EleVate Yourself

Why "That One" Matters

Watching the debate last night I, like many others, was taken aback when Sen. McCain referred to Sen. Obama as "that one." The question that is being asked by all the pundits is was it racist or was it McCain's style. And I wonder why it matters. It reminded me of the time when the first President Bush referred to his own half-latino grandchildren as "the little brown ones." Surely he had/has a lot of affection for them, but by his patronizing objectification he showed how out of touch and insensitive he was to our multicultural society.

So too with McCain, who may not have meant it as a racial slur but didn't have the sense to realize that others might see it that way. When you add to that insensitivity the dismissive and dehumanizing way he has treated the non-anglo world - "bomb, bomb, Iran; won't meet with our NATO ally President Zapatero, "I hate the gooks, I will hate them as long as I live", etc. - you get a clear picture of how he will continue George Bush's cowboy diplomacy and treat the international community like they are beneath him. He has made it clear that he views anyone who isn't like him as being less human.

It doesn't matter if it was racist, it was certainly dismissive. And we need a President who is going to treat every American and every citizen of the World with respect. Not this

posted by D.J. EleVate @ 10:26 AM