Patterson Attacks Obama at GOP Convention

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson thinks one of the most insulting things he can do to the Democratic presidential candidate is repeat his name.

[Patterson] was introduced most aptly by the Tom Petty song "I Won't Back Down." Patterson applied that description to Texas Republicans, maintaining "We will not be voting for Barack Hussein Obama."

Wow, take that Democrats!

According to the Dallas Morning News, Patterson also attacked Obama for his previous association with the controversial Rev. Wright.

Of course, Patterson, who has been known to utter a few injudicious comments himself, left out McCain's association with Rev. John "Catholicism is the Great Whore" Hagee.

And even as Patterson was making his comments at the GOP convention, John McCain was backing out of a fundraiser hosted by Texas oilman William Clayton after someone remembered that Clayton once said a few impolitic comments about women during a campaign for governor against Ann Richards.

Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards (D), sparked controversy nearly two decades ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked at the time.

That comment and others were certainly a factor in Williams' defeat.

At the time, Mr. Williams, a Republican who was running against Ann Richards, made a joke about rape and said he would campaign against Ms. Richards, a Democrat, as he would deal with a cow on his ranch: “head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt.” He later apologized for the remarks.

The campaign canceled the fund-raiser on Friday after it faced questions from ABC News and The Washington Post.

“These were obviously incredibly offensive remarks that the campaign was unaware of at the time it was scheduled,” said Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign. “It’s positive that he did apologize at the time, but the comments are nonetheless offensive.”

Of course, no one offered to give back the money.

Several stories on the fundraiser have noted that the timing is bad, as McCain was reaching out to disaffected Clinton supporters. But as one blogger put it:

If John McCain wanted to win over the votes of Hillary Clinton's supporters, he shouldn't have left his long-suffering first wife for a beautiful young rodeo-queen heiress with blonde hair.

And as to Patterson's reference to Obama's full name, as long as he henceforth refers to the GOP candidate as John Sidney McCain III, I've got no problem with it.