(hat tip to revbludge for clever pun in altered title)
Hey, everyone.
McCain made a complete ass of himself tonight. He said perhaps dozens of absolutely ludicrous things. He ignored several of the questions that were asked of him. We could spend at least a week going to town on all the dumbass things he said.
So, here's my advice: Lay off the "tiller" mockery.
Well, let me be more precise. I think one of the dumbest-ass things McCain suggested all evening was that the need for a cool hand on the tiller was somehow a point in his favor. At this point, McCain's temper has become a solid meme for us to exploit. Come on, regardless of how accurate the accusation is, most of us -- and more importantly, most of the monkeys in the middle who we might be persuading -- suspect that it is quite accurate.
On the other hand, framing your mockery of McCain on your own damned ignorance makes you look really fucking stupid. In particular, it will make you look really fucking stupid (and "elitist") to anyone who has ever served in the navy. Because I'm pretty sure that in all the history of the US Navy, not one person who has ever been inducted has not known what a tiller is. It isn't some ancient and archaic terminology, like "omnibus" or "rotogravure". It's the fucking stick you use to steer a sailboat (or indeed, some motorized boats).
Yes. It is wholly and entirely current. Join the sailing club at your local university (if they have one) and they will put you in a 12 foot dinghy, put your hand on the stick that goes back to the rudder, and tell you that it is called the tiller.
Okay? You aren't mocking his anachronistic frame of reference, you are mocking his naval service.
So knock it the fuck off, you lameass philistines. And next summer, maybe try to get off your ass and out of your powerboat and spend some time on the water, marveling at the delicate balance of control whereby you capture the wind, knowing all along that it has the power to rip you and little boat to shreds.