McCain isn't a cripple, he's braindead, sheesh!

Listen, I'm pretty pissed off that the GOP is counterattacking the Obama campaign's (admittedly brilliant) ad pointing out that McCain can't use a computer by saying "oh, he can't lift his arms high enough to use a keyboard because of his WAR WOUNDS! Go look at this old clip from a Boston paper that talks about it, shame on you, Barack Obama!"

How disingenuous can you get? First of all, if you can freaking write on a piece of paper with a pen, you can get your arms up to type. And I'm going out on a very strong limb to say that an injury that keeps him from raising his upper arms above shoulder-height doesn't keep him from operating his fingers at resting height. Also, even the Boston Globe article admits McCain has never cited his injuries on his own behalf as a reason for not using computers. And then McCain himself said this in a 2006 interview with Fortune:

"I read my e-mails, but I don't write any. I'm a Neanderthal - I don't even type. I do have rudimentary capabilities to call up some websites, like the New York Times online, that sort of stuff. No laptop. No PalmPilot. I prefer my schedule on notecards, which I keep in my jacket pocket."

But now that this is out there, I'm sure idiots will hear Karl Rove talk about how Obama's attacking a war hero for not doing something his injuries keep him from doing, and they'll say "OH I CAN'T BELIEVE BARACK DID THAT, WHAT A SHIFTY FELLOW!" I doubt it'll change any votes but still, talk about crying wolf.

The real issue here (and I admit, it's a relatively small issue) is that not only does John McCain not know how to use a computer, he doesn't seem to show any interest in learning how. He calls himself an "illiterate" who depends on his wife to navigate to Web sites and other things for him. He also has his staffers dial numbers on his smartphone, hit send and then hand him the phone so he can talk into it. This isn't a matter of him not being physically able to operate machines more advanced than an abacus, it's a matter of him being too stubborn and crusty to learn. Watch the video below for more clarification.



Also he doesn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite (hell, Thomas Jefferson knew that), he still thinks Czechoslovakia is a country and he doesn't seem to have any concept of what nuclear energy entails, despite wanting 40 (FORTY!) new nuclear power plants to be built in the next 25 years. Those are all bigger issues than whether or not he can use a computer, certainly. I just hate it when the people who hold all the power and all the money play the victim card.

That's the card we poor people play, dammit.