The Importance of a Word

Ask any guy if there is one word that freaks women out, and you'll invariably get an answer: the C word. I was forcibly reminded of this when I read this week about a book The Real McCain which recounts a purported incident between McCain and his wife which took place in front of three Arizona reporters, none of whom would go on the record. Here is a view from the left:

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c[word]." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

Thanks to Nelson Guirado, who wites about the story we have a rebuttal of sorts from the right:

Because, you know, Arizona reporters would never report that at the time. A sitting senator up for reelection using that kind of language to his wife's face, in front of reporters, just wouldn't be newsworthy. Those reporters would hold onto that story, and keep it secret, as McCain became a prominent national figure in the 1990s, throughout the 2000 race, throughout McCain's campaign of the last year and a half, just so they could reveal it now to "Netroots author Cliff Schecter" — because his book is the right venue to reveal this shocking outburst. Obviously, it's extremely plausible that these three reporters would tell Schecter this instead of reporting on the outburst themselves, because journalists are well known for casually giving away shocking scoops to other reporters. It happens all the time. Yes, this field is one big happy scoop-sharing cooperative.

Okay, that was the reasonable, rational part of the post. I'm waiting for the response from the campaign. See, that's a blood libel in my eyes. Had he called her a bitch, or had he called another woman a c*#@, I would find it distasteful, but I could live with it. But any man who can call his wife the c word and in public, no less, is not worthy of the post of dogcatcher, let alone president. I honestly think I could not vote for him. I suspect many women would feel the same way. And websites are picking up the story and presenting it as truth. So do yourself a favor, McCain campaign, sue the guy. I'm not kidding. If not, I can actually see myself longing for Hillary as a candidate.