Actually, that’s not quite true: McCain wants extreme government intervention in one case. If your daughter is raped, he and his running mate want the state to mandate she gives birth. Obama is anti-abortion, but believes that the state should not make that extraordinarily difficult decision for a woman. McCain is more willing to use force and threats in foreign affairs, and Obama believes that we have to exhaust every diplomatic possibility first, including meeting with our enemies. McCain admits that he doesn’t know much about economics, and 80% of economists surveyed think an Obama presidency would be more likely to stabilize the economy.

However, questions of both skill and character are pertinent to the job of president. I want a president who is less likely than the current one to try to mislead the public. McCain has engaged in some of the most dishonorable mudslinging that we have ever seen in a race–rivaling only the kinds of lies the Bush campaign spread about him. They have–as have many Republican campaigns since Nixon, engaged in the “Southern Strategy.” Note that Ken Mehlman–former GOP chair–repudiated the use of the race wedge as a campaign technique, but since he stepped down in 07, the campaign has increasingly employed those tactics again. More directly, McCain has personally approved and defended (!) commercials that imply Obama (for example) favored sex ed for kindergartners, a claim he knows to be false and misleading. I don’t see how anyone could support a candidate who is willing to lie so openly to constituents in order to secure their vote.

Why does the comment matter? Two reasons. First of all: you ask “Who really cares?” The truth is, I don’t particularly. As I noted, I think it was just poorly chosen words. But some people do care, and I think it is wrong to assume that your opinion or mine is the only one that matters. The same could be said for McCain’s use of the word “gook.” Who cares? Not all Asian-Americans, but a reasonably large number. Obviously, nothingman cares, and I am not going to be so cavalier as to dismiss him out of hand.

But the point of the post was not that a significant number of people saw this comment and his condescending comment about Fanny and Freddy as racist. I think he’s probably just inarticulate and forgetful, and that was the main reasons for his comments. This would explain why he addressed a crowd a couple of days ago as “my fellow prisoners.” I always like to give folks the benefit of the doubt, even when the Southern Strategy hinges on people like me excusing that behavior. My problem with it was that it was openly and intentionally disrespectful of Obama–his fellow senator–and by extension those who agree with Obama. As a senator, he doesn’t have to respect is opponents, but given that he would have to work with a Democratic congress if elected president, if we want our government to be anything other than stalled, he would have to be able to work with the opposition. He’s done that in the past, but that was–as the Economist says–the “old McCain,” which was most likely a convenient farce in any case.

So, you may not care how a candidate says something, but a lot of people do. Words matter, particularly in politics. Someones ability to communicate effectively determines how capable they are of governing. Someone willing to lie and unwilling to run a respectful campaign, is in my view unfit to lead.

I also seriously doubt that this particular remark will be McCain’s “undoing”. This cannot be compared in any way to George Allen’s “macaca” remark.