McCain Criticized for Slur
He says he'll keep using term for ex-captors in Vietnam

Arizona Sen. John McCain refused to apologize yesterday for his use of a racial slur to condemn the North Vietnamese prison guards who tortured and held him captive during the war.
"I hate the gooks," McCain said yesterday in response to a question from reporters aboard his campaign bus. "I will hate them as long as I live."

McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, was questioned about the language because of a story last month in the Nation magazine reporting his continued use of the slur.

Since then, reports of McCain's language have been circulating on Internet chat sites and e-mails among Asian Americans, many of whom find the the term offensive and inappropriate for an elected official.

McCain's appeal to voters has been as a wartime hero and a feisty politician who speaks his mind and damns the consequences. But his comments on the eve of the key South Carolina primary show the candidate's vaunted "straight talk" in another light.

"The use of a racist slur can't be acceptable for any national leader, regardless of his background," said Diane Chin, executive director of the San Francisco-based Chinese for Affirmative Action. "For someone running for president not to recognize the power of words is a problem."

While McCain's words may have little effect in conservative South Carolina, where few Asian Americans live, they could come back to haunt him in other states.

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TERM FOR HIS CAPTORS
McCain made no apologies yesterday.

"I was referring to my prison guards," McCain said, "and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends."

McCain made it clear that his anger extends only toward his captors. As a senator, he was one of the leaders of the postwar effort to normalize U.S. relations with Vietnam.

McCain Criticized for Slur / He says he'll keep using term for ex-captors in Vietnam


I can't help but think he's providing an opportunity for people to make mountains out of what can conceivably be a mole-hill.

The man WAS TORTURED. Period.
He harbors "ill feelings" (to put it mildly) for the people who tortured him.
Understandable.

He is referring JUST to his captors.

Quite frankly, I wish somebody would pull him aside and ask him to simply give some small deflection on the issue, and let it die. Instead, he may be giving it life support.
(Somebody has probably already asked him...)

This situation won't influence my vote. If it were a democrat with the same circumstances, still not an important issue, IMO.

A close family friend of ours was a prisoner of war in Korea where his tormentors were North Koreans and Red Chinese. He calls them gooks to this day. People understand that he does not hate all oriental people. People get it. So, this doesn't bother me at all about McCain. That's just me, of course.

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Salty

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Let us study this. Let us give McCain the benefit of the doubt. A fair play. However, maybe this is true in my opinion.

We need McCain here to defend his self. Personally, I don't heed to this kind of issue, I'm still voting for Obama. LOL

You can't justify the war to be just. The Vietnamese was also a victim and McCain should apologize as being the leader of the nation.

its an intersting tack to take politically-maybe hell actually win points in some quarters for braving the fire..

And he will unless he is afraid of fire swaying in the wind, figuratively speaking...LOL

The republlican candidate never understand the word sympathy and humility. This is an important issue to me.

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“Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.”

he had enough sympathy to work to regularize relations-dont ask a man to forgive a bunch of jerks who beat him up-thats damned unsympathetic