New Word Of The Day: “Scurrilous”, H/T To Bill O’Reilly? NOPE — This One Coming From Time Magazine
When I gravitated toward MemeOrandum today to see what news was teasing my fellow political bloggers into a frenzy, I noted there was a huge “bru-ha-ha” brew-hoo-hooing from all sides of the political aisle caused by Joe Klein of Times‘ Swampland [ahem... MSM] “blog” article entitled “McCain Meltdown“. Just glancing, it appears there are somewhere around forty (give or take) blogger reactions, which means, there’s an “Internets Pi$$ing Match” going on over the article.
As I always do, and perhaps it’s the reason so many readers enjoy visiting this blog daily (?), I went and read the article FIRST before reading what any of my fellow “lefty” or the right-wing bloggers have to say about it before o-pining (yes, credit does go to Bill O’Reilly for the usage of that word — forget about any royalty checks though, O’Reilly). I’m not claiming to be the only political blogger who does this; it just seems there are always two sides to a “bru-ha-ha” in the political blogospheres and the two sides are mostly bringing up the same points and counterpoints. When you read one of my posts and it seems to echo the sentiments of one side or the other, it’s a purely coincidence; a reflection of how I REALLY feel about the subject. But — if you’ve been reading this blog since early 2004 like many have, you already knew that and it’s time for me to get back to the topic at hand and stop meandering as I’m prone to do.
I’m supposing the “Right” is torqued off today — and I’m just guessing they’re not happy — due to the fact Mr. Klein has accused Señor McCain, in making this statement today:
“This is a clear choice that the American people have. I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.”
… of being “scurrilous“. Well, guess what — I would agree with them — “scurrilous” isn’t that great of a word choice to describe Señor McCain’s statement. According to Merriam-Webster, this is the definition of “scurrilous“, a word I must admit having never exposed to until this morning:
scurrilous
Main Entry: scur·ri·lous
Pronunciation: \ˈskər-ə-ləs, ˈskə-rə-\
Function: adjective
Date: 1576
1 a: using or given to coarse language b: vulgar and evil
2: containing obscenities, abuse, or slander
— scur·ri·lous·ly adverb
— scur·ri·lous·ness noun
Hmm. Well… it could be a bit of a stretch. Obviously, definition “1″ doesn’t fit. Number “2″ does seem to fit, but it suggests (to moi) obscenities accompanied the slander. While the statement would fit within the confines of the definition of the word “slander” (again, to MOI), I’d choose another word to describe the McCain statement, myself. For example, definition number “2″, below, is much more adequate:
nuts
Main Entry: nuts
Pronunciation: \ˈnəts\
Function: adjective
Date: 1785
1 : enthusiastic, keen
2 : insane, crazy
Let’s take the McCain comment one line at a time to further illustrate my point:
“… I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. …”
Hmm. “Judgement”. He had the “judgement” to send our troops to war based upon “faulty intelligence” (?). Therefore, Señor McCain’s “courage” and “judgement” has been proven to be at fault. To use those two words to “sell” his candidacy to The People would seemingly meet the definition of “nuts” (above).
Just to better understand what goes on between the ears of our war hero (and no, I’m honestly not being a smart-alec when I say that), let’s take a look at the other half of his statement:
“… It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign. …”
First off, I’ve always maintained the fact the “war” was won when we handed Saddam over to the Iraqis. A new “war” began on that day; a “war” against the United Nations and for control of Iraq’s vast oilfields and for Vice President Dick “Shotgun” Cheney’s “Coalition Of The Billing“, courtesy of both Halliburton and KBR. That said, it’s all about “winning” to Panama John; even though his and President “Surge” Dubya Bush’s “Troop Surge” has caused almost a thousand more American deaths since it’s commencement; we can’t “win” this so-called “war” until — when, Señor McCain? Oh, that’s right — “until it’s won”. Okay, I think this also qualifies as “nuts”.
Forget the target of Senator McCain’s anger — Barry Obama — consider the whole line of thought going through the mind of a man who sees things the way Señor McCain sees them. It’s NUTS, alright. Those don’t seem to be the words of a man who is completely in control of his emotions, reasoning ability or thoughts. They sound like the words a guy who needs medication and counseling would utter.
In closing, I would agree with Mr. Klein in his assessment of the Senator from Panama Arizona — it wasn’t very “presidential” of him and indeed it strikes this blogger as meeting the definition of his other word — “meltdown“.
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Now, let’s see what other bloggers are saying about this: skippy the bush kangaroo (another great roundup there); The Newshoggers (Cernig); PoliBlog™; Outside The Beltway (slightly “Right”); The Moderate Voice (Elrod); The Anonymous Liberal; Donkelphant
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