The American President The American People Were Waiting For in 1996

Ladies and gentlement the candidate of so much experience he has no experience with the modern world:

“They go on for me,” he said. “I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.”

Asked which blogs he read, he said: “Brooke and Mark show me Drudge, obviously. Everybody watches, for better or for worse, Drudge. Sometimes I look at Politico. Sometimes RealPolitics.”

At that point, Mrs. McCain, who had been intensely engaged with her BlackBerry, looked up and chastised her husband. “Meghan’s blog!” she said, reminding him of their daughter’s blog on his campaign Web site. “Meghan’s blog,” he said sheepishly.

Not to get too pedantic here, but neither Drudge nor Politico are blogs and "RealPolitics" doesn't even exist. The thing I assume he's talking about isn't a blog either. Not that I necessarily expect a presidential candidate to spend a ton of time reading blogs, but maybe he should know what one is and if he doesn't read any and is asked about it could say that. Then on religion:

Asked if he considered himself an evangelical Christian, Mr. McCain responded, “I consider myself a Christian.”

“I attend church,” he said. “My faith has sustained me in very difficult times.” Asked how often he attended, he responded: “Not as often as I should.” He has recently been photographed going to church as his campaign has begun to make public the times he attends services.

Does he attend church when he's not campaigning for president? It sort of doesn't sound like it. Did you know McCain hasn't been baptized into the church he nominally belongs to? Again, I'm obviously not opposed to the idea of a non-observant president anymore than I'm opposed to a president who doesn't read blogs, but surely the straight-talk brand should require some honest answers to these questions.

Comments

I'm sure McCain's got years worth of scheduling information that could substantiate a claim that he doesn't just go to church when he's running for president. On the other hand, you could probably *prove* he hasn't been to church on a Sunday morning by scanning the last decade's worth of MTP/FTN/FNC/etc. TV listings.

Also, since he's trying to reach out to religious voters (read: conservative self-proclaimed Christians), can we get someone to ask him exactly what kind of Christian he is? Presbyterian? Catholic? Lutheran? UCC? First African Methodist Episcopalian?

Because we keep hearing from the professional Christians that it's really important to be religious, and since there are different denominations within the larger Christian religion, I *assume* there are important differences, and I *assume* someone who's not just a religious poser could actually explain why they attend one church and not another.

I'm not looking for proof McCain understands complex doctrinal issues, but if we're going to have exhaustive investigations into Obama's religious background and practices, then hell, let's at least get some basics from McCain.

Or is it simply sufficient for a Republican presidential candidate to say, "I'm (some kind of) a Christian (that's all I know)!" to assure the support of the religious right?

Posted by Chris | July 13, 2008 9:47 AM

I'm all for going after McCain, but this seems rather petty.

Better attacks plz.

Posted by Hlem | July 13, 2008 9:53 AM

Hmmm.....so not knowing how to use a computer is no big thing for the 2nd American president of the 21st Century.

But you better wear a flag pin, dammit!

Posted by Herb | July 13, 2008 9:56 AM

The question about McCain's baptism is actually interesting. Was he baptized as an infant in the Episcopal Church? If so, now that he's claiming to be Baptist, that baptism probably doesn't count. (They'd probably want him to be re-baptized, but that'd be anathema to orthodox Christianity.)

But I get the impression that McCain has very little knowledge of or interest in the history of Christian debate over the theology of baptism, let alone less significant stuff, including the distinction between Baptists & Episcopalians.

Posted by Erik | July 13, 2008 9:57 AM

In a way, McCain's in a damned-either-way situation. Everything about how he speaks generally reminds me that he goes all the way back shaped in an older male/military culture where one was expected to pay lip-service to religion but no one was expected to take it very seriously, etc. He's not so much to the theological left of his constituency as likely still half-wondering why he has to deal with this stuff at all. And here he is running for a party still beholden to religion-as-ideology. A hard row to hoe.
Reading Obama, one's pretty convinced of the sincerity of his religion. As a retired minister, I recognize its theological space: emotional fulfillment eventuating from an essentially intellectual, moral, cultural decision to believe. A classic position, before the craziness we're not yet out of, typified by Niebuhr, Tillich, other mainstream theologians. It does put him to the theological left of most Evangelicals, but he appears to be handling it fairly well.
McCain can still court the Christian Right on issues, but he'd almost-literally have to sell his soul to be with them on substance.
Advantage Obama, I'd say & hope!

Posted by gsk+ | July 13, 2008 10:03 AM

Know what a blog is? Matt, you're asking the guy who's trying to make an airplane out of newspaper for the first time to then leap to build a rocket ship. He's working on getting online all by his lonesome; I don't think the nuances of what is and isn't a blog is anywhere within reach.

Mother Jones, via Carpetbagger (i think) made an excellent point -- as frightening as it is to consider the learning curve the potential next POTUS is going through to master the higher order skill of opening a browser, the bigger issue is what it says about his lack of vision in technology. Indeed, he apparently has no real policy around technology at all. That scares the hell out of me.

Posted by evie | July 13, 2008 10:16 AM

This is a great post--I couldn't disagree more with Hlem's comment above. This inartful petty prevarication epitomizes what is wrong with McCain's character.

Posted by Beth in VA | July 13, 2008 10:39 AM

McCain comes out against gay adoption in this piece. Isn't that a pretty big deal?

Posted by Pat | July 13, 2008 10:51 AM

Ew. That McCain campaign picture *always* creeps me out.

"Dirty old men in 2008!"

Posted by Nihil | July 13, 2008 10:53 AM

I don't expect to set up my own blog

I wonder how long it took to get him to regurgitate that correctly. Like training a dog.

Posted by live | July 13, 2008 10:53 AM

If this were my candidate, would I hold any of this against him? Probably not. On the tech front: if McCain were PC-literate or even a tech enthusiast, it's naive to think that he would advocate different or better policies, given the coalition that forms his base of support.

And spurious protestations of piety are as old as the Union itself. What we should want isn't for politicians to stop pandering to the superstition of the populace, but for that superstition itself to be far less widely held. Until the latter happens, the former is pretty much inevitable.

Posted by kth | July 13, 2008 10:55 AM

Reading Obama, one's pretty convinced of the sincerity of his religion. As a retired minister, I recognize its theological space: emotional fulfillment eventuating from an essentially intellectual, moral, cultural decision to believe.

I think, like most believers, Obama actually believes in God, literally believes in a benign, loving, guiding spirit of the universe. Additionally he believes Jesus of Nazareth reflected/reflects the truth of God in some essential way. He doesn't believe in some "as if" fashion. His belief is not merely moral or cultural, calculated in some way, however high-minded. It's truth-based. It's probably based on some profound spiritual experience he's had -- that's what he means when he talks about "finding Christ."

Now, maybe you mean Obama believes in God sincerely and accedes to the tacking on of all the Christian religious accoutrements as part of some moral, cultural, or emotional calculus. That may be so.

Then, I'm one of the many in current America who believes quite sincerely in God but has more trouble with all the tacking on, especially the St. Paul and after stuff. Obama, with his keen sociological/political mind, probably understands much better the important binding effect that the mythic/ritual/rule aspects of religion provide, and understands them, in their ambiguous complexity, as part of God's overall revelation. Perhaps the same could be said of Niebuhr and Tillich.

Sorry, not exactly on the main topic, but I found your point very provocative, gsk+.

Posted by Ban Johnson | July 13, 2008 11:05 AM

Presumably he means RealClearPolitics, which does have a blog (as does The Politico, obviously). For someone who misspells a lot of things, you're awfully quickto criticize McCain for misnaming RealClearPolitics.

Posted by Al | July 13, 2008 11:10 AM

Indeed, he apparently has no real policy around technology at all.

From what I can see, he has no policy on economics, or taxes, or the deficit, or much of anything else aside from Iraq. He has a few vague right wing pieties, but that's it. His numberless deficit reduction "plan" is the standard MO used everywhere.

I'd be scared about him if I thought he had a realistic chance of being elected.

Posted by jimBOB | July 13, 2008 11:14 AM

Ben Johnson:
We have little, if any, disagreement here -- I just wrote too fast & not well.
"Now, maybe you mean Obama believes in God sincerely...and understands them, in their ambiguous complexity, as part of God's overall revelation. Perhaps the same could be said of Niebuhr and Tillich."
Yeah, that.
McCain strikes me (who knows another's heart?) as essentially indifferent and having to dialogue with those for whom that is evil.
Obama strikes me as sincerely committed, but/and to a more liberal & nuanced faith that accepts ambiguity, ambivalence, doubt (Tillich: "The Virtue of Doubt"), making him have to walk softly with those who have trouble with that. I'm on his side, it's always been my own.

Posted by gsk+ | July 13, 2008 11:27 AM

Um, John McCain memorized the Anglican liturgy and conducted "services" (as a lay preacher) for his fellow inmates during the five years that he was in prison. His religious conviction was so evident that even one or two Christians among his Vietnamese prison guards were led to share their faith with him. You can make many charges against John McCain, and indeed I don't agree with most of his politics. But it seems undeniable that he is a man of deep and abiding faith, of a mainline Episcopalian variety.

Posted by Hector | July 13, 2008 11:53 AM

Who even "gets online" anymore? What are they teaching him to do, dial AOL at 9600 baud?

Posted by Chet | July 13, 2008 11:59 AM

Umm, Matt, I just want to know who the girl is behind McCain in that photo. :)

Posted by enozinho | July 13, 2008 12:01 PM

It's no wonder he doesn't understand economics. His lack of internet connection surely limits him to the Wall Street Journal and whatever policy briefs from his fake economists.

Posted by Dolt | July 13, 2008 12:04 PM

But it seems undeniable that he is a man of deep and abiding faith, of a mainline Episcopalian variety.

If his Episcopalian faith is so deep and abiding, why is he no longer an Episcopalian?

Posted by jbryan | July 13, 2008 12:14 PM

Hector:
As I wrote, who knows another's heart?
Further, I might've added that "indifferent" is not a judgement, much less a condemnation, in the "Broad Church" tradition that is Anglicanism; it's a recognition and acceptance that people have many motives (and are more & less motivated, anyway) for being there. "The Episcopal Church: We welcome you no matter how many times you've been born!" No one asks for bona fides, unlike many in the tradition McCain's working with in the Republican Party. I don't share his politics at all, but I was saying I almost feel sorry for the poor guy in this sitch.
As for the "services" -- not challenging his sincerity, but it's also the case that "Chapel" is an old military tradition, and doing it in a POW camp could be seen, along with its religious aspect, as providing some continuity with the world outside and some morale-boosting in the world they were imprisoned in. From an Anglican point of view, that's OK, too.
"PS" - I think I've read that he attends the Baptist Church, now.

Posted by gsk+ | July 13, 2008 12:17 PM

Um, John McCain memorized the Anglican liturgy and conducted "services" (as a lay preacher) for his fellow inmates during the five years that he was in prison. His religious conviction was so evident that even one or two Christians among his Vietnamese prison guards were led to share their faith with him. You can make many charges against John McCain, and indeed I don't agree with most of his politics. But it seems undeniable that he is a man of deep and abiding faith, of a mainline Episcopalian variety.

This seems mostly right to me, except for maybe the "mainline Episcopalian" description.

McCain is a Western, Goldwater/Teddy Roosevelt Republican, which means he sees faith in deeply individualistic terms. He's viscerally averse to the idea of imposing one's religious views on another. Church might not do much for him (probably his cabin in Sedona does quite a bit more), but he certainly seems to have faith. His indifference is more about theology (and perhaps church-going) than spirituality. McCain just isn't intellectual, at all.

Posted by Ban Johnson | July 13, 2008 12:17 PM

The important thing isn't whether McCain actually goes to church but rather whether he professes his Christianity. Same was true for Reagan - for many right-wing (which is to say, explicitly political) evangelicals, it's the tribal identity "[white] Christian" that matters more than any particular tenets or theological distinctions. Indeed, Obama's theological contemplations are in some ways a detriment to his being "one of the team." Viewed in this light, the crypto-Muslim rumors are not necessarily about him being a Muslim so much about not being the right kind of Christian - i.e., a right-wing political activist.

Posted by jkd | July 13, 2008 12:21 PM

Chris(1st commenter):
His appearances on MTP or any of the other Sunday talking gas bag shows doesn't have anything to do with whether he attends church or not(I vote not). Those shows are all taped on Friday(And last I checked, McCain isn't a Muslim).

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | July 13, 2008 1:19 PM

I am giving him a (generous) pass in that personal use may be a poor indicator of understanding aggregate services of the interwebs. However, he then must explain how the reliance on these tools primarily caused the economic productivity growth in the past decade, and what his vision is for the future, including protection against exploitation by foreign governments. I haven't heard that yet, and have a feeling I won't.

Posted by colleeniem | July 13, 2008 1:34 PM

Forget everything else. Is it actually possible for a Republican candidate to be elected President today w/o being a pretty obvious and devout Christian?

Posted by mike | July 13, 2008 2:37 PM

I'm as much for the depiction of McCain as technologically ignorant as anyone else, but on the issue of blog vs. website it can be pinned on the New York Times more than McCain. If you listen to the interview, the question is actually "What websites do you look at regularly?"

Posted by Rick | July 13, 2008 3:23 PM

Re: If his Episcopalian faith is so deep and abiding, why is he no longer an Episcopalian?

I have to wonder about that too. OK, he may find modern Episcopalianism a bit too liberal for his tastes, but most Episcopalians who have that problem, end up either as Roman Catholics, or coming east, to us Orthodox. Converting to some revisionist Prorestant sect like the Baptists reeks of political opportunism.

Re: Is it actually possible for a Republican candidate to be elected President today w/o being a pretty obvious and devout Christian?

Um, Ronald Reagan? George HW Bush? Both professed to be Christians, but the former seemed awfully lukewarm about it, and the latter was, at most, a very mainline Protestant.

Posted by JonF | July 13, 2008 3:31 PM

Re: Um, Ronald Reagan? George HW Bush?

Oddly enmough, Reagan was (supposedly) a member of the ultra-liberal Disciples of Christ. I don't know that Richard Nixon was particularly religious either.

I was aware that McCain had been attending Baptist services but I didn't think that he had actually formally affirmed that he was a Baptist. I've attended Catholic services sometimes, when I feel that the liberalism of modern Episcopal church gets a bit too cloying for me, but that doesn't make me a Catholic.

Posted by Hector | July 13, 2008 3:44 PM

I doubt that McCain know how to type. Lots of men of his generation never learned. Computers aren't terribly useful if you can't type.

I spent a lot of time with high level executives struggling with computers in the 1980s and 1990s -- not knowing how to type was the main problem.

At the very highest levels of management, I have strong doubts that using computers is terribly useful. You're better off being able to dictate clear letters to your ace secretary. Granted, that's a rare skill and there aren't many ace secretaries left, but it's very valuable.

Email and instant messaging are thin media. Top executives are better off in richer media like phone calls where their dominant force of personality comes through. Heck, De Gaulle didn't like to use the phone. He preferred to intimidate people in person.

Posted by Steve Sailer | July 13, 2008 5:03 PM

Yeah, McCain has faith - and murdering 75 million Iranians is no problem for his faith.

Fuck his faith.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | July 13, 2008 7:23 PM

RealPolitiks is a blog: http://realpolitiks.blogspot.com/

Matthewyglesias has never heard of a homonym?

Posted by Hazeleyedwolff | July 13, 2008 8:26 PM

From Leon Panetta's walnut trees to Barack Obama's nuts; from 9-11 to the price of gasoline at the pump; from illegal immigration to the mortgage meltdown; from the Central Coast to the Gold Coast; from Monterey to Abu Dhabi. It’s politics American style. Personally, I think John McCain would find it easier to be a Baptist. The Episcopal liturgy is performed as a close order drill. This exercise format goes on from start to finish. It’s all work from the time those kneelers hit the deck, to the time the last congregate leaves. Try dragging your butt out of bed every Sunday for a couple of decades for some fast paced calisthenics. You’ll get religion in a hurry. It’s much easier to sit through a service if possible: http://theseedsof9-11.com

Posted by Peggy McGilligan | July 13, 2008 10:39 PM

"Um, John McCain memorized the Anglican liturgy and conducted "services" (as a lay preacher) for his fellow inmates during the five years that he was in prison. His religious conviction was so evident that even one or two Christians among his Vietnamese prison guards were led to share their faith with him. You can make many charges against John McCain, and indeed I don't agree with most of his politics. But it seems undeniable that he is a man of deep and abiding faith, of a mainline Episcopalian variety."

Really? He memorized the whole communion service? Morning Prayer? Evening Prayer? I don't believe this. The Book of Common Prayer is several hundred pages long. I never met a priest who claimed to have memorized it, although I once met a bishop who claimed to.

Posted by Jose Padilla | July 14, 2008 8:14 AM

gentlement?

Posted by jaltcoh.blogspot.com | July 14, 2008 11:05 AM

Who's the gorgeous doll to MacCain's left?

Posted by dave | July 14, 2008 11:08 AM

or should he be MacCain't?

Posted by dave | July 14, 2008 11:11 AM