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May 23, 2008
McCain vs. Ellen on marriage (II)
Posted by: Chris
I was apprehensive about how Ellen DeGeneres would do discussing gay marriage with John McCain, but the result was pleasantly surprising. She hit him from the civil rights angle and the personal angle, citing her (now legally recognized) wedding this summer to actress Porcia DiRossi. McCain seemed flat and really had no reasons to offer for his opposition. He just repeated that marriage ought to be for opposite-sex couples.
Just as nits, I wish Ellen had made clearer that McCain not only opposes marriage but also civil unions and domestic parterships, strong or weak. He opposes any form of government recognition of gay relationships, a view that's out of touch with most Americans, two-thirds of which either back marriage or civil unions.
Also I was bit confused by Ellen comparing McCain's view to past opposition to giving the vote to blacks and women. That's a bit apples and oranges, especially when a much better example -- interracial marriage -- was a key point to the California Supreme Court's ruling.
If you'd like to see McCain really get grilled on the issue, there's no beating the pointed questioning by George Stephanopoulus on "This Week" in November 2006. I'm proud to say my cheesy home video has now been viewed more than 16,000 times on YouTube; it's jumpy quality and focus are probably why it hasn't been yanked.
George was on fire that morning, also pushing McCain on the military ban and even whether homosexuality is a "sin." My full post (with more home vids!) on McCain's "This Week" interview is here.
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Comments
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Also I was bit confused by Ellen comparing McCain's view to past opposition to giving the vote to blacks and women. That's a bit apples and oranges, especially when a much better example -- interracial marriage -- was a key point to the California Supreme Court's ruling.
I think her point was that same-sex marriage is a civil rights issue for gay folks, much like the right to vote was civil rights issue for women and Jim Crow was for African-Americans. Interracial marriage is a much closer analogy to our issue, but I don't think Ellen's comparisons were inapposite.
Andoni - Yeah, I saw that too. The eyes thing. I don't know why he even went on Ellen's show. He should have been ashamed of himself.
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I wonder why she didn't bring up the fact that Obama and Hillary are both against gay marriage too.
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Interracial marriage may be a closer analogy to the issue of gay marriage, but there's no denying that Ellen really hit home by echoing the impossibility of "separate but equal." Just as the segregated schools were not truly equal for African-Americans, contracts allowing "marriage lite" rights to gay couples will never truly be equal to true marriage.
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Make no mistake about it - the 2000 so-called Straight Talk Express which resonated so much with the average Joe has pinwheeled onto the rocks and now lies upside-down with the Republican base wrapped around its axle.
For that, McCain presents a zombie-like visage - paralyzed to utter a coherent thought on something as fundamental as human rights - for fear of riling the right-wing crazies who already have contempt for him.
For this intellectual suicide watch, I almost feel sorry for him. But by point of fact, I'm loving the melt down between the GOP's nominee and its yammering base.
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Andoni on May 23, 2008 8:27:05 AM:
I watched it on TV and the key was in McCain's eyes. I don't know if it comes out on the clip above, but his eyes told the story that he knew he didn't have a good argument. You say "flat" - I would characterize it as sad. His eyes revealed that he was taking a position that he has to take to keep the right wing from bolting, but knew his logic and stance were flawed and out of touch. Let's call it ashamed of himself.
Ellen gave him a break by cracking the joke about walking her down the aisle. He was relieved and was off the hot seat a bit too soon. His whole demeanor changed after Ellen's joke.
You can often tell when a person knows they are spewing bullshit.....and this was a classic example of this.
Look at his eyes.