This Is What I Get For Mentioning McCain’s Adultery
I am not defending John Edwards. But we got into it on H&C about whether a different standard should be applied to John McCain because he was in the Hanoi Hilton. But during that time, his wife waited patiently for him to return, only to be rejected and cheated upon. But by bringing this up I have provoked lots of reaction, more of which will be posted later today.
From: wally
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:28 PM
To: Alan
Subject: 08/12/08 HANNITY & COLMES SHOWYOU’RE PATHETIC. YOU’VE SUNK TO A NEW LOW THE WAY YOU’VE DISRESPECTED A POW AFTER HE RETURNS HOME FROM BEING BEATEN FOR FIVE YEARS. DON’T YOU GET HOW DIFFICULT IT MUST HAVE BEEN FOR MCCAIN AND HIS WIFE? THAT IS ON SUCH A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THIS EDWARDS DEAL. ARE YOU THAT BLIND OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?
IT SHOULD BE COWARDS LIKE YOU WHO ARE TAKEN PRISONERS OF WAR. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? … A COWARD LIKE YOU COULDN’T HANDLE IT. GUYS LIKE YOU NEED THEIR MAMA TO CRY TO WHEN THINGS GET ROUGH. GUYS LIKE YOU NEED TO HAVE THE TEACHER AROUND SO YOU CAN TELL ON SOMEONE.
I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU GOT YOUR BREAK IN SHOW-BIZ BUT YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU’RE A DISGRACE TO THE FOX NEWS CHANNEL.
I HOPE YOUR PRODUCERS READ THIS E-MAIL BECAUSE I PREDICT THE HANNITY & SHITHEAD SHOW WILL LOSE IN RATINGS BECAUSE OF YOUR DISRESPECTFUL COMMENTS TOWARDS MCCAIN. YOU ARE NOT CAPABLE 95% OF THE TIME IN MAKING INTELLIGENT ARGUMENTS IN DEBATES ON THIS PROGRAM AND IT’S JUST UTTERLY RIDICULOUS FOR FOX TO EMPLOY SUCH PINHEADS LIKE YOU.
IT MUST BE SOME TYPE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION THING TO WHERE THEY ARE LEGALLY BOUND TO HIRE ONE PINHEAD OUT OF THE HUNDREDS OR EVEN THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES FOX NEWS NETWORK HAS.
Post the “Nazicrats” guy’s letter, he’s funny, in a pathetic sort of way.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Wally, you ignorant sob, sounds like you support the vietnam war. If McCain had secured his weapons on his plane, about 10 people would be alive today, it was probably because of his own negligence that he got captured, I also believe he squealed like a pig when he got caught, otherwise they would have killed him.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Alan I read what you posted about McCain and the marriage problems, I dont have much to say, what can be said?
As to Vietnam? what a disgrace! I mean of course how democrats/liberals caused the war from their cowardice; and when the USA was involved? the liberal left went into hyper drive to lie about every aspect of the war, like they have done with the Irak war.
Only we had no foxnews back then, no internet the home user could connect to, no 24 hour news.
So whatever the big networks aired? thats what became history, whatever extremist radical far fringe left crackpots make up in lying movies portraying the US in the Vietnam war negatively? its what people see, its all they know.
Most people probably think Vietnam was some bad thing? some war crime by the USA? these are lies invented by the liberal left when they had FAR MORE influence than they do today.
Then after Nixon and Ford, both excellent Presidents, the US was degraded by a democrat presidency, Jimmy Carter who installed liberalist ideas giving control to the commies, and allowing the genocide? thats what happens when a liberal democrat president conflicts with the real world, you get genocide, war, destruction.
Contrast this to the Irak war, where Americans can now travel to Irak and tour there, the people are more prosperous and free than ever before.
You liberals are FURIOUS that GW Bush gave the Iraki people their freedom and toppled one of the worst dictators in history; you libs wanted the dictatorship to thrive and the Iraki people to suffer and die. you democrats are sickening and have no shame.
what was this thread about? The McCain marriage problems paraded as a way to attack McCain because he is making Hussein Obama look bad with all McCains leadership and wisdom. the left needs a ploy to distract viewers.
And for the record? Senator Joe McCarthy of the famous McCarthy anti communism era was a great American hero
August 13th, 2008 at 12:51 am
This is for Alan, Fox keeps telling about the ratings theys are getting………..But I got news unless Alan is removed the ratings are going to stink………He is one of the most rude people on this side of the earth..I like Sean, but I have to wait & watch his America’s hanity show to enjoy him..Bill O’reiley, and Greta are getting the nightly ratings up w/as much help as possibe from Sean
August 13th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Alan,
I was waiting, in frustration, for the other guest to bring up McCain’s adultery.
You done good.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Alan
You look and sound like a real Idiot. Tonight you proved
it with the comments you make about John McCain. You are a real rude person to the people on the show that don’t listen and agree with your stupid ideas. Do you think of that people can respect and listen to someone like you? You should just go work for O’Bama and assist him in destruction of our Country. You seem more interested in supporting someone who just want to take from the hard working people, and give to all those people who like handouts. You must want our country to become a WELFARE STATE. Its Men like McCain who died and suffered for you to be safe and the right to MOVE YOUR MOUTH on TV everyday. You stooped to the lowest level with your remarks tonight about him. You should be really ashame of yourself, for those words.
Marty
August 13th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Marty you dumb ass, McCain was a pow, while his wife patiently waited for his return and then she gets sick and he abandoned her. Just like he will do to this country, he’s a two faced jerk, just like you and your boy friend pretty boy John Edwards.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Lets face it, McCain could rape a nun on the Vatican steps and Hannity would condone it because, “he was a POW”
August 13th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Now that would be a bad habit!
August 13th, 2008 at 1:45 am
All of you ignorant repulicans who are trying to defend McCain on adultry. What about his wife who waited for his return. It shows that the only person he cared about was himself and finding a rich beauty queen to parade around. If you are condeming Edwarrd for his adultry do the same for McCain. His values concerning the marriage committment sucks to. He left his wife who had went through a devastating accident for someone 18 years younger. So can he be trusted to stick and stay. Of course we don’t have to worry about him cheating anymore because he’s to OLD or can you SEE. Listen McCain is not fit to be President and represent the US he can’t make a desent speech without holding on to the podium and he. I respect his service to this country and for being a POW but that doesn’t quality him for being President. He admits to knowing nothing about the economy. So don’t talk about Edward’s downfall unless you’re going to include McCain. Ask McCain should he be put in the same catergory as Edwards and maybe Edwards said if McCain can do it and get to be the canidate so can I. Alan keep up the good work because Hannity is a true rascist and always trys to over take the show if the rating drop it’s because of his one sided views only trying to put Sen.Obama down and never addressing any negative issues concerning McCain. For all of you Obama haters when he’s elected find you another country to run and hide your racism. Remember ADULTRY IS ADULTRY AND McCain started it between the two.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:52 am
“IT SHOULD BE COWARDS LIKE YOU WHO ARE TAKEN PRISONERS OF WAR. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? … A COWARD LIKE YOU COULDN’T HANDLE IT”
Neither could McCain.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Alan I am on your side. If Sean wants to compare apples to apples- John Edwards went through a worst hell than McCain being a POW ( for which I am proud of his service to our country). He lost his 16 year old son- a hell on earth no one should go through. I know how he feels because I lost my teenager son as well.
Neither hardship is an excuse for cheating. IT should make our relationships closer. It just struck a nerve when Sean gave his excuse for McCain. My excuse for both of them is that they are human !
August 13th, 2008 at 2:06 am
“Most people probably think Vietnam was some bad thing?”
The US took 211,454 casualties, won every major engagement, and then simply walked away. So, all in all, I’d call that a bad thing.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:08 am
I Think Bradley is right on (cheers).As for the other blogs oh wellidc but what bothers me is we have real issues with Mixico and need a congress and president that will do something about it : tell them get with the proghram an take care of there people or we will come do it for them. WE DONT NEED NEW WALLS AROUND AMERICA WE NEED GOOD NEIGHBBORS)and mexician government is nothing more than what Iraq had and CUBA AND RUSSIA ARE.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:18 am
To you Frank from Jamestown is you think that I have to feel bad about your comments calling me a Dumb ass that you are sadly mistaken. You are the true Ass here. We have no right to judge either McCain or Edwards for what they did unless YOU think you are God. That does not change the fact that all of you who think OBama is the Change we need for this country must be the ones who thought when God said Brains you thought he meant Rain and ran for cover. Yes I will be going to no other country since McCain is going to win. People will wake up from the trance and see OBama for the BUCKWHEAT he is.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:01 am
No one needs God’s approval to judge. That argument is horse shit.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:36 am
As usual, your hate mail is as disturbing as it is revealing of the vehement jingoism of the far right.
It frightens me at times that I share public space with those whose blood boils with such intolerent hatred.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:46 am
The US took 211,454 casualties, won every major engagement, and then simply walked away. So, all in all, I’d call that a bad thing.
by RC from Smithtown August 13, 2008 at 2:08 am
So please tell me, RC, do you want the truth about Vietnam to be available? or lies only?
I am saying the Vietnam ‘war’ was misrepresented to the American people by liberal dominated and controlled media, and liberals have made movies and fake documentaries (like Dan Rather’s) telling lies that were even made during the time Americans were hostages, the enemy is on record saying see? your own people accuse you of war crimes…
One of the darkest times in American history, the outrage carried out by liberal democrats and the liberalist agenda against this nation. To this day Vietnam is used to reference the lie that the far left invented, disgracing America and our military.
The war was bad enough, but the liberal left pinko’s protesting the war, more proof that you dont invoke the draft when the generation has a strong percentage of slackers like the 60s; and proof that the penalty for desertion must be carried out as it used to be, firing squad.
The delusion from the 60s has not gone away, the older liars propagate the lies and delusions that the US military is somehow a thing to get rid of. Happy people dont need a military;
And you people trying to act like you know what McCains life and marriage was like when you were not there? She waited for him, and he dumped her! there is no excuse!
yet you people dont care about laws against Adultery! you liberals demand the 10 Commandments be removed from every public place! Since when would you care or point out its wrong to engage in Adultery??
August 13th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Ok. This might be it.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070909-0947-italy-freeingsexslaves.html
If so, it seems the woman I mentioned was not a domestic servant, as I said in my caller.
“Elizabeth, a 20-year-old West African, believed she was coming to Europe to study medicine on a scholarship. Instead she was forced into prostitution on a Rome street.”
August 13th, 2008 at 3:49 am
sorry. wrong blog post.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Alan,
Very good to point out the hypocrisy from Hannity and guests. But more telling were the reactions, none addressed the issue, they all came up with red herrings or tried to change the subject.
Keep it up! Even Foxnews viewers need to see a voice of reason now and then.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:20 am
Watching this from across the pond, I can only surmise that American politics is really a reality T.V show, big on entertainment and low brow banter. It is shameful how your right to vote has been cast into the cesspits of blind hatred.
Well done Alan on injecting some sense and objective thought into these reality entertainment shows.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:20 am
McCain is a pussy…
August 13th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Nik, you are so correct! We haved allowed the politicians to fuck us over to the point of a constant cat fight over here. Americans are so brainwashed we’re even afraid to punish someone for crimes of murder, because we have been told Jesus will send us all to hell. Now American’s believe that George Bush and McCain is on a mission from the Bible god and Obamma is the anti-christ.
This nation is run by a bunch of fucked up in the head political fundys, as can be seen by anyone outside the USA.
America is the turd of the world and is getting ready to be flushed down the toilet.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Alan,
You were off Base last night and I think you know it. Your comparing Apples to oranges. Nobody in their right frame of mind would know how to act after the Hanoi Hilton ordeal all those years ago.
Fox news did ok in hiring you (despite what others may say). You certainly bring out the fire in a lot of people out here! It would be boring othewise.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I would like to think that my American bretheren are smarter than the hateful posts toward you above but unfortunately, those are real CAPITALIZED GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. The arguement also fails and kind of reasonable logic test.
You were right to make the comparison Alan. You should ask Sean why he supported Rudy if he was guilty of adultery (I’m betting you don’t have the balls). If only your show and all the programs that appear on your network weren’t rife with bias and untruths.
You must know how close FOX is to the GOP talking points. You must know the exact chain of command through which the lies are disseminated on your network. Unfortunatly, you also know how quickly that same chain of people would crush you and throw you away if you were to expose them. Still, do you ever think it would be worth it?
August 13th, 2008 at 8:19 am
I must admit Alan that up until now i have not been a great fan of yours as i considered you to be one of Sean Hannitys and Rupert Murdoch’s so called liberal glove puppets (both with their respective hands up your Ass) but last night, in you I saw a person moving out of the Dark side into the light. The mainstream media has been up until now given John McCain a free pass and i was totally shocked when I heard you raise the issue of John McCains extra marital affair(s) by his own admission to the frustration of Hannity. I wondered if you had bumped your head coming into the studio or whether you had a vision of the virgin Mary and in so doing sought redemption. Anyway a non American who is in dependant in my political leanings and only really watch foxnews as part of my studies into media bias as part of my media degree I have looked into both candidates resume’ including John McCain’s military past and was shocked by what I found out, Listen Obama is not perfect by his own admissions but most political journalist outside of the US, consider John McCain to be very risky and some would even go so far as to say he is mentally unbalanced considering the fact he tried to commit suicide twice for feeling guilty at having given into his Vietcong captors, who made him denounce his country. (can’t believe you get 2 purple hearts in the states for that, in England he wouldn’t) There is a long list as to why John McCain should not be President and its not like the factual information is not out there. Foxnews are specialist in the art of Influence peddling on behalf of the far right and also to protect Murdoch’s empire. You have a moral duty to challenge, rebut and investigate the false claims spouted on fox news daily and also on occasion like Sean Hannity tries with Obama, Investigate and prosecute John McCain aggressively. When the fairness doctrine gets re-instated, the like of Sean Hannity and the likes will be out of the media business on their deflated Ass.Be smart and honest and fair and balanced..lol.. Thats if you still have a job after last nights comments.. keep up the good work
August 13th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Well done Alan…About time your pal Hannity got some stick from you..You could have tossed his pal Rudy in there as well not to mention Newt..
You exposed right wing hypocrisy at it’s best…Kudos..
.
.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:42 am
I saw the video of you setting Hannity and those other fools straight, and though I will admit I’ve quite often wished you’d taken Hannity and guests to task a LOT more on that show, I have to express my gratitude here and say you did very well. It’s about time someone spoke some truth about this situation. There’s an alarming double standard and selective outrage over this. What’s good for one is good for the others, I say. Anyway, that’s the sort of fire I want to see! Excellent job, Mr. Colmes. :)
August 13th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I don’t know if you mentioned this Alan since I went to the Nats game last night (they lost shocker) that McCain’s wife at the time had health problems as well and I think she was in the hospital when he was cheating on her.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Way to go Alan and next time Sean bring the POW thing ask him about Giuliani…
August 13th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Alan, don’t listen to the hate-mongers, don’t listen to the fools that think this is something entirely different. Keep bringing truth to power. McCain’s affair IS the same thing as Edwards, and if we’re going to tarnish one, we should tarnish all. If they can’t stand the heat, they need to stay out of the damn kitchen.
Keep up the good work.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Good job Alan. Keep it up. I enjoyed watching you box Hannity and his cohorts into a corner. The above comment from wally sums up the right’wingers inability to cope with the truth. Rather than accept the fact McCain had an affair and is subject to the same questions of trust and integrity, they turn to desperate measures, in this case accusing you of maligning McCain’s service record. It’s obvious you did no such thing, but it shows how distasteful the truth is to them and the measures they will go to in order to avoid dealing with it. Keep it up.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Some of these comments from the right on this blog are downright frightening. When is Mr. Hannity going to take partial responsiblity for the nut who killed those people at the church in Tennessee?
August 13th, 2008 at 10:22 am
I think Alan’s point isnt to judge McCain for his past actions but simply to highlight the quite remarkable hypocrisy of the hand rubbing glee with which Republicans are greeting the Edwards affair. It was an unfortunate point to have to make as it required stepping into the gutter to make but it was a necessary point and fair play to Alan for making it. Also, it allowed me to watch Sean Hannity acting like a 6 year old trying desperately to retrieve a lost cause entirely of his own petty making.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Wow! Alan, you done Good!
As a vet, I love facts and the truth; and you were certainly not frugal with them last night!
August 13th, 2008 at 10:29 am
McCain’s first wife, Carol, sat for five years and waited loyally and patiently for his release. She cried every day and prayed for his safe return. And when he got back, he had an affair and left her for a younger, richer woman. John & Cindy McCain now share eight homes. Carol has almost nothing. Those are the facts.
Hannity and others on the Far Right seem to think that McCain’s time as a POW excuses all of his behavior since.
Sorry, that’s not how this country works. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a decorated US Marine; does that mean he gets a pass from the wingnuts?
August 13th, 2008 at 10:33 am
@vincent, I agree. The point is not to denigrate McCain, but to highlight the gross double-standard at play here.
B-b-but…McCain was a POW!
John McCain could punch Sean Hannity in the face, and Sean would welcome it, “thank you, mister POW, sir, may I have another!”
August 13th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I too would like to thank you for bringing up hypocrisy of these so-called conservatives. Someone has to be the voice of reason in the echoing chamber that is Hannity’s America. Keep up the good work.
To point, it’s a huge cop out to blame McCain’s infidelities it on his status as a POW; if anyone is disrespecting McCain’s service and time as a POW, it’s Sean Hannity using it as a catch-all excuse for any regrettable lapses in judgment.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:37 am
“Sorry, that’s not how this country works. Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a decorated US Marine; does that mean he gets a pass from the wingnuts?”
by Paul August 13, 2008 at 10:33 am
…..
Great point Paul..
.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Alan, I have been waiting for someone in the media to bring up McCain’s infidelities to his first wife. Since the Edwards’ story broke, it makes logical sense to bring it up now. An infidelity is an infidelity and is a rotten thing to do to a spouse…..even if it happened a long time ago or if the man in question was a POW. McCain admitted cheating when he was stationed in Jacksonville and later with Cindy. If the Edwards’ character is going to be scrutinized in connection with his affair, then McCain, an actual nominee for president, has to be as well.
Vincent at 10:28 am hit the nail on the head.
Good work, Alan. I’m glad you brought it up. It’s a shame that Hannity and the others couldn’t handle the truth and felt the need to make excuses.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
@ Southern girl lib
Hannity take responsibility? Not likely; his psycho butt is laughing all the way to the bank.
These Conservatives- I’d wish they’d be more conservative in the blog posts. Attacking Colmes because he pointed out their hypocrisy, and THEN playing the POW card as the excuse.
IF McCain’s elected and he screws up, is that what the media’s gonna say “Oh, he’s a POW so it’s OK” even if he bombs the wrong country?
Hannity’s moaning about ‘extenuating circumstances’ and McCain not being in his right mind…prove to me that he’s ever been in a right state of me! Seriously!
August 13th, 2008 at 10:57 am
alan god forbid you bring up john mccain’s cheating so to make it easier on these GOP crybabies lets mention newt gingrich’s cheating on his sick wife and serving his her divorce papers on her death bed.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:04 am
if mccain is so unbalanced from the vietnam war that he can be unfaithful to his wife how can we trust him to be faithful to the country? also slant head hannity was throwing in the its was 30 years ago as to further excuse the cheating yet when a non issue like whitewater was at the time 20 years ago it very much mattered to these same idiots
August 13th, 2008 at 11:07 am
LoL ‘McCain squealed like a pig’
I have to agree with Frank from Smithstown, McCain did in deed squeal like a pig and denounced his country in an instant, without second thought. (Thinking only to save his dishonourable bacon)It was well known amongst certain branches of the American military that if pilots (bombers, seals or snipers)were to be executed, but if they showed willingness to help the communist cause, they’d be spared never to be released. McCain was tortured and interrogated, but what brought shame to his Admiral Father and what demoralised fellow soldiers, was the extent to which he allowed himself to be used in their propaganda machine. I have watched and listened to the newsreels of the day and i can tell you now that, I’d rather be dead as i believe if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing. What makes this so bad is the fact that John McLame only had 20hrs combat service and in that space of time crashed numerous plane. So if by being in the Military and having 20hrs of combat service, then selling out your fellow countrymen and country, plus never having worked a day in your life, only when he entered politics qualifies you for commander in chief, then John McCain gets the job. America’s had a string of buffoons as president going as far back to Nixon. Oh yeah, ever wonder why John McCain always wants to talk tough on foreign policy issues or support unjust wars, is to somehow redeem his lost honour. If your not careful America will elect a yellowback thick as a plank as president.. God save us all…lol
August 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Alan,
You forgot the five jets Mccain crashed or that he cracked under the pressure and spilled his guts the the commies! Here’s a guy that’s 100% disabled and gets at least $60,000 a month from the government while the women he dumped,that poor woman who stayed by his side while he was doing his sissy gut spilling to the cong, got dumped for that $200 million
Blond bimbo! The nerve of this flip floping, hand in our treasury, corprate puppet to think no one has a memory! The way ‘w’ tells it, Mccain fathered a black kid! Now we all know that ‘w’ woodnt tell a lie! Don’t we!
Hang in there Alan, the truth hurts!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:12 am
ADULTRY IS ADULTRY ………….Alan, you done Good!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Good work Alan, cheating is cheating. The real question is are we electing a president or a pastor?
_
August 13th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Mr. Colemes,I watched your comment yesterday & it was incredible.You did good.Alot of people watching never knew that Se. McCain had cheated on the wife that waited 5 years for him.How come no one brought this up before.The bios of MmCain always said that he met Cindy at some meeting,never mentioning his first wife and what she went through when McCain was being held captive.Mr. Hannity makes the ridiculuos sexist comment about it being ok for McCain to do it because he’s a warrior and because he had his bones broken,but his poor ,patient wife should have taken it because that experience changed him?Hypocrisy?Does Mr. Hannity imply that now all soldiers & POWS are free to cheat on their wives because he gives them permission to do so?
Cheating is cheating,warrior,senator,whoever does it.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:48 am
EXCELLENT JOB LAST NIGHT COLMES!!!
you finally stood up against Hannity by mentioning the truth about mccain cheating on his wife in his lifetime!
if hannity wants to talk about edwards cheating on his wife 2 years ago in 2006, then obviously there is no standard of years when a democrat cheats on his wife, like clinton, then its FAIR enough to talk about when mccain did it in his lifetime!
EXCELLENT COLMES! keep up the good work!
August 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Oh, Edwards cheated on his wife while she was struggling with cancer, and this is a bad thing, right? I wasn’t sure, because it reminds me of 3-time marriage loser and serial adulterer NEWT GINGRICH, who DISCUSSED DIVORCE TERMS WITH HIS CANCER-STRICKEN (second) WIFE WHILE SHE WAS RECOVERING AFTER AN OPERATION, so he would be free to marry his mistress, Callista Bisek. (By the way, he refused to pay alimony or child support in his first divorce, and a church had to pass a hat for his family. See you next week on Fox, Newty!) And let’s not forget Rep. Henry Hyde, who spearheaded Clinton’s impeachment and later had to admit to having a “youthful indiscretion” at the age of 41 with a married woman, that resulted in breaking up her family. Compared to others I could mention, Giuliani is a hapless altar boy in his extramarital affairs. It’s so lovely that Fox fights for the American family (or, at least, horny dads and Other Women– as long as they’re neocons). How can Fox’s talking heads look in the mirror without puking or laughing? Or laughing until they puke (which is what I tend to do when I watch them)?
August 13th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Wow, Alan, lots of praise. I missed it though, sorry to say.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Alan, THANK YOU for doing this. I had been very down on your lately because of the fixed nature of the show you are on, but this gave me hope for you. When I read this on newshounds and watched the videos it was hard not to stand up and applaud. You were up as usual against 3 conservatives who all are given more mic time than you, and you absolutely destroyed them with that arguement. THANK YOU. Its about time someone brings that up.
Apparently though if you listen to these people in here, its ok to cheat on your wife, as long as the reason is because you were in a war prior to doing it? Sounds like the conservative family values to me.
Dont sweat it when these people get mad at you though, thats your job. You work on a network that is overwhelmingly watched by the fringe right. Anything you say that isnt part of their faux white house talking points brainwashing will set them ablaze. It means you did a good job.
Once again thank you, that was AWESOME. Please keep it up through the election.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Kudos to you Alan for bringing up the obvious argument that nobody else has.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Oh, and incidentally, I’m a moderate conservative who hadn’t decided between Obama and McCain yet. If today’s Republicans could be smarter (impossible, with the “intellectual BAD! sheep GOOD!” mentality), they wouldn’t alienate me and my kind by labeling us flaming liberals because we won’t let go of the common sense of Barry Goldwater.
I also love how today’s neocons resort to the same, lame tactics in debate and persuation…
1) Nasty-name calling.
2) Racism (Calling Obama “Buckwheat,” Marty? Thanks for showing your true racist stripes!)
3) Patronizing denial that the opponent actually believes what they’re saying (”Oh, c’mon, you’re smarter than that,” or “What you meant to say was…” and my favorite, above, “You were way off base, and I think you know that…”)
4) On TV, asking a guest a loaded question, and when the guest asks for clarification, they accuse the guest of evading the question, or
5) insisting it’s a “simple yes-or-no question” or
6) interrupting the guest when they start answering the question or saying something of substance.
You know what the kicker is? I liked McCain a lot more before I saw the show! It made me realize we don’t need the “Other Woman” in the White House.
Done.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Great job, Alan. I would’ve liked to see you bring up Rudy Giuliani’s affairs and I understand why you can’t.
However, if you did, I could just hear Hannity’s response: “But, but – 9/11! 9/11!”
August 13th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Alan u did good and i hope you’ll bring up the other examples of GOP cheating like newt gingrich, rudy G, henry hyde, bob livingston, bob barr, dan burton, david vitter, larry craig, vito fossella etc. & your partner has it half right in that GOP may get more scrutny about there affairs but not because they have morals and dems don’t but they try to shove there morals down everyone else’s throats.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
So being a POW excuses adultery? Is there a statute of limitations on the wrongness of extramarital affairs?
FINALLY, you landed a clean LEFT to Hannity’s chin, Alan. Well done!
You’ve got other ammo to toss at him, too: Giuliani and Gingrich, to name a few. And didn’t the GOP’s St. Ronald Reagan cheat on Jane Wyman? You better wear your body armor to work if you decide to bring up THAT little nugget of truth, Alan!
August 13th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Hannity asks why there is a double standard when it comes to affairs. Here it is Sean: Republicans preach about morals, Christianity, and gay marriage (as if THEY are the only party who has them). Then it’s reported that they cheated and/or are gay. Democrats don’t do that! That’s the difference, Sean.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Good job Alan! I didn’t think you had it in you to stand up to bully boy. Keep it up, keep the pressure on those right wing blow hards.
As for the negative posts on this blog, well, just look at the grammar and spelling; I can only guess that the right has lots of supporters who made it all the way to the third grade.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Kudos to you Alan!. Don’t you worry at all about the ratings. The people who do the right thing has an added advantage – They sleep well at night. No amount of prescriptions and money from corporations can buy conscience and peace of mind.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Hannity MUST have known this McCain issue was coming. That’s why I’m STUNNED that the only defense Hannity could come up for McCain’s infidelity was that McCain was a POW for 5 1/2 years.
Even hardcore Foxbots must have had to shake their heads in disbelief. That’s so desperate, so ludicrous it’s laughable. But what should we EXPECT from a three-time college dropout like Hannity?
August 13th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
MG: So being a POW excuses adultery?
No, not according to John McCain.
“McCain himself admitted he was unfaithful to her in his memoir, “Faith of My Fathers,” blaming the marriage’s collapse on “my own selfishness and immaturity. … I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the [stress of] war. The blame was entirely mine.”
“My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25,” Carol McCain, John McCain’s first wife told Britain’s Mail on Sunday.
So much for Hannity’s ridiculous idea that McCain’s being a POW excuses his infidelity to his wife.
http://letustalk.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/mac-daddy-mccain/
August 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
It’s about time someone in the media make the connection. Thanks, Alan. You did good. Ignore the ignorant fools who are unwilling to see the hypocrisy of blasting Edwards, but giving McCain a pass for the same thing. They are both scumbags for doing what they did to their wives. But, by the way, John Edwards is not the democratic nominee. So why this is even such a big issue is beyond me. Oh, that’s right, it must be Obama’s fault some how. Silly me.
August 13th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Well done, Alan!
August 13th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
In case somebody didn’t mention it, McCain reportedly had an affair with Vicki Ismeman (thirty years his junior). Evidently this was a real big concern for his staff when he run for president back in 2000.
Ismeman was a lobbyist and a partner at the firm Alcade and Fray, that represented telecommunications companies while McCain chaired the Commerce Committee.Iseman’s clients gave tens of thousands of dollars to the McCain campaigns. So much for Straight Talk and campaign finance reform.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Good job Alan! Don’t listen to wackjobs like “Wally.” They are bitter Americans who cling to their guns, bibles and collect food stamps because they are too unstable and uneducated to keep a job.
The problem with these so-called christian conservatives is they preach one thing, but live a different lifestyle. When caught, they rely on the Hannitys of the airwaves to bail them out.
Just because someone is a POW, does not excuse their bad behavior. Using the excuse “I’m a POW” to justify your bad or criminal behavior is an insult to honest veterans.
Your pal Hannity does a disservice to Americans, because he is willing to coverup for McCain, just like he did with Rudy and Newt.
Too me, he’s not a “Great American.”
August 13th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Too=to
August 13th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Props to you Alan for speaking truth and pointing out the hypocrisy of the Right. You will never penetrate the Bozone layer, but you make those of us in the Reality-based community proud.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I thought you made a very good point. I we would spend more time looking at the positives of a person than the negatives we truly could move forward. Whither It is Edwards or McCain Adultry is wrong.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
So pleased to see your performance yesterday Alan – you kicked the stacked house of cards the sanctimonious prick Hannity builds for himself right out from under him. Jeez – the post-show debriefing must have been marvellous. How about sneaking a recorder in for some of the off-air discussions?
Look forward with keen anticipation to today’s installment – please oh please ask the idiot how Giuliani, his choice for President in those days when he was deriding McCain, escapes the ‘trust an adulterer? Not unless he was a POW’ morality clause.
Just a teeny bit more on the McCain adultery thing – before he even went to Vietnam, crashed all those planes, spilled his guts at every opportunity, co-operated by saying whatever his captors (the ‘gooks’ as he fondly calls them) asked him to, he actually romanced Wife #1, young mother of two, and broke up her first marriage.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
You know, it’s amazing how the extremists on the Right-Wing are so quick to pounce on ANY type of infidelity involving a Democrat/Liberal. However, if a Democrat/Liberal does the exact same thing to a Republican/Right Winger, then they are viewed as Anti-American.
I guess I shouldn’t be amazed after all, they all swim in so much hypocrisy that they’re blind to any inconvenient truths that are headed their way. Alan, you have my complete support. Keep up the good work.
August 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Props to you Alan! Thanks for bringing this up, it’s time to end this malarky that it’s ok do do whatever you’d like as long as there’s an (R) after your name. It’s about time that these folks have to live in the world they’ve helped to create…
August 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Well Alan you certainly kicked up a storm last night. I bet your viewing figures go through the roof today (That’s if your still employed)Everybody’s waiting for the next Instalment of ‘When Alan got religion’, or maybe ‘St Alan Vs the dragon’, Anyhow is there a mini revolution going on at fox, first Chris Wallace lambastes lying McCain surrogates about the recent smear Ads. Whatever it is your drinking thats giving you courage to be a true devil’s advocate, share the taste with those other fools at fox & friends, especially Steve (Bratman) Doocey and side prick Brian (Robin) Killmead and the bimbo blond. Bill O’s another matter, give him a kick up the Ass for me.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Am an alien studying in the US and am surprised at the sheer stupidity of colmes and the so called liberals in htis country.I woder howw how you managed to pass your high school diploma, if you were my student your best grade probably will be D.
Some of US studying are so much ashamed at the apparent stupidity that comes from the so called liberals in this country. Why cann’t you people be objective a bit, some of you(liberals)have made to us have a low view about some Americans, no wonder educational standards are at its lowest ebb if talk show host and their imperciptible listners could be so ignorant and inept to listen to these liberals
August 13th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Wally sounds like one of those “brave” little Chickenhawks out there who love to roost in the Republican Party.
Fantastic Rebuttal – hopefully Fox didn’t whip you too bad for not sticking to the “talking points”.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
You are a disgraceful, disgusting person who should be ashamed of himself. You obviously just don’t get it. You sound so stupid and weak night after night. Anybody with your opinions and beliefs can not truly call themselves an American. I truly believe you hate America and everything it stands for. Half the things you say on the H&C show have got to be for entertainment purposes, no one can be that ignorant!
All of your idols: William Ayers, Carter, Rev. Wrong, The whole Obama family and every other liberal all hate America and their words and actions in the past have proven this to be true. Just like you, they should all move to France and bash this great country from over there. People like you and have your beliefs are the problem, so just pack up and get the hell out! Your kind are not wanted here and not liked by 90% of this country. Liberal=Anti-American.
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Tom, One can ALSO write to ANY right winger
Dear Rush or Hannity,
You are a disgraceful, disgusting person who should be ashamed of himself. You obviously just don’t get it. You sound so stupid and weak night after night. Anybody with your opinions and beliefs can not truly call themselves an American. I truly believe you hate America and everything it stands for. Half the things you say on the H&C show have got to be for entertainment purposes, no one can be that ignorant!
All of your idols: THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY, PAT ROBERTSON andThe WHOLE BUSH FAMILY and every other CONSERVATIVE all hate America and their words and actions in the past have proven this to be true. Just like you, they should all move to DUBAI and bash this great country from over there. People like you and have your beliefs are the problem, so just pack up and get the hell out! Your kind are not wanted here and not liked by 90% of this country. CONSERVATIVE = ANTI-AMERICAN
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
See, this is what the left thinks of the right wing gasbags!!
August 13th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
fran wrote,
“Am an alien studying in the US and am surprised at the sheer stupidity of colmes and the so called liberals in htis country.I woder howw how you managed to pass your high school diploma, if you were my student your best grade probably will be D.”
………………………………..
I woder howw many immigrants or visitors to the US refer to themselves as “aliens”.
Nobody I knew ever did.
I hope you are not teaching English!
August 13th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
It’s great to see that you have the same level of intelligence as your buddy Colmes. You don’t even have the brains to come up with something original (or correct). I notice you left out Mccain when mentioning people who hate America, at least you have enough smarts to realize he is a true American HERO who cherishes this country, unlike your pathetic, ignorant, inexperienced, american hating candidate. Open your eyes and realize Liberalism Lies! Conservatives base our opinions on facts, Liberals base their opinions on feelings. Gasbags? Pelosi and the other liberals who cater to the enviromental whackos like you are finally caving to the drill here, drill now campain! Sorry, but a few porcupine carribou will loose some land and we can finally get back to $2.32 for a gallon of gas. Remember, before the Dems took over Congress. Guess the Repubs were right all along, as usuall.
P.S. There is a N in wonder and only one W in how! Typical Liberal.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Sorry Tom (YoungRighty), but when you point your twisted little finger at others for typos, better be prepared to wear the same for yours…
a N – should be ‘an N’
Mccain – should have the second C capitalised
carribou – spelling
american hating – wtf??
usuall – spelling
Must try harder, troll.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
That was my point! Thanks for making it loud and clear “Big John”. I guess your the english teacher who taught oldlefty, i should have sat in your classroom. Troll=wtf??? I bet your 5′7″ and weigh 150lbs. This is the only time you get to call someone names, hiding behind your keyboard. People like me protect your skinny, out of shape ass and give you the right to speak freely on your computer, nerd. Ya know, us conservative (military, law enforcement, etc…) types.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Alan I was happy to hear you bring up the truth about mccain,stones shouldn’t be thrown.. by those that have have their own affairs.. IT’S ABOUT TIME,THAT THE WORD IS OUT ON MCCAIN.. MCCAIN IS NO BETTER THAN JOHN EDWARDS…IF EDWARDS SHOULDN’T BE OUT OF POLITICS SO SHOULD MCCAIN.. BEING A POW IS NO EXCUSE FOR AN AFFAIR.. HANNITY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HISSELF.. MAKING THAT EXCUSE.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
You hit the nail on the head with this one. Im glad you said it. He cheated on his wife POW or not. And he is no better than Edwards in that respect. I am glad you said it. I just wish it could be played over and over again on every news station. McCain does not represent the ideal American just because he was a POW. He is human and he also did a horrible thing by cheating on his bedridden wife. The shame of anyone vietnam vet or anyone to speak on his defense. He did a horrible thing. But I guess its ok for Conservatives to cheat on their wives and not be questioned.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Sean,
You looked like a true fool yesterday trying to defend McCain’s Adultery! Even McCain didn’t use that lame POW excuse. So being a POW excuses adultery? What other valid excuses are there for Adultery? Why don’t you write your next book on valid Adultery excuses with your crazy panel as co-authors? I am sure you would make a mint. It would be a great guide to clear all the adulterers and those who are thinking of cheating.
According to John McCain.
“McCain himself admitted he was unfaithful to her in his memoir, “Faith of My Fathers,” blaming the marriage’s collapse on “my own selfishness and immaturity. … I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the [stress of] war. The blame was entirely mine.”
“My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25,” Carol McCain, John McCain’s first wife told Britain’s Mail on Sunday.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Hey McCain! I am not Georgian and you don’t speak for me!!
August 14th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Kudos Alan! Thank you for helping Hannity reveal even further just how “proud he is to be ignorant.” The repugs want to have it both ways: on the one hand they say the Vietnam experience made McBedwetter a hero. On the other hand, they admit he’s an adulturer and ignore it! Wow, I’m sorry, but your employer has truly helped to elevate some seriously stupid people to stardom!
August 14th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Sean you should have let dead dogs lie. Even McCain when asked about Edwards smartly said “I have no comment” I guess he didn’t as he cheated by his own admission on his first wife and married the skeleton one month after his divorce.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Tom,
Have you stopped taking your meds, again?? Please, put your guns/toys away and go to bed.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Nice Job Alan! I don’t watch fox news because of the many fools that spew poison to America (Hannity). Picked this topic on MSNBC so other news channels are carrying it too. If Hannity wants to make Edwards cheating an issue then McCain’s cheating will be front and center too. I bet the McCain camp is really thanking Hannity for this one! Idiots!
August 14th, 2008 at 12:56 am
Ok everyone let’s have some Bi-Partisan compromise!
McCain is a HERO and ADULTERER!
August 14th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Finally Allen, Nice work!
I believe you mentioned once that your contract forbids direct confrontation with Hannity.
Too Bad. Besides just holding your ground as you did on this night, I think the ratings would go up dramatically if you were to engage and expose Hannity’s hypocrisy more often.
Good Job!
August 14th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Here I am, a first-time poster, and I just had to respond to “Tom.”
Tom (YoungRighty):
First of all, time does not permit me to explain the economics of oil, but suffice to say that drilling for oil will not do ANYTHING to lower the price of gas now.
Second, your statement “That was my point…” makes absolutely no sense in relation to the previous post.
Third, so I guess that only conservatives can be protectors of people’s rights? I guess there are no liberals in law enforcement or the military?
The hypocrisy and ignorance of you right-wingers never ceases to amaze me Tom. Like Fox “News,” all you can do is spout tired cliches and discredited lies, and then shout “America-hater” when someone calls you on it. But that is just normal life in the “bizzaro” world that you and the rest of the conservative kool-aid drinkers inhabit, eh?
Finally, let me just say that I won’t need anybody to protect my 5′9″, 225lb. (of pure muscle) “ass” anytime soon.
Oh yeah, when referring to someone, the proper usage is “you’re” (not your, you little prick).
August 14th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Well folks, seems I kicked up a storm with this one. After the show Sean ran into the studio’s bathroom yelling and screaming for Management and his Lawyers (guess he needed to check over the small print to see where it says I have a right to criticize him, guess what? I do. It took Bill O’Reilly an hour and half to coax him out of the cubical, don’t even want to think about that scenario)But I can promise you from now on that I will be more aggressive with all those far right neocons in future. Oh yeah I think Sean’s gonna bring out his extension of his Dick (Karl Rove) tonight to try and justify his foolishness and ignorance. I take Kirsten Powers anyday over him. Thank you all for helping me into the light. Keep watching it’s gonna get interesting. (My contracts up for review in a months time and im holding out for a pay rise and the shows title to be changed to H & Colmes) Ps did you catch when Newt gingrich stated when questioned that i just wanted to pick a fight. Ahh I feel so Liberated) Have a nice day.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:23 am
“Watching this from across the pond, I can only surmise that American politics is really a reality T.V show, big on entertainment and low brow banter.”
You got it right, except you probably don’t realize that EVERYTHING in contemporary America is a low-rent reality show.
We don’t do ANYTHING real anymore. It’s ALL show biz. Especially our politics.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Mr. Colmes, I just wanted to say that I could not be more proud of you. I wish we could award you a gold medal (for bravery? I don’t know). This indeed might be a turning point in the greater struggle against corrupt conservative policies.
I am somewhat afraid however as to how this will play out at Fox News. If Fox News is smart (a reach I know), they will actually encourage this newer, aggressive stance, as I can guarantee that viewership will go up.
Thank you again, Mr. Colmes.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Thanks Mr. Colmes for the smackdown on your partner, Hannity.If he can rant about Edwards, then McCain is fair game. The whole segment on Michelle Obama’s body language was asinine. But having done that,to be fair, he has to do a segment on surgical enhancement or drug addiction with Cindy McCain as it’s focus.
You and Kirsten Powers seen to be the only folks at Fox who didn’t drink the Kool-Aid. Never get that thirsty.
Congratulations. Your show is improving now that you’ve come ‘untethered’.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Tom, you’re so good for a giggle. You remind me of the Twisted Sister video from the ’80s: “Yer all worthless an’ weak! Drop and give me 20!”
Well, baby– Just like in the song, We’re not gonna take it anymore.
And I love how you argue that conservatives are all about FACT, versus liberal FEELING. You really peppered THIS post with a lot of unfeeling “fact,” didn’t you? Or maybe conservative FEELING is FACT:
“You are a disgraceful, disgusting person who should be ashamed of himself. You obviously just don’t get it. [TOM, YOU'RE SO CLICHE!] You sound so stupid and weak night after night. Anybody with your opinions and beliefs can not truly call themselves an American.[Because America's all about Republican groupthink, right Tom?] I truly believe you hate America and everything it stands for. Half the things you say on the H&C show have got to be for entertainment purposes, no one can be that ignorant!
All of your idols: William Ayers, Carter, Rev. Wrong, The whole Obama family and every other liberal all hate America and their words and actions in the past have proven this to be true. Just like you, they should all move to France and bash this great country from over there. People like you and have your beliefs are the problem, so just pack up and get the hell out! Your kind are not wanted here and not liked by 90% of this country. Liberal=Anti-American.
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.”
Wow. I’m so impressed by your emotional distance and your practical analysis.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Alan
You look and sound like a real Idiot.
Good way to start a critique – make some derogatory personal comments having ne bearing on the topic being discussed.
Karl Rove, is that you?
Tonight you proved it with the comments you make about John McCain. You are a real rude person to the people on the show that don’t listen and agree with your stupid ideas.
As opposed to the real rude persons on the show (not to mention Spawn Spammity by name or anything) to the people on the show that don’t listen and agree with stupid Republican’t propaganda being catapulted by conservitards on the show?
Do you think of that people can respect and listen to someone like you?
Do you think that people can respect and listen to your hypocritical lies and distortions of the facts?
You should just go work for O’Bama and assist him in destruction of our Country.
As opposed to your noble efforts on behalf of Johnathon Sidney McCain the Third (R – Blue Blood by Trophy Wife) to help ruin this great nation?
Could Marty please pick up the clue phone in the lobby?
You seem more interested in supporting someone who just want to take from the hard working people, and give to all those people who like handouts.
Corpo-weasels, come on down! You’ve been selected to keep on getting your welfare checks from the american people!
You must want our country to become a WELFARE STATE.
The current junta has already made it a corporate welfare state. It sounds like you’re looking forward to continuing to give hard-working americans’ tax dollars to your corporate masters. Good Republican’t troll!
Its Men like McCain who died and suffered for you to be safe and the right to MOVE YOUR MOUTH on TV everyday.
It was men like Wes Clark, too. Or does it only count if you’re a Republican’t shill who goes to war for your country?
You stooped to the lowest level with your remarks tonight about him.
As opposed to the even lower level of Spammity and the rest of the Republican’t shills catapulting Republican’t propaganda about Democrats?
There’s a call for you on the blatantly hypocritical iceholes line now, too…
You should be really ashame of yourself, for those words.
Marty
You know, if it was possible for a Republican’t to actually feel shame, I would say that you should be ashamed of yourself, too.
Smarter Republican’t Putsch fellators, please…
=======
Also: big time props to you, Mr Colmes, for standing up to the Republican’t propaganda machine that is Faux Snooze. More of this, please…
August 14th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Hey Alan,
Thanks for standing up to the thugs. Being a POW’s not an excuse for cheating on the wife who waited patiently for you. McCain might have been standup guy while in captivity and I respect him for that but he was an a**hole before and ever since he got back. His wife deserved better. Thanks again.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Edwards = adulterer
McCain = adulterer
Case closed. Any questions?
August 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Taken from a review on Amazon.com for “Losing a Child: Explorations in Grief”:
Thirty years later my friend Jim Fitzgerald and I were meeting with a couple who had lost their only son to Paxil-induced suicide. Although there was no way that we could fully appreciate everything that they had been through, to do our jobs properly we had to try “wearing their shoes even if they pinch, and then writing [or telling] their story.” But first we had to tune in to their suffering in a way which would help them to believe that we at least had some inkling of its nature and its magnitude. So Jim began our meeting with a story of his own. He told how his 17 year old father lied about his age and joined the Marine Corps at the start of WWII; how he was captured when the US Embassy he was guarding was overrun by the Japanese; and how he then was forced to perform slave labor as a POW for the rest of the War. After the War, Jim’s father was married and had two sons. One bleak cold morning, Jim’s brother had a fatal accident with water and an electric toaster. Fifty years later a friend was interviewing Mr. Fitzgerald about the trials and tribulations of his long and distinguished life. “What was the worst part?” she asked. With no hesitation at all, he answered, “when I lost my son.”
(At least Edwards is still with his wife. If he divorces her and marries Ms. Hunter, then you can compare him to John McCain.)
August 14th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Mr. Colmes, your comment comparing Edward’s infidelity to McCain’s is the kind of logical thinking and bold statement you find on a legitimate news channel. Please oh please stop that. This country would suffer greatly if Fox could be considered anything but a GOP propaganda machine!
August 14th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Cheating is cheating. It does not matter if you are Bill Clinton, John McCain, John Edwards, Newt Gingrich or David Vitter. Time is not an issue either. If it was one second ago or thirty years ago when the act took place. Some Conservatives claim that McCain’s time in Vietnam was trauma enough to excuse his infidelity. That is a cop out at best and a horrible excuse at worst. If we use that twisted logic then stressful situations can push McCain towards bad decisions. This is not even an issue in reality. Edwards cheating is of no consequence due to the fact that he is not even in the running for the Presidency. McCain is. But this is just like Conservatives to make a big fuss about sex and peoples private lives. They always exhibit their Puritanical roots when sex is involved. Lets talk about real issues and get away from tabloid mentality topics. How about energy, the 2/3 of corporations that have not paid taxes during the 1998 to 2007 time period, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Health Care, and any thing else that will actually affect our lives? What is even worse than cheating is when some Conservatives give McCain a pass on his cheating heart because he is a so-called hero. Hero or not, cheating is cheating.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
So using Hannity’s logic: if McCain were to cheat us, the American people, by violating his oath of office, we shall forgive him…because he was a POW.
Makes me wonder if Hannity will excuse the actions of every man who has ever been a prisoner of war? Regardless of his crimes. Pathetic!
And more pathetic are all the people in this forum defending Hannity’s comments. Shame on y’all.
This is sad. Conservatives have no moral base anymore, they have now lost the one thing they once took pride in. They are now justifying adultery on national TV.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Hannity sucks.. McCain is a cheater and in my book no hero. Why is he a hero? Is every POW a hero and qualified to serve as commander and cheif? I THINK NOT! Not to take away from McCain’s POW experience but this hero thing is too much! What heroic actions did he do?
August 14th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
McCain wasn’t in too much trauma from his POW experience cause he sure went after some new Cindy kitty while he was still married. What a low life! He cheated and she is a slut for cheating with a married man.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Go Alan! What a way to make that loud mouth Hannity pop his cork. There is no excuse for cheating. None! Not even being a POW. I have not respect for John McCain or Cindy McCain. They were both wrong.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
“Contrast this to the Irak war, where Americans can now travel to Irak and tour there, the people are more prosperous and free than ever before.”
Please, Bradley, do us all a favor and take that tour, but remember not to engage in any of your typical clay-eating while over there, as the soil is impregnated with depleted uranium.
“People like me protect your skinny, out of shape ass and give you the right to speak freely on your computer, nerd. Ya know, us conservative (military, law enforcement, etc…) types.”
Dear Tom (YoungRighty), thanks for your service to this country as a Mall Ninja. Keep those Cinnabons safe from all Islamofasciomexilesbolibruls, brave Freeper son.
Lastly, thank you, Mr. Colmes, for finally taking your badger-haired, troglodyte co-host to the woodshed. You took his ass to the “pwnshop”, and he doesn’t have enough juice to redeem it anytime soon. Keep it up.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Tonight dad, hit Hannity on this point. Ask him does he really want a nutcase in the Whitehouse?
John McCain’s suicide attempt and his resulting PTSD
By Ted Sampley
U.S. Veteran Dispatch
December 23, 2007
Presidential candidate John McCain’s recently released Christmas ad depicting him as a tortured POW survivor underscores a reoccurring theme McCain’s handlers have, for decades, carefully intertwined deep into his public persona and political campaigns.
McCain says because he survived 5½ years of brutal torture, while a prisoner of the communist Vietnamese, he is better qualified to be president of the United States than any other candidate. McCain claims his POW sufferings included three years in solitary confinement where he was tortured so badly that he “broke,” causing him to attempt suicide.
What McCain’s promoters have carefully edited out of their McCain-for-president equation is his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Department of Defense psychiatrists have evaluated McCain for PTSD several times, the results of which remain locked by privacy laws.
PTSD can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm occurred or was threatened. U.S. government studies have concluded that former POWs “may remain embroiled in a harsh psychological battle with themselves for decades after returning home.”
An outcome of PTSD is a subtle web of personal problems including difficulty in controlling intense emotions such as anger and an inability to function well under stress.
Psychologist Patricia B. Sutker of the New Orleans Veterans Administration Medical Center and her colleagues reported in a 1991 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry that as many as nine of 10 surviving U.S. servicemen taken captive during the Korean War may suffer from PTSD and other mental disorders more than 35 years after their release.
In a follow-up study, VA experts concluded that POWs suffer “a much greater risk of developing PTSD than combat veterans.”
Robert Timberg, in his book, The Nightingale’s Song, wrote that POW McCain “suffered terribly in North Vietnamese camps.”
Timberg wrote that in July 1968, McCain was taken to a room in which the North Vietnamese POW camp commander, whom the prisoners had nicknamed “Slopehead,” was waiting with 10 guards and an interrogator nicked named “The Prick.”
The guards, according to Timberg, charged into McCain, beating and kicking him until he “lay on the floor, bloody, arms and legs throbbing, ribs cracked, several teeth broken off at the gumline.” The Vietnamese wanted McCain to confess to being a war criminal.
It was then and there that McCain, Timberg noted, was introduced for the first time to the “torture ropes.” He wrote that McCain was tortured for several days before he broke and signed a confession that he was a war criminal. After signing the confession, McCain was so distraught that he attempted suicide but was stopped when a guard burst into the room.
Over the years, countless numbers of columnist/pundits have nearly drowned in their own drool suggesting McCain’s POW experience greatly qualifies him to be president.
Washington Post columnist George Will once wrote that because McCain was such an “obstinate” POW hero resister, he was kept “in solitary confinement most of that time … Every day for two years, one of his guards ordered him to bow, and then knocked him down.”
Another columnist/pundit wrote, “McCain is a war hero … He was tossed into the infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison camp, where he was hung by his fractured arms for hours at a time.”
In the last two weeks before Christmas 2007, McCain is riding high on a new round of high-profile endorsements.
The New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed McCain on Dec. 16. Then former Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), gave his blessings followed by “back-to-back-to-back endorsements from three other major newspapers, The Des Moines Register, The Boston Globe and The Portsmouth Herald.”
The New Hampshire Union Leader wrote, “Sen. McCain is much more than just a war hero who chose to endure years of abuse at the hands of a sadistic enemy rather than abandon his comrades.”
The Des Moines Register wrote. “In an era of instant celebrity, we sometimes forget the real heroes in our midst. The defining chapter of McCain’s life came 40 years ago as a naval aviator, when he was shot down over Vietnam. The crash broke both arms and a leg. When first seeing him, a fellow prisoner recalls thinking he wouldn’t live the night. He was beaten and kept in solitary confinement, held five years. Sen. McCain is much more than just a war hero who chose to endure years of abuse at the hands of a sadistic enemy rather than abandon his comrades.”
The Portsmouth Herald wrote, “As a former prisoner of war who was denied medical care and beaten by the North Vietnamese, McCain understands at the deepest level that torturing helpless prisoners who may or may not have some information …”
Unfortunately for McCain, the baggage that accompanies understanding “the deepest level” of torture and especially “attempted suicide” is the psychological trauma known as PTSD.
During McCain’s 1999 presidential campaign, he carefully controlled the release of some “redacted medical records” in what appeared to be an effort to counter discussions of whether McCain’s legendary “short fuse” temperament makes him unfit to serve as president and commander in chief of the military. His campaign did not allow any pages to be photocopied and selectively picked news organizations to examine the records.
The 1999 campaign released a statement by Dr. Michael M. Ambrose, director of the Robert E. Mitchell Center for Prisoner of War Studies, that said: ”Senator McCain has never been diagnosed with or treated at the center for a psychological or psychiatric disorder. He has been subject to an extensive battery of psychological tests and following his last examination in 1993, we judged him to be in good physical and mental health.”
The doctors said McCain explained that while in solitary confinement he created for himself a fantasy world in which he lived. The doctors said McCain always heard the guards coming with his food, but “was often so much in his private world, that he strongly resented their coming around and bringing him back to reality by intruding. He was enjoying his fantasies so much.”
Members of the two major POW/MIA family organizations know the “real” John McCain and they despise him. They have experienced firsthand his cruel, angry temperament.
In 1996, McCain encountered a group of POW/MIA family members outside a Senate hearing room. The family members were some of the same who worked tirelessly during the Vietnam War to make sure Hanoi released all U.S. POWs – including POW McCain.
McCain immediately began quarreling with the POW/MIA family members, who were eager to question him on the issue of what happened to their loved ones.
Instead showing courtesy and appropriate compassion by answering their questions, the Arizona senator pushed through the group, shoving them out of his way, nearly toppling the wheelchair of POW/MIA mother Jane Duke Gaylor. Her son, Charles Duke, a civilian worker in Vietnam, is among 2,300 American POWs and MIAs still unaccounted for by the communists.
The POW/MIA families, shocked at McCain’s overly aggressive behavior toward Mrs. Gaylor, registered complaints with senate officials.
In an earlier incident involving families of servicemen still MIA, McCain got so angry that he went ballistic.
McCain was advised (Nov. 11, 1992) that Dolores Apodaca Alfond, chairwoman of the National Alliance of POW/MIA Families (her pilot brother Capt. Victor J. Apodaca is missing in action in North Vietnam), was offering testimony critical of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. He rushed into the hearing room to confront her.
Award winning journalist Sydney Schanberg described the scene. “His face [McCain] angry and his voice very loud, he accused her of making ‘allegations … that are patently and totally false and deceptive.’
“Making a fist, he shook his index finger at her and said she had insulted an emissary to Vietnam sent by President Bush. He said she had insulted other MIA families with her remarks. And then he said, through clenched teeth: ‘And I am sick and tired of you insulting mine and other people’s [patriotism] who happen to have different views than yours.’
“By this time, tears were running down Alfond’s cheeks. She reached into her handbag for a handkerchief. She tried to speak: ‘The family members have been waiting for years — years! And now you’re shutting down.’ He kept interrupting her. She tried to say, through tears, that she had issued no insults. He kept talking over her words. He said she was accusing him and others of ’some conspiracy without proof, and some cover-up.’ She said she was merely seeking ’some answers. That is what I am asking.’ He ripped into her for using the word ‘fiasco.’ She replied: ‘The fiasco was the people that stepped out and said we have written the end, the final chapter to Vietnam.’ ‘No one said that,’ he shouted. ‘No one said what you are saying they said, Ms. Alfond.’ And then, his face flaming pink, he stalked out of the room, to shouts of disfavor from members of the audience.”
POW families were even more angered when they saw McCain actually bonding with his former torturers during and after the 1992 Senate Select Committee hearings on POW/MIA Affairs. Psychologist have identified behavior in which a prisoner emotionally bonds with an abuser as the Stockholm Syndrome.
The first display of bonding occurred when Col. Bui Tin, a former senior colonel in the North Vietnamese Army who had actually interrogated McCain and other U.S. prisoners, testified before the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs.
During a break in the hearing, McCain moved to where Col. Bui Tin was seated. Instead of grabbing Bui Tin by the neck and demanding his arrest for war crimes against U.S. POWs, McCain reached out and warmly hugged his former interrogator as if he were a long lost brother. Never mind that at least 55 American POW were murdered by interrogators and guards while in North Vietnamese prisoner of war camps.
In a 1992 visit to Hanoi, McCain warmly greeted Vietnam Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, who had been a ranking Communist Party member of the secret Viet Cong National Liberation Front Central Committee during the Vietnam War.
As a senior Central Committee member, Kiet was responsible for helping formulate Viet Cong policy, which included ordering American POWs to be punished by execution.
On orders issued by Kiet’s Viet Cong Central Committee, three U.S POWs, Special Forces Capt. “Rocky” Versace, Special Forces Sgt. Kenneth Mills Roraback and Army Sgt. Harold Bennett were publicly executed by the Viet Cong on Sunday, Sept. 26, 1965
On a Nov. 13, 1996 trip to Hanoi, McCain posed for a picture embracing Mai Van On, one of the Vietnamese who pulled McCain from Hanoi’s Truc Bach Lake, where McCain parachuted in 1967 after his bomber was shot down. McCain has said many times that after being pulled from the lake, his Vietnamese rescuers brutally beat him and stabbed him with a bayonet.
Early in 2007, columnist Sidney Blumenthal, who once served as a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, questioned if McCain’s “volatile temper” might derail his bid to be President.
Blumenthal wrote that the senator’s temper sometimes surfaces in the form of obscenities: “McCain’s political colleagues, however, know another side of the action hero — a volatile man with a hair-trigger temper, who shouted at Sen. Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor to ’shut up,’ called his fellow Republican senators ’shithead,’ ‘f******* jerk,’ ‘a**hole,’ and joked in 1998 at a Republican fundraiser about the teenage daughter of President Clinton, ‘Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.’”
Regardless of all the obvious signs pointing to McCain’s PTSD, the one outstanding fact is that McCain, by his own admission, broke under the stress of captivity and tried to kill himself.
National columnists and pundits have, so far, given McCain a “free pass” on the attempted suicide. Would the other presidential candidates be treated with the same indifference if they had an attempted suicide in their biographies?
August 14th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Anyone who has been in prison or a POW, should not hold high political office as their Judgements and rational in definitely impaired. Anyone who has experienced forced confinement will tell you that on release they weren’t the same person before they were confined. This is just 1 of many reasons I believe JH cannot be president. On seeing his reactions on Georgia in Interviews, I was alarmed at how easy it would be for this man to get us Involved in a war on 4 fronts. (Russia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan)Listen the surge wont work on Russia, they have nukes. Expose the fools Alan. Keep it up
August 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
in=is
August 14th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
So happy that you confronted Hannity about McCain’s indiscretion. Hannity was pontificating against Edwards’s indiscretion, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his own words could be justly used against McCain.
I feel that you are often too soft on Hannity. who needs to be “bowled over” more often! He loves to hear his own voice and talks over people with a holier-than-though, self-righteousness that needs knocked down a notch.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Alan -
Great job! That arrogant, know-it-all Hannity needed knocked down a few pegs. He made a complete ass out of himself; even my conservative friends were pissed at him for having the nerve to suggest that McCain gets a “free pass” to commit adultery based on the fact he was a POW.
What kind of mental / emotional damage did his 1st wife have to go through? Does Sean think that his wife was happily going about her business not knowing if her husband was even alive, thinking about her husband being possibly tortured, raising three kids on her own, trying to explain to those children that they may never see their father again? That woman faithfully waited over five years for her husband, had a life threating car accident which changed his life; and this is what she gets for her loyalty?
What does being a POW have to do with cheating on your wife? Did the voices in his head drive him to stick his “wee-wee” in another woman?
August 15th, 2008 at 1:55 am
LoL Danielle, you joker ‘wee wee’. ha ha, I bet hannity would say that JMc was going through emotional anguish while he was pressing CMc and rubbing her plastic tiddys. LoL
August 15th, 2008 at 4:36 am
Congrats to Alan for finally growing a pair – False Noise must not have picked up your contract, which would explain your getting off your knees for once!
August 15th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Alan, I had my issues with Mc Cain’s infidelity, but I managed to sort of push it out of my mind until I heard what you had to say. Then, I decided to look into it myself. I didn’t know about his wife’s terrible accident while he was gone. Good heavens, not only did Mc Cain break his marriage vows through adultery, but also through “in sickness and in health.” I’m seeing things a little more clearly now, and I don’t think I can vote for a man who can’t even uphold the 10 Commandments. I may not be able to vote for Obama, but Mc Cain will never get my vote. His actions are enough to keep me away from the voting booth.
August 15th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
ALAN,YOU KEEP SAYING WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO DO IT ON OUR OWN.
WE DO,WE HAVE MORE NATURAL GAS THAN WE NEED ADD THAT TO ALL THE OIL THAT IS NOW STILL NOT BEING DRILLED.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I am SO happy that someone pointed out McCain’s infidelities! Thank you SO much!
October 6th, 2008 at 7:49 pm