McCain: A Question of Temperament (Is He Mentally Unstable?)

Washington Post ^ | 20 April 2008 | By Michael Leahy

[shrinkermd]

This is a lengthy, comprehensive review of McCain's angry behavior. Note, that it is a serious effort and tries to be fair; however, the author makes some common errors in respect to emotions and human behavior.

The only quote I will post is the below. The article is at least 5 pages long on my computer, so 300 words would not be an adequate review.

...Since the beginning of McCain's public life, the many witnesses to his temper have had strikingly different reactions to it. Some depict McCain, now the presumptive Republican nominee for president, as an erratic hothead incapable of staying cool in the face of what he views as either disloyalty to him or irrational opposition to his ideas. Others praise a firebrand who is resolute against the forces of greed and gutlessness.

[shrinkermd]

The most common error in discussing anger, or any other emotion for that matter, is to make the mistake there is a sharp delineation between emotion and "thinking." Indeed, many philosophers have made this case; however, Nietzsche as well as many others saw emotion and thought as being interwoven. Subsequent, and recent, brain studies have shown this to be the case. The brain has many centers operating--both thinking and emotion centers--when functioning and there is no evidence emotion and thinking can be sharply defined and excluded from one another.

The second problem is anger is often the "steam in the engine" that results in actual success of a particular effort or political view. The key here is to see whether the anger is strictly and mostly narcissistic or does it relate to an attempt to prevail with a view or request. Many successful leaders use their anger to succeed at their conscious effort to change things.

Also, never forget, that people often thought as "courageous" do not just overcome fear or have more courage than fear, but, rather, are very results oriented and do not focus on fear or public censure when they make their point. They want to win, complete their mission and so forth.

Finally, very tightly wound, structured professionals who hate to make mistakes are more prone to anger when they either fail or see themselves as failing. Aircraft Commanders are notoriously both smart and compulsive. They need to be for their job. They also do not suffer fools.

I'll quit here. Those that hate McCain will see him as malevolently mental others will see him differently depeding on the circumstance.

[Eurale]

Just one of many WaPo hit pieces to come. Move along now.

[ArizonaJosie]

Why carry water for that rag?

[proudofthesouth]

Funny how they question McCain’s sanity but not Carter’s.

[Calpernia]

Video of McCain's temper here

[bill1952]

Yeah, his screaming foul mouthed obscenities on the Senate floor to his Republican opponents of McCain/Kennedy are just little misunderstandings to your nuanced view.

Great guy.

[LadyNavyVet]

"It was early 1992, and the occasion was an informal gathering of a select committee investigating lingering issues about Vietnam War prisoners and those missing in action, most notably whether any American servicemen were still being held by the Vietnamese. It is unclear precisely what issue set off McCain that day."

It's revealing that this is the first incident the article discusses. A shot across McCain's bow, so to speak, a foreshadowing of the MSM evisceration that is to come. To all the Freepers who think the media won't go there, here's the WaPo intimating that, oh, yes, they will.

[ryan71]

Ha ha. That’s it? That’s why people think he has a bad temper?

[MARTIAL MONK]

McCain’s anger is unsettling primarily because it is unexpected. As an Arizona Republican we warned our people about it and advised them to never confront it directly but to stay cool, let him cool off, and then jump back at him just as hot. Generally it would draw a chuckle from him.

[Calpernia]

A mere sample.

[BARLF]

What I want to know.....does he sit on his left hand while he eats?

[mainerforglobalwarming]

I think he’s a petty, vindictive person. But compared to obama and hillary he’s quite lucid and charming.

[AuntB]

One thing there is no doubt of is McCain’s temper. If that’s what you want in a leader, that’s what we’ll probably get.

Capitol Hill staffers rate their bosses. McCain got no glory from those who work with him.

“Every election year we survey top aides on both sides of the aisle—administrative assistants, press secretaries, legislative directors, and chiefs of committee staffs—to get their up-close and personal, and anonymous, views. While there may be lots of partisan backbiting among congress members, their staffers seem far more capable of putting politics aside and making honest judgments. It wasn’t unusual for aides in both parties to name one of their own as “spineless” or give the “workhorse” nod to someone across the aisle. “

Worst Follower 2. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Show Horse 2. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Hottest Temper 2. John McCain (R-Ariz.) known to snap at staff when the cameras are off http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1666.html

THE McCAIN WAY - ATTACK REPUBLICANS

Defending His Amnesty Bill, “Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. ‘You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it.’” (Charles Hurt, “Raising McCain,” New York Post, 5/19/07)

In 2000, Sen. McCain Ran An Attack Ad Comparing Then-Gov. George W. Bush To Bill Clinton. SEN. MCCAIN: “I guess it was bound to happen. Governor Bush’s campaign is getting desperate, with a negative ad about me. The fact is, I’ll use the surplus money to fix Social Security, cut your taxes and pay down the debt. Governor Bush uses all of the surplus for tax cuts, with not one new penny for Social Security or the debt. His ad twists the truth like Clinton. We’re all pretty tired of that. As president, I’ll be conservative and always tell you the truth. No matter what.” (McCain 2000, Campaign Ad, 2/9/00; www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHoXkCprdL4)

Sen. McCain Repeatedly Called Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) nams. “Why can’t McCain win the votes of his own colleagues? To explain, a Republican senator tells this story: at a GOP meeting last fall, McCain erupted out of the blue at the respected Budget Committee chairman, Pete Domenici, saying, ‘Only an a–hole would put together a budget like this.’ Offended, Domenici stood up and gave a dignified, restrained speech about how in all his years in the Senate, through many heated debates, no one had ever called him that. Another senator might have taken the moment to check his temper. But McCain went on: ‘I wouldn’t call you an a–hole unless you really were an a–hole.’ The Republican senator witnessing the scene had considered supporting McCain for president, but changed his mind. ‘I decided,’ the senator told Newsweek, ‘I didn’t want this guy anywhere near a trigger.’” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)

Sen. McCain Had A Heated Exchange With Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) And Called Him A “F*cking Jerk.” “Senators are not used to having their intelligence or integrity challenged by another senator. ‘Are you calling me stupid?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley once inquired during a debate with McCain over the fate of the Vietnam MIAs, according to a source who was present. ‘No,’ replied McCain, ‘I’m calling you a f—ing jerk!” (Evan Thomas, et al., “Senator Hothead,” Newsweek, 2/21/00)

In 1995, Sen. McCain Had A “Scuffle” With 92-Year-Old Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) On The Senate Floor. “In January 1995, McCain was midway through an opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing when chairman Strom Thurmond asked, ‘Is the senator about through?’ McCain glared at Thurmond, thanked him for his ‘courtesy’ (translation: buzz off), and continued on. McCain later confronted Thurmond on the Senate floor. A scuffle ensued, and the two didn’t part friends.” (Harry Jaffe, “Senator Hothead,” The Washingtonian, 2/97)

Sen. McCain Attacked Christian Leaders And Republicans In A Blistering Speech During The 2000 Campaign. MCCAIN: “Unfortunately, Governor Bush is a Pat Robertson Republican who will lose to Al Gore. … The political tactics of division and slander are not our values… They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country. Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Virginia Beach, VA, 2/28/00)

Celebrating His First Senate Election In 1986, Sen. McCain Screamed At And Harassed A Young Volunteer. “It was election night 1986, John McCain had just been elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Even so, he was not in a good mood. McCain was yelling at the top of his lungs and poking the chest of a young volunteer who had set up a lectern that was too tall for the 5-foot-9 politician to be seen to advantage, according to a witness to the outburst. ‘Here this poor guy is thinking he has done a good job, and he gets a new butt ripped because McCain didn’t look good on television,’ Jon Hinz told a reporter Thursday. At the time, Hinz was executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. … ‘There were an awful lot of people in the room,’ Hinz recalled. ‘You’d have to stick cotton in your ears not to hear it. He (McCain) was screaming at him, and he was red in the face.’” (Kris Mayes and Charles Kelly, “Stories Surface On Senator’s Demeanor,” The Arizona Republic, 11/5/99)

Sen. McCain “Publicly Abused” Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “[McCain] noted his propensity for passion but insisted that he doesn’t ‘insult anybody or fly off the handle or anything like that.’ This is, quite simply, hogwash. McCain often insults people and flies off the handle…. There have been the many times McCain has called reporters ‘liars’ and ‘idiots’ when they have had the audacity to ask him unpleasant, but pertinent, questions. ” (Editorial, “There’s Something About McCain,” The Austin American-Statesman, 1/24/07)

http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/search?q=The+McCain+truth+files

McCain Supporters Farthest Off the Mark
WASHINGTON (March 31, 2007) – A new poll using neutral language finds that primary and caucus voters have little knowledge of candidates’ immigration positions. The results also show that voters often do not share their candidate’s position.

For results and tables, go to http://www.cis.org/articles/2008/voter_release_08.html

Among the findings:

# Only 34 percent of McCain voters, 42 percent of Clinton voters, and 52 percent of Obama voters correctly identified their candidate as favoring eventual citizenship for illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements.

# Of McCain voters, 35 percent mistakenly thought he favored enforcement that would cause illegals to return home, another 10 percent thought he wanted mass deportations, and 21 percent didn’t know his position.

# Voters often held different positions from the candidate they supported. Only 31 percent of McCain voters had the same immigration position as he does. For Clinton voters, 45 percent shared her position; 61 percent of Obama voters shared his position.

# This lack of knowledge, coupled with disagreements with their candidates’ positions, makes it very difficult to draw any conclusions about the fact that all three remaining candidates favor legalization for illegal immigrants.

# Whoever wins the presidency will face significant opposition to giving eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants. Just 25 percent of Republican and 50 percent of Democratic primary/caucus voters said they would support such an effort.

# Pro-enforcement voters have a greater intensity of views than supporters of legalization. Among Republicans, almost nine out ten who favored causing illegals to return home said they strongly supported that view; on the other hand, fewer than half of Republicans who backed legalization strongly supported that view.

# This greater intensity also exists among Democrats. Of Democrats who favored causing illegals to return home, more than seven out of ten strongly supported that view; on the other hand, fewer than six out of ten who favored legalization strongly supported that view.

Methodology: The survey of 1,276 persons who voted in a primary or caucus was conducted March 12-13. The survey was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research.

center@cis.org

[AuntB]

see post 13....how much ‘anger’ is enough?

[Coldwater Creek]

read later

[jospehm20]

I believe a credible case could be made that all 3 remaining major party presidential candidates have serious mental issues.

[Coldwater Creek]

“Ace” wasn’t all that great an aircraft commander, by any standard.

[shrinkermd]

Quite comprehensive. Note, he blows up and becomes intimidating when he is thwarted in a goal. The first illustration you used also fits a considerable number of leaders—Including George Patton.

Results oriented personalities clash; there seems to be an unwritten rule of just one top dog. Senator McCain will relish being President.

One of the qualities of a results oriented person is they expect a great deal from others but double that for themselves. That is why they succeed or fail so dramatically.

[Calpernia]

I remember reading more threads on his outbursts here at FR. I’m having trouble finding them now.

[browardchad]

To all the Freepers who think the media won't go there, here's the WaPo intimating that, oh, yes, they will.

I'm not a McCain supporter and never was, but there are a pivotal group of voters out there -- whom Michael Barone refers to as "Jacksonian Democrats" --predominant in Appalachia, for whom McCain's feistyness is appealing.

According to Barone, this group has largely voted for Hillary in the primaries, not because they particularly like her, but because they see her as a fighter, and they consider Obama to be an elitist (even before his "bitter" remarks). If Obama wins the nomination, Barone sees this group easily transferring its allegiance to Democrat-lite McCain.

This line of attack will be gobbled up by Obama's seekers of earthly perfection, but it could easily be seen as a positive among the more reality-oriented Democrats of middle America.