John McCain and Sexism – A Short Memory?

While I was trying to make it through Wednesday’s lipstick news cycle, I had to wonder if everyone else was suffering from amnesia.

Doesn’t anyone remember when John McCain made an ugly “joke” (that most newspapers wouldn’t print) about Hillary Clinton, Janet Reno, and Chelsea Clinton?

Or the sterling moment when the candidate chose not to chastise a supporter when she asked him about his potential Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, saying, “How do we beat the bitch?”

Perhaps McCain set the bar for civility and respect back in 1992, when he was on the campaign trail. In his book, The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn’t, Cliff Schecter reported on an incident between McCain and his wife Cindy.  In response to a comment she made about his thinning hair, he retorted, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.”

Somehow, I don’t think he will speak to Sarah Palin that way.