August 31, 2018

McCain's casket is carried out of his funeral to the same song that was Trump's first dance at his inaugural ball.

From "At McCain’s Memorial, Tears, Laughs and Allusions to the Man Not Invited" (NYT):
And in a nod to Mr. McCain’s affection for the rites of tradition and his penchant for the irreverent, the ceremony got underway with a choir’s rendition of 'Amazing Grace,' but his flag-draped coffin was taken out of the sanctuary by a military honor guard to the piped-in voice of Frank Sinatra singing "My Way."
To refresh your memory:



Here's how I blogged that in real time:
FINALLY: Trump and Melania appear. Her white dress reminds me of cake decorating. Her bare shoulders glimmer. Trump's tux has extremely baggy pants. He eschews tailoring. That's his style. They dance that dance that's not really a dance — just rocking back and forth. I'm worried that the bulky Trump will squish the delicate swirl of fabric that extends from Melania's extensive bust. The dress is floor-length and then some, and I'm sure he's treading on it. Don't tread on me!

The song is "My Way" — "I ate it up and spit it out."
I like the way the Times was careful enough to write "the piped-in voice of Frank Sinatra singing 'My Way'" and not just "Frank Sinatra singing 'My Way.'" Keep it factual. Frank Sinatra was not there. We all know he couldn't be there. He ate it up long ago and spit it out in 1998. But the newspaper of record does well to stick firmly to the facts. It was the piped-in voice of Frank Sinatra at John McCain's funeral. And probably many other funerals. Many people loathe that song, but there's always one person who thinks (or whose family thinks) that he is perfectly unique. Of course, they are right. But there's a big swagger to the song, a fuck you all, I'm outtahere. Which is nervy at a funeral. And downright scary at an inauguration.

The other thing I wanted to highlight from the NYT is this:
[T]he gathering’s most awkward moment: that belonged to [Tommy Espinoza, a Mexican-American leader], who invoked Sarah Palin, Mr. McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Ms. Palin was not invited to any of the memorial services, and Mr. McCain, in his final book and in an HBO documentary, said he wished he had defied his advisers and picked his friend, former Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, for vice president.

Mr. McCain asked Mr. Espinoza’s wife, he recalled, what she would think about selecting a woman as his running mate.

“'Well, I really don’t care if it’s a man or a woman — if something happens to you, I want to make sure that person can run the country,’” Mr. Espinoza recounted his wife saying, prompting fleeting and muffled laughs in the church.
They laughed at Sarah Palin. Espinoza delivered a heavy-handed laugh cue and the people laughed and then stifled it.

IN THE COMMENTS: Bushman of the Kohlrabi said:
the piped-in voice of Frank Sinatra singing 'My Way'

But were there any actual pipes involved?

I'm just trying to hold the Times to their own Trump standards here.
I believe this refers to the press reaction to this famous Trump tweet:


The NYT published: "Trump Digs In on Wiretap, No Matter Who Says Differently."
In recent days, the president and his aides have tried to recast his original assertion to make it more defensible. Mr. Trump and Mr. Spicer have both noted that in two Twitter posts the president used quotation marks around the phrases “wires tapped” or “wire tapping,” which they said indicated that they were not meant to be taken literally....
The Times didn't even put quotation marks around "piped-in."

221 comments:

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Ralph L said...

Anyone know how to get to Twitchy without giving your email?

Drago said...

William: "I read through the comments. I wonder how some are going to top the vitriol in these comments when Jane Fonda dies."

Practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

William@3:16PM Yes, all his many friends in DC will not soon forget their dear colleague and American hero Donald McCain.

narciso said...

They saw him as a dupe I'm sure Obama saw him as a war criminal, how could he not, w knew how much he had rankled him in office.

Ralph L said...

Never mind. I clicked to another article and came back to it.

walter said...

rcocean said.I'm not sure what McCain did. Except get shot down and taken prisoner.
--
There was the thing about being offered early release if he agreed to spout propaganda and his repeatde refusals unless the others were let go.
Considering the conditions, that's pretty laudable.

But judging his political career based on that is like giving John Lewis extra legislative credit for his sufferings. Although he deserves a Nobel more than Obama did. Not a high hurdle..

walter said...

But keep your hopes up. That other Nam hero is not ruling out a 2020 run. A lot of Botox between now and then.

walter said...

Darkisland said...
Note to Howard (I think) McCain was not a pilot. The navy has next to none of those.
He was a Naval Aviator.
--
And more informally, Cloud Skippers.

The Crack Emcee said...

Meghan McCain's furious husband blasts Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey after site fails to take down troll's sick and threatening photo of mourning Meghan McCain standing over her father's casket with a gun to her head

The sick little fucks can't stop themselves. Cool.

The Crack Emcee said...

Comedian Dave Chappelle joins thousands visiting the Capitol rotunda to pay their respects to John McCain

Compare this to McCain's critics - who no one will notice when they're gone.

narciso said...

Seriously Aaron mcgruder, who do you think you're fooling.

Michael K said...

Is he just old or a racist? We report, you convict

I don't give a shit, Howard. He's your boy.

I shot my P38 and my wife shot the Ruger .22.

Nice dinner after.

walter said...

The Crack Emcee said...
Comedian Dave Chappelle joins thousands visiting the Capitol rotunda to pay their respects to John McCain
--
Would be interesting to hear what about McCain moved him

The Crack Emcee said...

Testosterone May Make Men More Honest

One possible explanation for why white guys lie so often,...

walter said...

Oh for fuck's sake, ____

The Crack Emcee said...

A Fertility Doctor Used His Sperm on Unwitting Women. Their Children Want Answers.

White guy. Figures. They are the living temple of integrity.

The Crack Emcee said...

New Film About Neil Armstrong … Won’t Show Him Planting The American Flag On The Moon

They should have shown Neal, kneeling on the moon, as the anthem played.

walter said...

Good grief..as opposed to the legions of black men leaving children like lost luggage.
You will gobble up any shit like a pelican if it suits your MO.

The Crack Emcee said...

“John taught us how to lose”

Good for him: white guys are going to need that from now on.

The Crack Emcee said...

Watch: Kanye West Says Trump Wants to Be the ‘Greatest President’ for Black Americans

At which point, white guys will consider him a total failure. I can't wait.

The Crack Emcee said...

I can't believe I got called a racist while defending a white guy.

That's a new one.

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