Not Now, John Not now, John; we've got to get on with the film show—Hollywood waits at the end of the rainbow. Who cares what it's about as long as the kids go? Not now John; got to get on with the show. —Roger Waters And to think, he wanted to be president. Okay, let's back up, here. Margaret Hartmann explains: The White House essentially shrugged after Vladimir Putin taunted the U.S. in a New York Times op-ed, but John McCain is not the sort to let this aggression stand. The senator responded with his own opinion piece, titled "Russians Deserve Better Than Putin," in a Russian publication. McCain attacks the Russian president for for trying to crush dissenters, from passing laws that discriminate against homosexuals, to unjustly persecuting Pussy Riot, to killing whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky in prison. "I am not anti-Russian," McCain writes. "I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today." It's pretty blistering, but not quite as prestigious as Putin's op-ed. While McCain was shooting for the newspaper Pravda, the former mouthpiece of the Soviet Union, he accidentally wound up writing for Pravda.ru, a website Slate describes as "kind of cross between WorldNetDaily and the National Enquirer." As is the trend in international diplomacy these days, the idea grew out of an off-hand comment McCain made on CNN about how he'd love to give Putin a piece of his mind in Pravda. The editors of Pravda.ru said they'd be happy to oblige, and McCain took them up on their offer. It appears the senator was unaware that the newspaper shut down after the fall of the Soviet Union, and he'd agreed to write for an news website founded in 1999 (the site claims to have ties to the Soviet paper). News of McCain's column prompted denials from the other Pravda, which was reopened in 1997 as the official newspaper of the Russian Communist Party. When asked on Sunday to clear up the confusion about which publication he was writing for, McCain said, "I hope it's Pravda the Communist publication." Oi! Where's the fucking bar, John? No, really, did the senator have no staffer capable of saying, "Oh, come on. Not now, John." Nobody who could tell him this wasn't the right time or place for that kind of two-bit, banana republic stunt? Okay, look: (1) I get it, but come on. (2) Good one, guys. Can't even figure out who you're dealing with. Is there any way in which Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) did not just embarrass his fellow Americans by sharting ignorance on the Russian internet? No, really, I get the sentiment, and the whole idea of pulling this particular appeal to the people. But this wasn't the time, and for fucking hell, man, how the hell does a U.S. Senator publish in the wrong Pravda? I mean, I get it, there is no chance of that sort of confusion by which Putin's op-ed would end up at World Net Daily, or Drudge, but still, come on. At least fire a staffer as a demonstrative sacrifice acknowledging that someone, somewhere screwed up. And to think, he wanted to be president. This is the kind of dumbass, gummybear stunt we expect from his former ticketmate. Then again, so was the bit about singing for war in Iran. And also that time when he was running for president and forgot who we were fighting against in Iraq. Okay, I suppose we should expect this sort of candyassed skidmark from McCain on occasion. But, really, come on. Most days, I can say, "He's a Republican," or, "Talk to Arizona". But there are some days when he manages to share the Arizona worm with the rest of us. (I don't beg your pardon, Senator, if I don't thank you for the gift.) ____________________ Notes: Hartmann, Margaret. "McCain Takes on Putin With Op-Ed in Wrong Publication". Daily Intelligencer. September 19, 2013. NYMag.com. September 19, 2013. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/mccain-pens-putin-op-ed-for-wrong-publication.html
According to CNN and the wiki, it was reopened and McCain submitted to both. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...on-piece-in-pravda-but-not-the-one-he-wanted/ But as for the idea itself, do you really think it worthy of such a hateful, profane rant?
I don't see the big deal. So an internet tabloid has his letter. You think it will be any less read because of it? He wanted to get a message across to Russians, and he did.
Zingers and Zed Actually, that's a fine point. And it's a pretty subtle jab at The New York Times, too. McCain is a genius. I'm more inclined toward Max Fisher's analysis: [McCain] appeared to have three goals with his op-ed, all of them pretty difficult and quite likely to backfire. First, he asked Russians en masse to adopt his harshly critical view of Russia: that the country is economically weak and internationally isolated, that "its riches will not last" and that Russia's "global reputation" is poor. Pause for a moment and imagine how you'd feel if you read an opinion column by a Russian legislator, in which he spoke directly to you and told you that your country is not very respected or successful, that it's doing poorly and destined for worse. Now imagine that, like many Russians, you've felt condescended to and lectured by snooty Americans for your entire life. Would you be more or less predisposed to hearing him out? That brings us to the second of McCain's apparent goals: that Russians should blame their problems on Putin, whom McCain accuses of "destroying" Russia's standing in the world. "President Putin doesn't believe in these values because he doesn't believe in you," he wrote. This is a particularly tough sell to Russians, many of whom might be tempted to see an American hand in the humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the 1998 financial crisis and the problems that have ensued. McCain's big conclusion, the third of this three points, is that Putin doesn't care about Russians or know how to solve their problems. But you know who does: Senator John McCain. "I am not anti-Russian. I am pro-Russian, more pro-Russian than the regime that misrules you today," he writes. Pro-tip: When you have to clarify that you don't categorically oppose the entire nation that you're speaking to, you've already lost. Think back to that hypothetical Russian legislator from two paragraphs ago, the one arguing that the the United States doesn't deserve international respect. How would you feel if he ended his column by claiming that he knew best for Americans, even better than the U.S. president? That Americans should tune out their president and listen to the op-ed-writing Russian lawmaker instead? What if that legislator had previously advocated deploying troops along the American border? You would probably not find yourself feeling super persuaded. If anything, you might feel like reflexively defending your president, who is at least a fellow national, even if you agreed with some of the Russian lawmaker's criticisms. A Kremlin spokesperson seemed to see this opportunity in McCain's op-ed, telling reporters, "As far as the question of what Russians deserve is concerned, they are able to answer this question on their own." To be fair, there is another plausible reading of McCain's op-ed, one that gives the senator and his communications staff a lot more credit. Perhaps they understand all of this perfectly well and did not mean the column as an act of public diplomacy toward Russians but as a domestic U.S. political play, intended to demonstrate McCain's engagement on Russian issues and his stance toward Putin. And it's true, he did write a piece that was better suited to a Russian WND or Drudge than, well, here is where I would say "any respectable newspaper", but, still, its Pravda, so there needs to be some sort of nod and wink, you know what I mean? But, yeah. New York Times, tinfoil scandal site. I can actually appreciate that zinger. However, if McCain was making any sort of straightforward appeal to Russians, I just never imagined that would be the way to go about it. To the other, if his point was to remind Americans that he's there to protect them from the Russian demon he's working to raise, yeah, that'll pretty much do the trick. ____________________ Notes: Fisher, Max. "John McCain’s self-defeating Pravda op-ed can only help Putin". The Washington Post. September 19, 2013. WashingtonPost.com. September 19, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...f-defeating-pravda-op-ed-can-only-help-putin/
Well, we can't rule out that McCain was merely strutting for his constituents. He is a politician, after all. But I'm not about to assume that all Russians are nationalist douchebags who don't understand what's happening to their country right now. Fisher wants us to believe the worst about them, and I don't have any reason to do so.
No one in Kremlin gives a rats ass about McCain's constipations. Meanwhile Russians deserve to have a great president and Putin is such a president. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
