http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/08/new-book-mccain-once-phys_n_95595.html
Appearing on Fox News this past Sunday, Sen. John McCain attempted to turn
his infamously
combustible temper from an electoral liability into political strength.
"If I lose my capacity for anger, then I shouldn't be president of the
United States," the
Senator explained to host Chris Wallace. "When I see the waste and
corruption in Wa****ngton, I
get angry."
But how much of McCain's legendary anger streak does the public actually
know? Judging from
snippets of Cliff Schecter's new book "The Real McCain" - an advanced copy
of which was obtained
by the Huffington Post - the answer may be surprisingly little.
Take for instance the verbal-turned-physical attack McCain put on his
fellow
Arizona Republican,
Rick Renzi, which Schecter uncovered through his research:
Perhaps the most remarkable story of McCain's temper involved Arizona
Congressman Rick Renzi. Two
former re****ters covering McCain, one who witnessed the following events
and
one who confirmed
the facts provided by the first, relayed it to me as follows: In 2006, the
Arizona Republican
congressional delegation had a strategy meeting. McCain repeatedly
addressed
two new members,
congressmen Trent Franks and Rick Renzi, as 'boy.' Finally, Renzi, a
former
college linebacker,
rose from his chair and said to McCain, "You call me that one more time
and
I'll kick your old
ass." McCain lunged at Renzi, punches were thrown, and the two had to be
physically separated.
After they went to their separate offices, McCain called Renzi and
demanded
an apology. Renzi
refused. Apparently this posture made McCain admire him, as they became
fast
friends.
Anecdotes like these would stand out as highly abnormal if it weren't for
McCain's history of
similarly explosive behavior. As Wa****ngtonian magazine do***ented (and
Schecter notes in the
book), McCain once "scuffled" with the Senate's then oldest member, Strom
Thurmond, during a
Senate Armed Service Committee hearing in January 1995. Three years later,
the Associated Press
article re****ted that McCain dropped F-Bombs on at least three fellow
Republicans.
"I'm calling you a f------ jerk!" he once retorted to Iowa Sen. Chuck
Grassley.
And in a opinion piece last year on Salon.com, Sidney Blumenthal, now an
adviser to Sen. Hillary
Clinton, wrote that McCain once told Sen. Ted Kennedy to "shut up" on the
Senate Floor, referred
to a fellow Republican as a "**** head" and offered a downright vicious
and
doubly-offensive joke
in 1998 Republican fundraiser about then first daughter Chelsea Clinton.
"Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly?" he asked. "Because Janet
Reno
is her father."
On Monday, moreover, the website Raw Story obtained a separate anecdote
from
Schecter's book, in
which McCain berated his wife in the full view of aides and re****ters
during
a 1992 campaign
stop.
Three re****ters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me
in
on another incident
involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was
joined on the campaign
trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and
consultant
Wes Gullett. At one
point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a
little thin up there."
McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the
makeup like a trollop,
you ****." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected
president of the United
States, McCain would have many long days.
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