John McCain And The " Tar Baby " Remark

   Not that the Republicans had much of a chance of getting the black vote in 2008, but John McCain made damned sure on Friday that he was not going to get to many black voters in his corner when he used the term " tar baby " at a town hall meeting in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

   I will let you be the judge of whether it sounds as if he was using the phrase in a racial way. McCain was speaking on federal involvement in custody cases when he said,

"For me to stand here and ... say I'm going to declare divorces invalid because of someone who feels they weren't treated fairly in court, we are getting into a tar baby of enormous proportions and I don't know how you get out of that."      Source

   McCain did tell reporters that he shouldn't have used the word and that it was wrong to do so, but the press will still have more to write about the incident, such as it was.

   I do not see any sort of racial meaning from the way that he spoke but I am sure that some group somewhere will make more out of this than is necessary. This is America after all.

The term dates to the 19th century Uncle Remus stories, referring to a doll made of tar that traps Br'er Rabbit. It has become known as a way of describing a sticky mess and has been used as a derogatory term for a black person.

 

Technorati tags: John McCain, federal government

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comedian's Look At The Week In Washington

   Here is a taste of what the late night comedians are saying about the happenings in Washington this past week.

From Late Night Political jokes

"The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently upset gay activists because he said, 'a homosexual act between two individuals is immoral.' Then the chairman added, 'Unless it's two chicks.'"
---Conan O'Brien

"Senator Obama is not the first African American to run for president, but he’s the first African American to have a prayer. Which is ironic, since two of the others were reverends."
---Stephen Colbert

"Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day. Scooter Libby is already wearing a button that reads, "Pardon me, I’m Irish."
---David Letterman
-

"Halliburton is moving its headquarters to Dubai to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Isn't that crazy? When did Halliburton start paying taxes?"
---Jay Leno

 

"Good news for the Bush administration. Just one week after the outrageous Walter Reed medical scandal, that story is gone. Because there's a new kid in town. His name is Outrageous Fired Federal Prosecutors Attorney General Scandal. Yes, in one week it's been revealed the administration screwed over wounded vets (the most revered people in America), and lawyers (the most reviled people in America), proving they've got range."
---Jon Stewart

"Alberto Gonzales has gotten into trouble for firing eight U.S. attorneys for what appears to be political reasons. President Bush said today he still has confidence in Gonzales -- the same confidence he had in Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, and Michael Brown of FEMA." --Jay Leno

"According to a recent poll, anti-American sentiment is running high in Mexico. Half of Mexico's population say they have a negative view of the United States and the other half are already here." --Jay Leno

"Al Qaeda's number three man mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed has confessed to being the mastermind behind September 11th and said he planned 29 other attacks, including plotting to kill Bill Clinton. To which Hillary Clinton said, 'You too?'" --Jay Leno

 

Technorati tags: comedians, Leno, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Washington