The Day McCain Lost His Cool At A Craps Table in Puerto Rico



(image via status.howstuffworks)

It's the temperament, stupid. Or, at least it is temperament for the election, afterwards it will be all about the economy. Michael Kinsley in Tina Brown's Daily Beast shares an email from his friend Jeff Dearth, a media investment banker and former publisher of The New Republic. Preliminaries: 1) The following takes place at a magazine industry conference in 2005 at a casino hotel in Puerto Rico, 2) They were playing craps, where, according to Kinsley, "apparently there is some kind of rule or tradition in craps that everyone’s hands are supposed to be above the table when the dice are about to be thrown," and 3) a "small middle-aged woman at the table," who didn't know McCain, "reached out and pulled McCain’s arm away." Now the email:

"McCain immediately turned to the woman and said between clenched teeth: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME.’ The woman started to explain...McCain interrupted her: ‘DON’T TOUCH ME,’ he repeated viciously. The woman again tried to explain. ‘DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO?’ McCain continued, his voice rising and his hands now raised in the ‘bring it on’ position. He was red-faced. By this time all the action at the table had stopped. I was completely shocked. McCain had totally lost it, and in the space of about ten seconds. ‘Sir, you must be courteous to the other players at the table,’ the pit boss said to McCain. 'DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? ASK ANYBODY AROUND HERE WHO I AM.'"

Granted, McCain's arms cannot be raised above shoulder level because of the torture inflicted upon his as a POW. Also -- McCain did not know the lady. Anyone can understand someone getting upset under those circumstances. But losing one's shit and shouting "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU’RE TALKING TO" to a small middle-aged woman suggests, especially with two wars and a declining economy, that this man may not have the character to be the next President.

the full story here.