John McCain lauds Barack Obama's strategy on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'

We can't tell if this is a barometer of how the fall general election might feel, but John McCain today compliments Barack Obama on his political acumen in a televised interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," a curious appearance for a candidate still trying to gather support from the Republican Party's social conservative base.

Host Ellen DeGeneres asks McCain about Obama's contention that "a vote for you is basically a vote for" a third George W. Bush term. Says McCain: Good strategy.

"I think it's a very intelligent campaign tactic. Obviously the president's popularity and approval ratings are low. So I think it's a pretty good tactic. I don't think it happens to be true, and I believe that I can show people not only where we have diverged, but serious differences: the issue of climate change, which is a huge issue out there in the state of California; the issue of spending; the way the war in Iraq was conducted for nearly four years, which was terribly frustrating. So -- but basically, rather than me beat up on the president, the point is I've got to show my own vision and plan of action for the future of the country.  And I think that's what Americans usually, and this time, they will vote for."

DeGeneres, who is planning her own gay wedding this summer, also asks McCain about the recent ruling by the California Supreme Court affirming gay marriage -- a flash point for religious conservatives (the video excerpt is here). DeGeneres lumps laws banning gay marriage with those that denied blacks and women the right to vote, and "Jim Crow" policies. McCain says "people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of  insurance and other areas." But: "I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman."

DeGeneres has none of that. "It just feels like there is this old way of thinking that we are not all the same," DeGeneres says. "When someone says, 'You can have a contract, and you'll still have insurance, and you'll get all that,' it sounds to me like saying, 'Well, you can sit there; you just can't sit there.'"

How does a politician respond to that? With a compliment preceding a "fuhgeddaboutit." Says McCain: "You articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion. We just have a disagreement. And I, along with many, many others, wish you every happiness." DeGeneres: "Thank you. So you'll walk me down the aisle?  Is that what you're saying?" McCain: "Touché."

Obama and Clinton, it should be noted, hold similar views to McCain's on gay marriage.

-- Scott Martelle

Photo Credit: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.

Comments

[gasd]

Can anyone tell me where this marriage idea originated from?

Your parents dumby....

Unless they were gay... then some guys sperm injected into a misc. woman

[Lu]

Thank youi! $25 comes from "average" folk who really don't have it to spend but feel a cause for positive chage is needed. Beware to you.... remember this: Experience does not always equal Wisdom.

[Joe]

> Has ANYONE stopped and asked where is all the money coming from for OBAMA? $25 donations through the internet. From Where and from Whom. Be afraid, be very afraid.

From US Citizens like myself. They then report our names to the government so that the Bush administration can check up on us. If there were anything unseemly happening, don't you think that the Republicans would be quick to point it out?

Nice appeal to fear, BTW. It's a great way to persuade people when you don't have any facts to support your position. No doubt it's why we heard so much of it during the Republican primaries, especially from 9-11 Rudy "vote for me or the terrorists will kill us all" Giuliani.

[CM]

"Please STOP calling it GAY MARRIAGE! Even this title is separatist. It is a MARRIAGE, without prejudice."

Not going to happen. Marriage is between one man and one woman. Anything else is a deviation from that, so it's going to have a footnote. (Kinda like Greek or Catholic or Jewish - except homosexuality isn't a race or nationality, just a lifestyle choice.) No state supreme court inventing rights that did not exist can change that. The world may tolerate homosexuality (as I do) but don't ask us to accept it, its never going to happen. You got your tolerance, but stop asking for special rights and forcing us to accept it. Most will draw the line there.

[Joe]

> Can anyone tell me where this marriage idea originated from?

Because there needed to be a legal arrangement in place to help couples raise kids. Until more recent measures like adoption and surrogate mothers, that really didn't happen very often among homosexual couples.

That said, previous societies have been both more and less accepting of the arrangement than our current society.

[ObviObama]

"Has ANYONE stopped and asked where is all the money coming from for OBAMA? $25 donations through the internet. From Where and from Whom. Be afraid, be very afraid."

...I just gave him money. If you aren't sure about his record...

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.php?cid=N00009638&cycle=2008

Obama:
Individual contributions - 100%
Money Undisclosed - 6.2%

McCain:
Individual contributions - 91%
Money Undisclosed - 12.7%

#s from The Center for Responsive Politics in Wash, DC

Case closed.

[Jerry EZ, TEXAS]

TO el: Your comment as to where Senator Obama gets his campaign donations, the answer is 1.9 million supporters that donate an average of around 95$ -$200. Now that is REAL support, don't you think!!

How much has Hillary raised from supporters less the LOBBYIST? -$20 million in the hole and counting, BE AFRAID, VERY AFRAID!!!

If she can't budget her own campaign how can Hillary fix our ECONOMY and reduce our $9 trillion dollar deficit that she helped by voting for this IRAQ INVASION and not learning the first time gavve the O.K to Cheney/Bush forwar with IRAN. What a leader she would be with ALL her EXPERIENCE, thank GOD Obama is as you may call him, INEXPERIENCED!!

WEll, he has done a fine job with that INEXPERIENCE and made some very POWERFUL and INTELLIGENT decisions, including I hope, NOT PUTTING A CLINTON ON THE TICKET WITH HIM. NO MORE CLINTON, CORRUPTION, LIES< SCANDALS< SHADY BUSINESS DEALINGS< MURDER< FRAUD ETC......

[Louise]

The government should get out of the marriage business. It was started by the church and should have stayed with the church. If religions want to be biased and bigoted and ruled by fear of change and thereby marginalized, it is their god-given right.

[Uncledaddy]

There is one over-riding flaw in the idea of "gay" Marriage. It has nothing to do with the joining of two diverse people, straight or gay. It has to do with the fundamental responsibility of the joining, the procreation of the race. The human race.
I only have one objection to this practice. There is no positive gain for the society at large. One of the fundamental buillding blocks of any society is family. Which includes progeny. One question needs answering, from where will the progeny for the next generation come? I am apalled that people who have a "chosen" lifestyle ask to be made special for it. Those who live without responsibility to the society, should not ask for the society to view it as any more than it is. A cipher, something which exists but gives nothing to the society as a whole. I mean, let's face it, if we were all to adopt the lifestyle of proud "gay" people, there would be no human race.
For this they want reward. Because of this they should be pitied. The loss of the race because they have a need to express a sexual preference is ludicrous at best and irresponsible at worst. Giving in to the pressure of people who will add nothing to the society is ridiculous.

[Tony]

Umm...
Gay+ Marriage = Gay Marriage.
Why is anyone offended by that?

Should i be offended if someone calls me straight? I am straight.. so if anyone says it, i dont certainly mind.

And thank you for the people who acknowledge that you dont have to agree with something to accept it. McCain believes in the rights. Even if (And i stress "if" because i dont know the man personally) he doesnt personally agree with things, he will still back thier rights.

McCain/Romney 08!!

[CM]

Any has the right to marry. Marriage is a union between a one male and one female human, of legal age, not related to you. EVERYONE has that right. The Gay DECEPTION is that they don't have that right. They do. They want to change the right to fit their definition. This is NOT about EQUAL rights, this is about NEW rights to accommodate their agenda of forcing the acceptance of gays on the rest of us. So much so that they object to it even being called "gay marriage". How dare we call it what it is! So what is next? People marrying kids, polygamy, Incest? Its all fair game with the court inventing new rights (not their job).

[gasd]

"> Can anyone tell me where this marriage idea originated from?

Because there needed to be a legal arrangement in place to help couples raise kids. Until more recent measures like adoption and surrogate mothers, that really didn't happen very often among homosexual couples.

That said, previous societies have been both more and less accepting of the arrangement than our current society."

So are you only allowed to get married if you plan on having kids again? or should we change the wording to "two people ( which again is bad for the swingers and so forth ) that have sexual relations"

Dictionary:
Married,
example: "Bill Clinton and Monica where having Married Relationships"

[Roy]

So, why can't we rename an Apple to a Orange. Two entirely different acts, unions, deseases, or whatever are defined by their own name. Perhaps we should call Cancer Heart Disease, it would confuse a lot of people, but might make the cancer patients feel better. Or. we could rename the moon as Mars, would make the trip easier I suppose. I have no problem with whatever gays decide to do, but like any concept that is new, it deserves its own name. Someone came up with "Internet", not data type digital transmission over phone and/or wireless connection".

[Jerry]

Ellen and all her friends can swim in all the "main-streams" they feel like. None of it will ever make them "normal", or "right".. Sorry.. McCain's best quality, on the other hand, is that he would be the least destructive of the two "goofy" people running for this watered down honor.. Anyone pushing the "human" based Global Warming scare, is either very insensitive, stupid, or plain doesn't mind offending people with actual "analitical" intelegence.

[catalexis]

It never fails in this country does it? When the blessings of equality are extended to yet another group of people to whom they had been denied there will be some asshole standing there with a bible in his hand saying "No,no, no, not THEM!"

[LaDell]

Let's look at the biology. Males produce 23 (if I remember right) chromosomes. Females produce 23 chromosomes. When they make a baby it takes one of each sex to accomplish this. That is what sex is about --making babies and raising them to be mature, productive human beings. That is the basis of the contract with the state. If a man and woman agree that they will add to the population, and hence the welfare of the state, that union is sanctioned by the authority of the state and by the people. If you look at the social statistics, the importance of having a strong, nuclear family is that it strengthens the community. There is more acting out in school, crime and other anti-social behavior among boys who do not have fathers. The primary relationship between father and mother is the primary source for the psychological well being of the children-more important than the relationship of child to parent.

A union between man and man, or woman and woman is based on selfish interest and does not contribute to the welfare of the state (meaning the people, not the government). No matter how much a gay/lesbian couple want children, it isn't the way biology set it up. And I wonder who designed the laws of biology? Hmm. If you take God out of the equation, you are still not going to have your genes swimming around in the pool. That's planned obsolescence to the max. If you believe in God, then you see the intelligence in the commandments. He knows how to make his children secure and productive. In the meantime, he's trusted us with the ability to procreate and gave us the instructions on how to get it right. It just takes committment and patience. "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a heaven for?"

[BJ]

1)
Mateo,
How in the world is a gay marriage an attack on you, or your wife, or your life together? Gay couples live together and carry on committed, life-long relationships just like the rest of us; they are already doing this. The only thing banning gay marriage will accomplish is depriving homosexuals the same joy and happiness I hope you have found in your own marriage. It has NOTHING to do with you. NOTHING.

2)
Hanester,
Dictionaries define the use of words we use in society; we don't use dictionaries as a guide for how we live in society.

3)
Lastly, McCain can't appeal to the religous right/ hardline conservatives and Reagan Dem's/ moderates/ independents at the same time. He base to the right is totally at odds with voters in the middle who liked him so much in his 2000 run.

[Natalie]

Uncledaddy:

One word -- adoption.

The world has 4 BILLION people and counting. The human race is not under any danger of going extinct.

[Brad]

Uncledaddy,
"Gay marriage" is not an offensive term, it's just ignorant. Adding the adjective just unecessarily adds a stigma - it's an attempt to cheapen it. It is two gay women getting married, not a "gay weding". Let's use an example.

When old people (or racist young ones) say "oh, you mean that colored boy?"

Or when schools are referred to a the "blacks' school?"

Have you ever gone to a wedding? Did you say, "I'm going to a - Straight wedding? Jewish wedding? Trailer park wedding? Midget wedding? Catholic wedding? ...this weekend. How'd you refer to it?

I'm guessing you referred to it as "my friend's wedding" or "my sister's wedding".

Adding the "gay" term just makes it seem like a freak show, and as much as some of you think it is, that's just wrong.

[Paul]

ok, let's complicate this a little further. I'm a guy, married. My wife and I are both gay. Completely legal in every state and every country. We had a gay wedding. We are a gay couple. So, what's the issue here?

[Mike in Sac]

Nice of McCain to seem to give Obama a compliment, but it really is not one. He is brushing off what Obama is saying and just chalking it up as some kind of political tactic or strategy.

McCain has changed so many of his policies around and accepted those of Bush. He really does represent more of the same policies and Obama pointing this out is NOT just a tactic or strategy. It is the truth.

We are at war, broke, losing our middle class (jobs, homes, price of food and gas), lost almost all of our international reputation, and have a corrupt political system.

We are in trouble and it is appropriate to point out that this trouble stems from Bush, AND that McCain will continue the policies that got us here.

Wake up and STOP arguing about gay - lesbian - straight this or that. Get real people and think about a bigger picture! Our future!

[smarter than you]

"That is the reason I will VOTE for McCain, he was GENUINELY straightforwrd to the people who were listening, and DeGenneres, whoever this overrated lesbian is, McCain answered iwth conviction and truthfully...Go McCain
Posted by: Rajah Kahn | May 22, 2008 at 11:41 AM"

lol. you are stupid. do us all a favor and blow your brains out.

[david]

There is nothing that says that the sole purpose of marriage is for the procreation of the race. The United States government has NEVER stated a reason for why it recognizes marriages. People marry for a multitude of reasons. And news flash: Marriage isn't required for procreation. The reason gay marriages should be recognized is simple: seperate but equal is inherently unequal, and "domestic partnerships" really are not enough. Gays should demand more.

Furthermore, the state allows recognition of gay adoption and children by surrogates. Another reason why the denial of gay marriage is ridiculous.

Personally, I don't know why people are so offended by gay marriage. For straight people, does it really somehow effect you? No. it doesn't. But it does strengthen the relationship between gay partners if they feel that they are truly "married."

[ad]

We should get rid of State / Federal Marriage all together. I'm unfortunatly a father of 3 kids with a stay at home wife. These State / Federal marriage benefits suck compared to what we could have.

I mean, i could easily pay single taxes with-out the crappy $400 dollars a year per child tax benefit.

I mean my wife could get free housing / awsome tax benefits on her own as a single mother.

Then all the mean while we could still be married in our catholic church.

[nick in california]

The award for best parody of the truly silly arguments of right wing zealots goes to Frank Burns for:

"I am a guy, married to a woamn, and if gays can marry, that is an attack on my marriage. Gay marriage attacks heterosexual marriage. By attacking my marriage in this way, it is shows that they will stop at nothing to be aggressive and attack us. I just want to live at peace with my wife, without being attacked all the time by these gay marriages. I wish they would leave well enough alone."

Well done, sir, well done.