California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Thursday he is endorsing Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
In endorsing McCain, Schwarzenegger lauded the Arizona senator's crusade against wasteful spending, his national security credentials and his environmental and economic stewardship.
Flanked by McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who endorsed McCain on Wednesday, Schwarzenegger said he was giving McCain his blessing "because I am interested in a great future and I think Sen. McCain has proven over and over again that he is reaching across the aisle in order to get things done."
"He's a great American hero and an extraordinary leader," the governor said.
I certainly have a few problems with McCain, although I do have a healthy respect for the man, and do enjoy his healthy attitude towards everyday things, like the "little jerk" video and the new hit piece coming out about him.
Arizona Sen. John McCain refused to apologize yesterday for his use of a racial slur to condemn the North Vietnamese prison guards who tortured and held him captive during the war.
"I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live."
McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, was questioned about the language because of a story last month in the Nation magazine reporting his continued use of the slur.
I can really appreciate a politician who says something controversial and not apologize for it. Everytime you hear someone "apologize", all you are getting is a "I want this to go away, so I'll pretend to be sorry" speech. I don't want that. I want honesty.
McCain made no apologies yesterday.
"I was referring to my prison guards," McCain said, "and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends."
McCain made it clear that his anger extends only toward his captors. As a senator, he was one of the leaders of the postwar effort to normalize U.S. relations with Vietnam.
But I do have one problem:
But the racial slur used by the senator has a long, painful history that is felt by many Asian Americans.
The word "gook" was first used in 1899 by American soldiers fighting Filipino insurgents. During the Korean War, the term was aimed at Koreans and Chinese. It was directed at the Vietnamese when Americans were fighting in Vietnam. It is now used as a slur toward any Asian or Pacific Islander.
That part isn't true. I have spoke to my Asian friend Daehoon about six months ago about racial topics and we were teasing one another and a third person brought up the word "gook". And Daehoon corrected him and let him know that "gook" is for Vietnamese only people. The SFGate folks are making it sound like a universally used slur against Asians. It's not.
But that's not the point. McCain was asked about his captors, and he referred to them with that word. I think he actions afterwards show that he's not racist towards Asians. But I do wonder at the timing of this "story" that happened almost 8 years ago. They try to play it off, but there's just something off here. Something smells fishy.
Travis
No comments:
Post a Comment