I loathe John McCain. I just didn't think he was qualified for reasons of terribly bad judgment and being a liar, before. But i've crossed over into active distaste due to his unmannerly actions last night. You know, you don't have to want the other person to win, but you should at least LOOK at him or her. I saw somebody said it was because McCain knew he was inferior to Obama.

Maybe, Joe, but I think it is much more than that.  I have a lot of respect for John McCain for what he endured as a POW.  Heck, I'm a Disabled Vietnam Veteran, so I feel for him.

That said, there's no doubt in my mind that McCain suffers psychologically from "post traumatic stress syndrome" just as so many other veterans and former POW's and it is worse for him because of his age.

Spending so many stressful years in the U.S. Senate and in the political arena has NOT helped him with this disorder.

Just my 2-cents.

P

Peter. whether he has PTSD has NOTHING to do with him not ONCE looking at Obama. Please don't make excuses for him. I've seen McCain in a lot of other setttngs, on C-span, including, for example, where he is asking questions of people in committees, etc. He LOOKS at those people. HE did NOT look, not once, at Obama last night. THAT was intentional and it's NOT due to PTSD. If you want to make excuses for McCain's ill temper and bad manners, choose a different excuse.

I wasn't "making excuses" for McCain.  I merely was discussing that there is a lot more at stake for the American people in voting for this man who obviously has many physical, emotional and chemical issues going on.  You took it the wrong way.

If you put in PTSD in a conversation about why John McCain can't make eye contact with Obama, it can't be taken any other way. Context! Context!

Of course you can take it several ways.  I simply was stating that there are other issues present. 

It is a John McCain "package" deal. 

When John McCain looks or doesn't look at people and blinks away at 90 miles per hour, that's also the PTSD in action.

Well I've seen him look at other people so who knows, maybe he will make it a point to look at Obama in the next debate.

But if he does suffer from PTSD and it causes strange behavior do we want him behind the nuclear trigger?...YIKES!

THAT exactly is my point, Joe.  The American voters need to think more clearly about selecting John McCain to lead our nation for the next 4 years.

Trouble is that these are very much the same voters that selected GWB for his 2nd term.

I don't want McCain in that position.

Here's McCain's excuse for why he didn't make eye contact with Obama, although he DID with the moderator (and you remember that whosits TOLD them to TALK to each other).

I was looking at the moderator a great deal of time. I was writing a lot of the time. I in no way know how that in any way would be disdainful."

Right. That's baloney. If he REALLY believes that, which I doubt, then he has no business being the president, because he's clueless about human behavior.

He also noted that in many of the debates in which he has participated, "I don't look at my opponents because I'm focusing on the people and the American people that I'm talking to.”

Gee. wasn't this a DEBATE between 2 people. And, again, didn't the moderator tell them to TALK TO EACH OTHER?

He did not mention what others have postulated -- that the severe injuries he suffered as a prisoner of war make a shoulder pivot awkward for him.

What, his head can't turn????? Didn't they FACE the podiums towards each other, albeit at an angle.

He is just not the person to be president.

My husband is a retired Master Chief. Even he is getting sick of hearing the POW tourettes coming from McCain. One part of his story that most people don't realize is the one where he boasts of not going home ahead of others who were there longer. He says he gave it some thought. I'm sure part of the equation was "if I go home will I be prosecuted or can daddy get me out of this one". Militarily if he had taken the deal he COULD have been brought up on charges before a military court. Being the gambler John claims to be I don't think he wanted to risk it. Even if he had not gone before military justice his Naval ambitions would have flown down in flames like so many of his wrecked planes.

That's very interesting, about the "if he took the deal". So you're saying there was possibly no nobility flavored by "I just couldn't leave without all the other POWS coming, too" versus "Oopsie, I may come back and trade one prison for another".

Not prison certainly but in the military appearances are everything. That is why he dumped the wife after he left service. The Navy really used to frown on divorced officers. It is possible there would have been a closed door reprimand and it would not have looked good on his record. I'm just not buying the high minded bit. Also there is the account of the Viet Cong soldier who drew the cross in the sand. The story was lifted almost word for word from a tale written by Solzhinetzin(?) He should have substituted dirt for sand as the jungle doesn't provide much of that. And while I'm at it, since I am probably older than most of you, I remember the speeches of Pres Eisenhower. He was a 5 star General and could have told a new war story everytime he gave a speech and never repeated himself. It never came up. Why does this cocky, grumpy sh*t feel the need to remind us at every turn that he was a POW?

A pic I did, because I'm also sick of his POW shtick.