Remember when John McCain used to be the "cool Republican"? Which is about as cool as being a "cool dad," but he was genial enough. Then things happened (you betcha) and he has been bitter about it ever sense.
Last month he was at a meeting with Hispanic business leaders with fellow senators John Thune and our own Mel Martinez. According to The National Journal, he seemed a wee bit ornery:
What began as a collegial airing of views abruptly changed when McCain spoke about immigration, according to these sources, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. Anonymity was also requested by a third source, who was not at the meeting but was told, independently of the other two, that McCain had displayed his notorious temper.
"He was angry," one source said. "He was over the top. In some cases, he rolled his eyes a lot. There were portions of the meeting where he was just staring at the ceiling, and he wasn't even listening to us. We came out of the meeting really upset."
McCain's message was obvious, the source continued: After bucking hisparty on immigration, he had no sympathy for Hispanics who are
dissatisfied with President Obama's pace on the issue. "He threw out
[the words] 'You people -- you people made your choice. You made your
choice during the election,' " the source said. "It was almost as if
[he was saying] 'You're cut off!' We felt very uncomfortable when we
walked away from the meeting because of that."
When asked about it, Mel Martinez only said that McCain said, "You guys thought this guy [Obama] was going to be your savior. Where is his leadership?"
Which is almost as bitter, but not quite as out and out racist.
