Also, given McCain’s past history of sexist jokes (”Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno.” — http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html), I understand why women, like Erica and myself, would think that his “old-school” sense of humor belies a deeper held cavalier attitude towards the goal of professional equality for women. Think of the difference between companies that say they support their female employees and companies that actually provides paid maternity leave — the executives of the first company may be completely not sexist, but they haven’t invested the thought necessary to understand what it takes to accomplish their perhaps honestly-held goal of enabling women to enter their workforce. I’d put McCain in the first group; he probably isn’t sexist, but he’s not given it enough thought to understand why women in the 20s, 30s or 40s might be put off by jokes referencing spousal abuse.

Which is to say: I don’t care what his sense of humor is — god knows I’ve laughed at much more worse jokes — but his inability to see why others might not appreciate the joke suggests to me that women’s rights aren’t something to which McCain has devoted much critical thought. Lots of men of his generation are residually sexist in that sort of thoughtless way, and while it’s not a deal-breaker in a president, it’s a bit frustrating and unprofessional.

“I supported McCain’s insistence on an elevated tone and vigilance against arguably insensitive remarks – a way to improve the odds that the inevitable gaffe, real or manufactured, will be a day’s distraction rather than a week’s or even a turning point.”

Aside from the fact that outrage from Feministing doesn’t even qualify as a real distraction, the only thing remotely resembling a potential gaffe here is, as you note, inadvertantly “reminding people of scurrilous charges…” The real problem is not that Ms. Erica has no sense of humor, it’s that she has very little sense at all. The whole reason the wife beating reference has become such a standard response to loaded questions is because the behavior being assumed by the interrogator is so universally recognized as heinous. It doesn’t make light of wife-beating; to the contrary, it’s meant to demonstrate the seriousness of the rhetorical trap with an example that anyone of almost any age, other than perpetually outraged feminists, could understand. It’s all well and good to have a candidate who rejects sleaze regardless of the source, but I doubt you’d really like what a campaign designed to avoid offending the Erica’s of this world would actually look like.

Sexist.

My mother, unlike “Erica’s,” was a grown-up. She was raised on a cattle ranch in Montana. She was a staunch believer in feminine equality and a pitiless critic of feminism, e.g.,

“Feminism is the creed of the vacuous, narcissistic
adolescent;”

“Feminists think with their feelings, like most adoles-
cents. It’s a good way to get dead.”

And my personal favorite:

“The more offended a feminist is at the prospect of a good
spanking, the more likely she needs one.”

There probably is some more current-sounding retort available, but, since none occurs to me, I’m going to presume that it’s too much to ask McCain to have come up with one. Apart from the “old coot” atmospherics, however, I still think that’s it’s also one of the great dangers of the campaign that sooner or later McCain may Imusize himself: God knows there are plenty of observers ready and rarin’ to manufacture an Imus moment – which is one reason why, unlike many critics on the right, I supported McCain’s insistence on an elevated tone and vigilance against arguably insensitive remarks – a way to improve the odds that the inevitable gaffe, real or manufactured, will be a day’s distraction rather than a week’s or even a turning point. In addition, every disaffected Hillaryite that can be won over is a double bonus to the campaign. It’s hard to keep them angry about “you’re likable enough” and “get over it” when your own candidate is talking about wife-beating, however innocently, and reminding people of scurrilous charges and rumors regarding his past conduct.

One whole point of political correctness is to load questions, and call it just to do so. We see this constantly on the “talking head” shows on cable (what my mother calls “the screaming-people shows”). It’s a big reason why there are so few analytical discussions, and instead the partisans on both sides merely lob prepackaged talking points at each other.

In the formulation “Have you stopped doing X yet?”, X, whatever it is, might always create a painful chain of thought for someone. “Have you stopped contributing to global warming?” “Have you stopped being a homophobe?” “Have you stopped with the bulimia?” There’s no way to express the underlying thought — “You’ve asked me an unfairly loaded question” — with any evocative color or humor, and not raise something that might offend someone.

Sure, McCain could simply say to an interviewer, “That’s a loaded question.” Such enforced rhetorical blandness — which would become hilariously repetitive within 24 hours — is not really something to aspire to. It’s a burden on the person on the receiving end of the politically correct loaded question, who has to be an earnest square, pointing out the obvious with linear directness, instead of having the option of being more effective by being elliptical.

A people that can’t take a little color in political speech is one that is surely too psychologically fragile to be governing itself.

A. THAT’S NOT FUNNY!

(Peter S’s #3, however, IS funny.)

Get out more, Erica. Get out *at all*.

And, oh yeah– lighten up, Francis.

She’s undoubtedly too young to remember rerun showings of the old (WB?) cartoon in which a Groucho Marx figure was briefly seen hosting the game show “You Beat Your Wife” — an allusion to “You Bet Your Life,” which the parents of kids watching those rerun cartoons understood. I remember Dad explaining that one to me. Of course, I DID know already who the Marx Brothers were. Their humor — in TV broadcasts of their furry old movies — had dimensions that appealed to multiple generations.

The generational self-sufficiency of our culture now, including its humor, is an interesting phenomenon. I wonder if “erica” will ever know that the people of our less PC era were, in many ways, much more self-disciplined, courteous, and respectful of themselves and others, than those from whose formative years any common sayings that might have offensive implications have been rigorously excised.

I think we need a Borat or Bruno interview with Erica and a few regular poster here. I bet lester would love the sing along song.

Please remember: Cohen is a comic.

Steven from Indiana