[Vision2020] [Bulk] Re: [Bulk] Re: [Bulk] Re: Make-Believe Maverick

[Paul Rumelhart]

No Weatherman wrote:
> Paul:
>
> If we're not crossing wires, this is the sentence in question taken
> straight from the RS story:
>
> "By his own account, McCain was a lazy, incurious student; he squeaked
> by only by prevailing upon his buddies to help him cram for exams."
>
> Splitting hairs, but "by his own account" obviously applies to the
> remainder of the sentence but it does not necessarily apply to the
> remainder of the paragraph or the remainder of the story. I have a
> hard time believing that McCain would be so stupid as to document in a
> biography that "He continued to get sauced and treat girls badly.
> Before meeting a girlfriend's parents for the first time, McCain got
> so shitfaced that he literally crashed through the screen door when he
> showed up in his white midshipman's uniform."
>
> By the time I got to shitfaced and crashing through the screen door I
> figured that RS was taking liberties to place McCain in a false light
> with the words "by his own account." I do not know this. It's just a
> hunch and I could be dead wrong. Maybe he really admitted it but I
> hope not.
>   

I have found at least one blog post that claims that the crashing 
through the screen door event really did happen, and is recounted in 
"Faith of my Fathers".  I'll have to get a copy sometime, I'm sure it's 
an interesting read.  I went to Annapolis myself (albeit for only 2 1/2 
years), so I can relate to the amount of carousing you try to get done 
in the very little time you get off base.

Here is one such reference (I haven't found an actual quote from the 
book yet):

http://nymag.com/news/politics/encyclopedia/alcohol/

> Another example I didn't cite was the "cunt" line which the reporter
> did not substantiate and which was way over the top. I don't doubt
> that McCain led a privileged life and that he dissipated away much of
> his youth. I don't doubt he has a bad tempter. But the explicit detail
> furnished by the reporter is a different story.
>   

I haven't found a quote on this, either.  I'll have to buy the book and 
see if it's there.  Does anyone on the list here have a copy and want to 
let us know if it's in there?

> What I was trying to say is that the reporter did a clever job of
> weaving his narrative around a handful of negative quotes from 15
> different sources but none of those sources confirmed the writer's
> story at any point — especially the points that required confirmation
> — and that's the difference. It was like he air brushed a fictitious
> narrative based upon a true story around his cherry-picked quotations.
>   

There was a lot of exposition on the author's part.  It would appear, 
though, that there were actual sources that he got this stuff from.  
Your point about cherry-picked quotations is a good one.  People are 
complicated, especially if you're running for President.  This is one 
way to paint his image.  What are the other points that need to be 
brought out?

Paul