his follower for using such language when speaking of another American candidate, he, after laughing and wiping his brow, declared "That's an excellent question."

And Sarah Palin thinks she is being dissed?

Get a grip, girlfriend.

I forgot to include the link to the video showing this lovely political moment.

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Absolutely, Guylinder. Yeah, McCain was the epitome of decency during that episode wasn't he?

at that point in the primaries, I was a Hillary supporter, but could have lived with JM. After this little interchange of maliciousness, I changed my mind and vowed I would actively work against him.

Genuinely curious, how should McCain have responded to that?

How about by saying, "That's not called for?" How about not giggling? How about saying, "My opponent is a decent woman who I respect?" How about ignoring the question? How about saying, "I have great admiration for Sen. Clinton?"

How about that for a start?

how should McCain have responded to that?

"I wouldn't use that word to describe my opponent. I don't think it's appropriate so let's move away from that...."

"Let's not get into namecalling. It doesn't do anybody any good."

"I don't approve of that word. If you would like to know how I intend to defeat my opponent, this is what I want to do..."

"You shouldn't refer to my opponent that way and I don't want anyone to think that I believe it is a legitimate way to describe her."

How's that for starters?

As a result of this question and his (non-)reply, McCain has no grounds to complain about how his running mate is referred to.

How about saying
"I respect Senator Clinton, and I respect anyone who gets the nomination of the Democratic Party"

Oh wait, that IS part of what he said (although fairly, he should have said that BEFORE he said "That is a good question")

I just don't think it's fair to admonish him for being unprepared for the outlandish phrasing of a legitimate question.

Really? And when Putin or Ahamdinejad catch him off guard is it OK for to forgive him for calling them assholes or bomb-bomb-bombing Iran?

If he wants to be President the drill is, think THEN react.

Adrasteia:

Really? And when Putin or Ahamdinejad catch him off guard is it OK for to forgive him for calling them assholes or bomb-bomb-bombing Iran?

If he wants to be President the drill is, think THEN react.

Um... McCain did NOT call Hilllary that, someone else did, he just laughed - likely nervously and surprised. So it's NOT the same thing to say that HE would call Putin an @sshole, because HE never called Hillary something.

BUT, if he was giving a press conference and some reporter asked him what he was going to do about "that @sshole Putin", it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you saw the same shocked laughter from him. Is it the job of the President to correct the speech of every nutjob out there?

Uhhhmmm, I didn't say McCain called Senator Clinton a bitch. I said he failed to correct the old bat who did say that. I was told he didn't correct her because he was caught off guard.

I'm afraid it is the same as reacting to Putin if he catches McCain off guard.

Sen. McCain has shown repeatedly his inability to think on his feet.

When asked how many homes he owned he could have said, "What does that have to do with my ability to lead?" But he didn't. He stumbled and mumbled.

When asked if he had voted in the Senate against a proposal to require insurance companies to cover contraceptive products he had the classic RCA Victor Dog moment.

It's not that he didn't know the answers to these questions or that he should have, but that he could not recover and answer sufficiently, something he has in common with his running mate.

It is the job of every American (within reason) to correct rudeness. Is it the job of every American to prevent someone from burning a flag or to correct them or are we a society that just walks away from rudeness and injustice?

This explains a lot about the conservative mind.