Now This is a Gaffe

John McCain has made many policy reversals and misstatements in this campaign. Some of them are intentional and some of them are not. The intentional ones are generally categorized the same as the unintentional ones when covered by the media. The reason for this is that to do otherwise would be be evidence that McCain is not now nor has he ever been the great Maverick Republican. However yesterday committed a gaffe that we can only hope was unintentional.

Speaking at the at a biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, yesterday about the famed Miss Buffalo Chip Beauty Pageant McCain made this statement.

“I encouraged Cindy to compete,” McCain said to cheers. “I told her with a little luck she could be the only woman ever to serve as first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip.”

Cindy McCain is not a physically unattractive woman so when the speech writer included a comment about her entering a beauty pageant they more than likely intended it to be a cute remark. It was supposed to show that McCain still thinks his wife is beautiful and will not be upgrading to a new model this time. They really should have discussed what goes on in that pageant.

This description is from ESPN

Buffalo Chip has a reputation for that sort of thing. It holds a Miss Buffalo Chip contest every night, which is essentially a topless beauty pageant. And occasionally bottomless, too. During a drenching rain Wednesday night, the contest broke up into smaller groups and one woman wound up dancing naked on a bar top. Her boyfriend/husband saw her and angrily dragged her away as she struggled to put her pants back on and muttered something about how, “It’s only this one week a year.”

This is a fairly mild description as the contest might as well be named "anything goes". The reason that this is important, besides the embarrassment for McCain, is that McCain has a history of misogynistic behavior. Widely reported is his 1992 outburst

Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness. In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day.

So while we might think it was meant as a cute comment there is always the possibility that McCain meant it. It is a pretty rough and tumble crowd and a joke like his wife performing in the risque pageant would be in keeping with what people would find amusing in an off color way. Its up to the masses to decide whether it was bad vetting by McCain's campaign or was a really bad joke. The mere fact that we have to wonder will not sit well with potential female voters.