Claytie

Part of me is just plain amused to read about the Clayton Williams kerfuffle, in which his infamous "rape is like the weather" joke from the 1990 gubernatorial campaign has caused some embarassment for John McCain, who cancelled a scheduled fundraiser at Williams' ranch in response. Part of me is sympathetic to Evan Smith's suggestion that "the statute of limitations on stupidity" might have run out by now, given Williams' contrition over his remarks. And part of me is just boggled by this:

Williams, 76, has made and lost fortunes in energy, ranching and other businesses over the past half-century, but is perhaps best known for his 1990 Republican race for governor. The Midland oilman's controversial campaign comments are widely known in Texas, but McCain aides told reporters they were surprised when they learned of them.

"These were obviously incredibly offensive remarks that the campaign was unaware of at the time this event was scheduled," said spokesman Brian Rogers. "It's positive that he did apologize at the time, but the comments are nonetheless offensive."

Was there really nobody on McCain's team who knew of this event and who knew about Williams and the blowback his name would cause? I realize that this is all part Kabuki dance, and that in general we'd all be better off if the outrage meter could get dialed back a notch or two when dealing with politicians' supporters, but come on. Anybody who knew anything about Texas political history could have seen this coming a mile away. Putting it another way, the Bush campaign never would have let this happen. Josh Marshall is right about the relative strengths of the McCain and Obama campaigns, based on the toughness of the paths they took to become the nominees. I was as ready as anyone to see the Clinton/Obama fight come to an end. But I can't deny that it's made Obama stronger. All things considered, I'd rather be where Obama is than McCain. This is just an example of why.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 15, 2008 to The making of the President