Comments on Maverick Moment of the Day

We won't support ball-less NO-Bama and will re-defeat him in November!!!!

A) This issue is largely symbolic and is so many orders of magnitude less important than most of the other issues facing us this election cycle that it shouldn't even be on the press radar.

B) Obviously he couldn't remember how he'd voted, and didn't want to say something that would contradict his vote; since an issue like this -- more symbolic than practical, but with a certain cash value attached to it -- is exactly the sort that is most likely to get horsetraded on the Senate floor, he had cause to be careful.

C) According to my little employee orientation booklet, my insurance company covers birth control but not viagra. Go figure.

Judah @2 - you are wrong.

Of all the different voting blocks available to him, McCain needs to win women voters. Many women voters believe he is a moderate on reproductive rights issues. He is not. When presented with this information, many of those women voters change their opinion of him.

McCain's stance on reproductive rights will be pivotal in determining which way undecided voters are going to break in the election. So no, this issue is not largely symbolic, it is critical to this election.

@2,

Even still this proves that he's not a maverick. The most likely explanation is that he supports forcing insurance companies to cover birth control, but he can't risk pissing off religious nutcases. So, instead he hems and haws, which is worse than taking a position, any position.

pile on @2!

viagra is essentially a really effective aphrodisiac. birth control medication is a tool allowing people and society to have greater control over birth rates and thus the planning of their lives. one of those is a socially responsible and increasingly necessary part of modern living, the other is a privilege. guess which is which...

insurance companies ought to cover birth control medications.

I hope Erica is taking notes about the wording and tone of this post.

It's not like pregnancy is one of the most expensive medical costs ... oh, wait, it is.

Silly me, expecting McSame to actually care about costs and Americans who aren't ultra-rich like him and his comrades Bush and Cheney ...

Is this McCain or is this McCain on drugs.
Man what a fucktard.

Judah @2 - you are wrong.

Oh, well, nevermind then.

@3

A) We're not talking about reproductive rights; we're talking about a legislated mandate on an issue that Americans are sharply divided on. There's a difference between having the right to do something and having the ability to do it, eg: all Americans have freedom of the press; not all Americans have presses. Failure to recognize that distinction just muddies the water.

B) Significant numbers of American women believe that access to birth control should be limited, and that those who do have access to it should have to pay for it: half of all those Jesus freaks in the Bible Belt are women. He's trading one bloc that probably won't vote for him anyway (liberal women) for another bloc that is much more likely to vote for him (conservative religious women). It's probably a zero sum trade in the end.

@4

Obama will do his fair share of hemming and hawing during this campaign. I think it's a waste of time to report on it every time it happens, whichever candidate is doing it.

@5

insurance companies ought to cover birth control medications.

Indeed they ought. But, as I said, there's a difference between what ought to happen and what ought to be legislated; people ought to say "please" and "thank you," they ought not to wear pink and red together. I wouldn't want to see either of those issues legislated.

just because i was wondering where obama stands on this (in all these stories about mccain, i didn't see any mention of obama's position), i looked it up on barackobama.com and found this:

...the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.

so. okay. good. now let's see if he actually follows through.

I watched this clip again on the Daily Show. The second viewing sure tells a different story: He looks like and sounds like a man trying to hear someone whisper something in his ear - no? When he finally hears the message he repeats what he hears in a very mechanical way, not like a thought he would formulate himself.

As we recall the Republicans were very much into this technology in the first half of Bush's administration.

I think the big problem here is not that J McShame needed to get back to the interviewer about this issue. That is perfectly acceptable and reasonable and responsible. The big problem here is this video shows the US public a remarkable similarity between his response and King George's response when he was informed that the World Trade Centers were blown up. Watch carefully. They both display almost exactly he same stupid and dumbfounded look. I don't know about you but I want a Pres in charge who doesn't look or sound ignorant.

McCain can't come out against Viagra - the middle-aged, overweight, near-impotent hordes are a vital voting bloc. You'll take their boners out of their cold, dead fingers!

Um, I just grossed myself out.

Judah @9: "Significant numbers of American women believe that access to birth control should be limited"? Your mama and who else?

It's called health insurance, not ideology insurance. I'd also like to see coverage of all forms of barriers, including condoms, dams and gloves. Birth control and STD prevention is probably more cost effective for the insurance companies if they are going to cover pregnancy expense and STD treatment.

Also, I think John McCain's hand is trying to hurt him. I'm a little worried.

Friends, that's not contraception we can believe in!