Monday, October 06, 2008

The foot bone's connected to the . . . ankle bone

Matthew Yglesias points to a column in Newsweek in which Jon Meacham gives John McCain a very bizarre compliment:

John McCain is a man of accomplishment and curiosity, of wide and deep reading, travel and experience. He is smart without being a snob. He has authored legislation and books. He is a man of parts—the kind of figure whom one could effortlessly imagine being president.
A man of parts?

22 comments:

Leonard said...

Hey, don't feel bad; I didn't know either. But I do have this thingie here called "goggle", or something, so I goggled it and lo-n-behold:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_parts

John McCain is a pickup artist! Booyah! Scamming the VPILF!

Anonymous said...

I love this term! I am inspired to create and entire internet persona around it. First up, a gmail account...

MandT said...

"He is a man of parts" Ah, yes: Parts is parts. McNuggets. Yum

Ashley said...

…whom one could effortlessly imagine being president.

I agree emphatically and I'm grateful it's just one and no others.

Anon1 said...

Well, I'm sure the description of McInsane as a "man of parts" is correct as written. Surely he has at least a few parts left that decrepitude and his POW time (Did you know he was a POW? He doesn't like to talk about it you know) didn't take away.

Then there were the likely parts lost in his numerous crashes of aircraft during his service as an aviator in the navy. He, like, crashed his plane at least 3 separate times NOT including his being shot down. Parts come off all over the place in those circumstances.

I'm certain he must still have a few parts.

cb said...

I originally skimmed that as "He is a man of pants."

Anonymous said...

Based on Leonard's investigations, I'm given to understand McCain is going to be like... Clinton?

Anonymous said...

A bit on the ironic side...the "man of parts" can't comb his own hair.

Keifus said...

I originally skimmed that as "He is a man of pants."

You're not the only one. I also read that he authorized books and legislation. Which seems more accurate.

K (but to be fair, I'm kinda drunk.)

Christopher said...

Well, clearly it means that McCain is actually Voltron.

Which is a good thing, since Obama just doesn't have the expertise to protect us from Robeasts.

Phillip Allen said...

Just 'cause McCain's a 'man of parts' doesn't mean that they are his original parts, or that the resulting assemblage is anything remotely human.

Anonymous said...

Hey. Back off, folks. Humpty Dumpty was a man of parts, too.

puppylander said...

i agree. john mccain is a man, of sorts.

Mike said...

Yeah Ioz, parts.
As in: "The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone....And that's how Uncle Herman was born.
O doe dee o doe."

Anonymous said...

I'm not fan of the Democrats, but if I was in power, I would put a bullet in the brain of every single Republican in the country. Every last one of them.

Aaron said...

Anagram. He's actually an almond-paste confection--which, given the general discernment of the American electorate, may indeed be a qualification for higher office.

mds said...

Obviously, Meacham is the proud owner of Write Like an Edwardian-era Pompous Ass, by G. Will.

Anonymous said...

The Edwardians were writing and such in the first decade of the twentieth century. Nimrod.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Nimrod, leave the Edwardians alone. If it wasn't for Tedward Roosevelt we'd all be speaking Russian now.

mds said...

The Edwardians were writing and such in the first decade of the twentieth century. Nimrod.

Whoops, sorry, that would be after McCain's formative years.

paul from the clue-by-four said...

Nimrod was a Mesopotamian monarch mentioned in the Jewish Tanakh, and who figures in many legends and folktales. Edwards.

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