# McCain Offends Spain, or Foreign Policy Genius My Ass **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132 "2008-09-18T12:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/101 "2008-09-19T11:03:54Z")
Shrug, Bush Jr once called our previous prez “Ansar,” something over which the Spanish press laughed for years (it happens to mean “duck” - quack, quack!). I put it in the pile of “another American who can’t find Canada with both hands, boy do I hate it when stereotypes walk”. It’s sad when the guy in question is POTUS or a POTUS wannabe, though. > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Well, I couldn’t say how common it is in spoken usage but I can tell you for sure that it’s commonly seen written on walls. The problem for me is that if you call him a puta (which you can), you have to call him a puta estúpida, you have to be consistant on your choice of gender. What hurts my eyes is the mismatch. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/102 "2008-09-19T11:08:19Z")
Dupe ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/103 "2008-09-19T14:05:27Z")
I feel the same way about whores- settle on a gender already! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/104 "2008-09-19T14:12:35Z")
The liberal media seems to ignoring this story. It can’t matter if it’s not reported. I got the impression that not only did McCain not know who they were talking about, he didn’t really seem to grasp the concept that Spain is in Europe either. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/105 "2008-09-19T14:47:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > The liberal media seems to ignoring this story. Can you imagine the size and duration of the hedlines over this if Obama had answered the same exact question the same exact way? There would be editorials demanding he step down from the ticket. In McCain’s defense (I think), it sounded like he misheard “Europe” for “you” which accounted for his non-responsive response “What about me?” ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/106 "2008-09-19T14:50:23Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Can you imagine the size and duration of the hedlines over this if Obama had answered the same exact question the same exact way? There would be editorials demanding he step down from the ticket. > > In McCain’s defense (I think), it sounded like he misheard “Europe” for “you” > which accounted for his non-responsive response “What about me?” I agree, but that only addresses one lesser part of the overall evident confusion. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/107 "2008-09-20T02:26:56Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > The liberal media seems to ignoring this story. It can’t matter if it’s not reported. > > I got the impression that not only did McCain not know who they were talking about, he didn’t really seem to grasp the concept that Spain is in Europe either. I think it’s being ignored because it takes more than 10 seconds to explain. Besides, it involves Spanish-speaking people, and who gives a rat’s ass about _them_ except that they’re taking all our jobs and clogging up our emergency rooms and sucking off welfare and, and, and… **HEAAAAAAAAAAAAVE** _pant pant pant_ Okay, I’ve expelled the Limbaugh miasma from my frontal lobes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/108 "2008-09-22T13:44:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > The problem for me is that if you call him a puta (which you can), you have to call him a puta estúpida, you have to be consistant on your choice of gender. What hurts my eyes is the mismatch. Yea my grammar needs work badly. I’m learning my spare time though. My current job has a large monolingual Spanish speaking population so now I figure is the time to learn. I’m 1/4 Latino from my dad’s side but I’ve met him for maybe a whole 10 minutes in my life. So as my Peruvian friend says I sound very “white”. To her white means anyone with a US passport (don’t matter if they’re Black, Native American, Latin, Asian, ect.). I’m getting so I can understand enough to piece together what they’re talking about at work sometimes but my grammar and vocabulary need work. Anyway thanks for the feedback. Silly mistake. tl;dr: I’m working on sounding less “white”! PS:speaking of english speakers screwing up genders there’s writing on the bathroom wall at work about how some dude wants to fuck Latino pussy. It paints an interesting image. edit: sorry for hijack. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/109 "2008-09-22T14:24:28Z")
I reported this incident to my (American living in Spain) friend and this is what she had to say: > [@](#): > > This just goes to show you how little Spain means in the grand scheme of things It is quite scary really that the guy who might be invading some country just for shits & giggles cannot tell countries apart and might end up invading the wrong country. Sometimes The Onion just doesn’t seem so funny: [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27961](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27961) ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/110 "2008-09-24T01:33:45Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Mock on, mock on. Kinda reminds me of the liberal mockery of Reagan. He turned out to be one of the most popular Presidents in US history, much to the liberals’ chagrin and frustration. You honestly think John Q Public out there give a cuss about this? Reagan was not a terribly good Prez, though popular. And Juan Q. Publico might care; Latino swing voters matter in Florida & New Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132/111 "2008-09-24T01:35:21Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Reagan was not a terribly good Prez, though popular. > > And Juan Q. Publico might care; Latino swing voters matter in Florida & New Mexico. And Colorado and Arizona. McCain is being forced to spend money in his home state. It’s sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-offends-spain-or-foreign-policy-genius-my-ass/464132.md?page=5)