From Political Punch:
B-WordsFebruary 03, 2008 2:52 PM
It was not Sen. John McCain's most chivalrous moment when, last November, campaigning in South Carolina, an older woman stood and asked him, "How do we beat the bitch?"
"That's an excellent question," McCain said. "You might know that there was a poll yesterday, a Rasmussen poll, identified, that shows me three points ahead of Senator Clinton in a head-to-head matchup."
(snip)
The reason I bring this up is that ABC News' sagacious Kate Snow reports that just now in St. Louis, Mo., a woman asked Clinton a question, referring to President Bush as "George the bastard."
"Clinton smiled and laughed mildly before regaining her composure and looking serious," Snow reports. "Clinton made no effort to correct this questioner’s language or reprimand her."
McCain was hammered by the Left for his response to that language being used about a colleague. How will Clinton's response be received?
The difference:
George Bush is a bastard. Hillary Clinton is not a bitch.
Both words are derogatory, however one is a slur confined to women, the other isn't a slur, and it isn't confined to one gender.
In fact, bastard essentially is the same as "jerk," another derogatory term.
A few months ago, McCain called some kid a little jerk. He was being ironic, and it was actually funny. (McCain lists the video as a favorite on his YouTube channel.)
His ironic use of jerk was funny, because jerk is a derogatory word but not a slur.
Can you imagine if McCain had called the same kid a little bitch? Even if he said it with the same irony, it would not have gone over as well.
Why? Because bitch is a slur, jerk is not.
As I said, bastard is the equivalent of jerk.
Go ahead Jake. Make it a controversy. I welcome it.
© Jed Lewison