McCain is stumped.
By on Mar 17th, 2007 at 10:35 am
McCain is stumped.
Huffington Post notes this exchange yesterday in Iowa:
Q: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception. Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
Mr. McCain: (Long pause) “You’ve stumped me.”
But can you contract HIV from tears?
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Boehner
Bush
Bush Legacy
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
DADT
Economy
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Guantanamo
Hannity
Health Care
International Relations
Iran
Iraq
Justice
LGBT
Limbaugh
Liz Cheney
McCain
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Rove
Sanford
Sotomayor
Steele
Supreme Court
Terrorism
ThinkProgress
Tiller
Torture
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
McCain has never wore a condom himself, so he is clueless > lol.
March 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am"stump speech"
March 17th, 2007 at 10:50 amAnswer: not overall.
March 17th, 2007 at 10:58 amWhy do our "leaders" all hail from the stone-age?
March 17th, 2007 at 10:59 amAs stunning as that is the follow up is even worse.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:01 am
As stunning as that is, I think that the follow up is even better:
March 17th, 2007 at 11:02 am
#4, barrelhse, "Why do our “leaders†all hail from the stone-age?"
March 17th, 2007 at 11:03 amBecause the voters are from the stone-age.
I repeat myself when I'm distressed, I repeat myself when I'm distressed...
March 17th, 2007 at 11:03 amC'mon, people...does anyone seriously believe that McCain genuinely doesn't know the answer to this question? Personally, I'm inclined to think that he's deliberately playing dumb in an attempt to hedge his bets and play both sides against the middle. McCain probably knows that if he had given the right answer -- that condoms help prevent the risk of spreading HIV -- he would have run the risk of alienating voters among the Religious Right. Those people don't like to acknowledge that condoms help to prevent STDs like HIV because it contradicts their preferred message of "abstinence only". On the other hand, McCain probably also knows that if he had said condoms don't help prevent STDs, he would have risked alienating voters who are not among the Religious Right who might have taken that answer as a sign that he is (if you'll pardon the pun) in bed with the religious fundamentalists. Unfortunately for McCain, what he's failing to take into account is that he risks alienating people on both sides at the same time for not having the courage to side with one group or the other on this issue. Aesop said it over two thousand years ago in this fables "The Boy, The Man, and The Donkey" -- try to please everyone and you will please nobody -- and also in the fable "The Bat, The Birds, and The Beasts" -- he who is neither one thing nor the other has no friends.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:06 amYeah, God forbid if everyone had only one sexual partner in their life. That would do NOTHING to help stop the spread of HIV . . .
/sarc
March 17th, 2007 at 11:06 amJohn McCain stumped? You've got to be kidding me. I thought "The Maverick" had an answer for everything.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:07 amI guess things like running for President with a vague and cloudy message is more important than real issues that affect and matter to the people.
Did this guy have a stroke, or something? Something's very wrong, with this guy.
SOME Contraceptives definately stop the spread of Aids, in particular Condoms. Some may not. If you are on the Pill, you might be more inclined toNOT use a condom too, and your risk of getting Aids could be increased. That said, McCain was stumped because of the Conflict between his own common sense, and the politics of the religious right whose votes he wants.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:08 amDouble-talk Express.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:11 am"Please tell me what my position is . . . because I cycle back and forth so much on any given subject that I have no real opinion on anything except vote for ME!"
Just what we need to replace GWB: someone else who can't speak without a cue card.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:11 amGuiliani/McCain/Gingrich= Grand Total of 8 wives
March 17th, 2007 at 11:14 amWhich is why I am not going to vote for Guiliani/McCain/Gingrich ; )
March 17th, 2007 at 11:16 am"Get me Coburn's thang" - roflmao
There should be some good mileage in that, somewhere...possibly some dark relationship with Teh Clenis? If not that, maybe some kind of shrunken head fetish. I don't know, Zooey, what do you think?
March 17th, 2007 at 11:16 amRE: #12
March 17th, 2007 at 11:16 amThat, and the residents of the non-sexually active gated boomer communities he represents are crying in their cocktails cause they have to pay so much for air conditioning and health insurance to prolong their miserable shallow existence.
McCain Blew it. The more voters want us out of Iraq, the worse his poll numbers are. He could have supported the Purpose of the war, while decrying the Incompetence of the Bush/Rumsfeld war Planning... but he was too supportive of Bush. Now he's toast.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:29 am"You've stumped me..."
I think he was refering to his own anatomy at the moment.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:42 am[...] happen to agree with Muttya, McCain is a pussy, and an idiot, and I agree with him about “tar baby” being nothing to apologize for. McCain has [...]
March 17th, 2007 at 11:45 amThere is something wrong with McCain, and it's not simply that he's an idiot. He used to be sharper than this.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:48 amMcCain Blew it.
I thought that was Clinton's preferred method of birth control with Monica?
March 17th, 2007 at 11:49 amI have a fading knowledge about the whole thing called condoms...I don't recall when was the last time I... I..., Just forget it..
March 17th, 2007 at 12:03 pmDuzent take much to Stump McPain.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:07 pm#15-Null......Eight wives over 3 candidates ...that is 2.66 wife each with few finger nails left.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pmWell Jake, what a clever double entendre. How come Clinton draws huge crowds of admiring people worldwide, while Bush draws rioters????
March 17th, 2007 at 12:09 pmSo McCain has to ask a campaign aide what his own position is? And he doesn't know this, because....? He "thinks" he support's Bush's policy, but he isn't sure...? McCain seems to be in some kind of meltdown, and I agree, he's been acting really strange and vague lately.
March 17th, 2007 at 12:13 pmAccording to http://www.nndb.com/people/914/000023845/, John McCain's adopted daughter Bridget is 15, she'll be 16 in July.
He's got a teenage daughter and it's ... never occurred to him to think about whether contraception helps prevent HIV? Does he plan on discussing this with his daughter at some point or just letting her take her chances and find out?
Jeff
March 17th, 2007 at 1:09 pm#13
No, I think it's more like: "Talking out of both sides of yer mouth" Express. What a huge disappointment this man has become.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:19 pm#10
March 17th, 2007 at 1:23 pmAside from the fact that it has been well documented that the majority of teenagers who take 'abstinence pledges' actually end up engaging in more unprotected sex rather than less or none at all; am I to assume that in your entire life you've only had one, and only one, sexual partner?
Mr. McCain: I’m not informed enough on it. Let me find out. You know, I’m sure I’ve taken a position on it on the past. I have to find out what my position was.
Wow. What a caveman or politician, it´s the same thing.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:00 pmA good friend needs to take him aside and persuade him to retire.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:01 pmGod forbid if everyone had only one sexual partner in their life.
Comment by Jake — March 17, 2007 @ 11:06 am
This is not even remotely realistic. Even assuming married people are faithful, fact remains divorce rate in the US hovers around 50%.
Not to mention that, through history, men have always had more than one sexual partner: the Bible is chuck-full of stories involving multiple wives, concubines, and harems (how many wives, concubines did Abraham have? King David?).
March 17th, 2007 at 2:46 pmMcPAIN IS A CONDOM!!!!! No, wait! That's "Doctor" Rice's APPELLATION--CONDOM-Lesser Rice, TAKE IT AWAY!!!!!
March 17th, 2007 at 3:03 pm"Over and over
The LIES that I TELL ALL DAY!
Over and over
THIS is WHAT I SAY:
I'SE GOT
GAP-A-THOLOGY
Walk, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Talk, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Smile, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Obfuscate, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Prevaricate, GAP-A-THOLOGY
OUT-AND-OUT LIE, GAP-A-THOLOGY!
And this is jus' the START!
Over and over
I DANCE my little DANCE
Over and over
With Pasty-Face Flip-Flop McPAIN I PRANCE!
'Cause I'm McPAIN's TAR-BABY
And I'll STICK TO HIM LIKE GLUE
McPAIN may CRY and SOB, Maybe
But I KNOW JUST WHAT TO DO!
'Cause I'SE GOT GAP-A-THOLOGY!
Walk, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Talk, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Smile, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Obfuscate, GAP-A-THOLOGY
Prevaricate, GAP-A-THOLOGY
OUT-AND-OUT LIE, GAP-A-THOLOGY!
'Cause I'SE CHIMPya's RIGHT-HAND-GAL!
Over and over
THAT'S JUST HOW IT'LL BE!
Over and over
PLAIN AS YOU CAN SEE!!!!! YEAH!!!!!"
While almost everyone knows that condoms help stop HIV, I am still baffled as to why the promotion of abstinence is so wrong? In the end, both should be promoted in my opinion. An abstinence messege should of course be the primary messege as it is the very best way not to get aids. That messege should be followed by information on condoms, etc. We still need to focus on teaching our youth how very important and effective not having sex is when it comes to STD's. It is scary that anyone would be against telling our youth what the very best way to protect yourself from STD's is.
March 18th, 2007 at 12:22 am