Life Isn't Fair

Reading the news today as the Vice Presidential debates loom, and I found this interesting nugget of a quote from Senator McCain regarding the person who is tonight’s moderator. Gwen Ifill is writing a book about politics in the Obama age, which I must say doesn’t really add itself to a bipartisan point of view. But McCain’s reaction to this is a comment shy of teenage temper tantrum.

McCain’s exchange on  “Fox & Friends,” as released by Fox News Channel:

HOST BRIAN KILMEADE: Right now a recent study says and the polls reflect that Barack Obama is gaining ever since this crisis has landed in everyone’s kitchen table, why is that?

McCAIN: Because life isn’t fair. … He certainly did nothing for the first few days. I suspended my campaign, took our ads down, came back to Washington, met with the House folks and got on the phone, and also had face to face meetings.

I just want to stop right there and reflect on his initial response to the question. ‘Because life isn’t fair…’ Wow, what a startling realization that must be for you Senator. Because I and many other people came to that conclusion a LONG FUCKING TIME AGO.

That’s right, life isn’t fair. It’s not fair when you lose a job, or have to pay skyrocketing taxes, or a loved one dies whether from an accident or old age or even, and maybe most unfairly, in a war. It’s not fair the Cubs haven’t won a world series in 100 years, or that September 11th happened, or that I don’t make as much money as I did six months ago. But it’s life, and complaining that it’s not fair in a public forum doesn’t gain you sympathy, it just makes you look ignorant of what fair is, and more like a sore loser. Is that what your reaction is going to be on November 5 when you lose the election, because it isn’t fair? If that’s the case, go home now, get your blankie and teddy bear, and go suck your thumb in the corner.

And trying to make yourself out to be the underdog guy, ‘well I did this and that and he didn’t, but he’s more popular so that’s not fair…’ get over yourself. You sound like an douche.

HOST GRETCHEN CARLSON: Do you think it will work to your advantage [having Ifill moderate the debate given her book] because people will really be looking at her questions?

McCAIN: Frankly, I wish they had picked a moderator that isn’t writing a book favorable to Barack Obama. Let’s face it. But I have to have to have confidence that Gwen Ifill will handle this as the professional journalist that she is. … Life isn’t fair, as I mentioned earlier in the program.

See, the smart answer here would have been, ‘Why yes, I think the public is smart and will be ultra critical of the moderator, and I definitely see that as an advantage for me and Sarah Palin.’  Granted, his reponse was genuine, and he did say he had confidence that Ifill would be unbiased. But he doesn’t give the general public credit for being smart enough to see this,  and then he said it wasn’t fair again. All he succeeded in doing was look like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his way, and in the process completely undemined himself and his campaign.

I made a comment on Facebook after the last debate about seeing McCain for who he really was, and it sparked several people to comment about it. One of those people, a fraternity brother of mine, felt the need to remark about how obama stuttered during his comment. Now first of all, this is not something I noticed, so either it never occured and it was designed to slam Obama for the way he spoke, or if he does indeed stutter regardless, I found the remark childish. But I see from where they get the concept of attacking people in this way.  I mean, here is the candidate for the Republican party, making comments about how life isn’t fair. Of course the next step of devolving would be to make fun of the way a person talks.

Can you imagine this man in office? ‘We didn’t have very good negotiations with Afghanistan, life isn’t fair…. the economy is in the toilet, life isn’t fair… People don’t like me, life isn’t fair…Condi Rice talks with a lisp.’  Life isn’t fair.  Wow folks, glad you picked up the clue phone and realized what the rest of us have had to deal with.

I guess we better get used to it, we’ll be hearing this line from Republicans for the next four years after Obama wins in November.