McCain Dogged by Potty Mouths at Town Halls

John McCain dealt with yet another questioner at a town hall meeting Tuesday who flavored her comments with salty language -- hardly the first time the Arizona senator has fielded an obscenity-laced inquiry.

FOXNews.com

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

John McCain dealt with yet another questioner at a town hall meeting Tuesday who flavored her comments with salty language -- hardly the first time the Arizona senator has fielded an obscenity-laced inquiry.

In this case, a woman who identified herself as a McCain campaign volunteer used her question to complain that the paid staffers were not pulling their weight.

"I am going to do a little straight talk here," she said at the Rochester, N.H., forum. "Mine is not really a question. It is a statement about a lot of your campaign staff members, and I can tell you right now I know I will be on top of their s**t list but I could care less."

"Shhh!" McCain said, before the woman continued with her critical remarks.

One of the perils of McCain's open-ended town hall format is that questioners are, for the most part, free to criticize the candidate or steer the campaign conversation way off track. But the presumptive GOP presidential nominee has nevertheless given the floor to an inordinate number of potty mouths this year.

First was a woman in South Carolina who, during the Democratic primary season late last year, asked McCain of Hillary Clinton: "How do we beat the b***h?"

Then there was a man in Pipersville, Pa., last month who urged McCain not to get involved "in all that bulls**t nasty politics."

That was outdone by the audience member who asked McCain at an Iowa town hall in May whether it's true "that you called your wife a c***."

McCain, known on Capitol Hill for his temper and occasional use of foul language, has tried to tamp down on the R-rated forums.

In Pipersville, McCain chided the questioner for his language.

"This is not a mature audience," McCain said. "... I mean we want to be careful about our language. This is not an adult audience."

 

Latest Video

RCP Poll

President Obama Job Approval

RCP Average: +18.0% Details
Approve 55.8%
Disapprove 37.8%

Congressional Job Approval

RCP Average: -25.3% Details
Approve 32.0%
Disapprove 57.3%

Direction of Country

RCP Average: -19.4% Details
Right Direction 36.2%
Wrong Track 55.6%