"That One..."

It came from the guy's mouth...

It's hard to refute the tape -- even the crowd winced when it was uttered, even the Brits across the pond went "whoa" .... how come? Because "that one" was sitting less than three feet away from John McCain and yet the best Republican that could be rounded up for the 2008 election came off as some hateful little man who would use the words "it" or "thing" to describe another human being.

Now for those who want to try to play it off like: "oh that's not what he meant" -- then you're not a real good student of history or at the very least when it comes to civil rights history when it was very common to refer to men and women of color in same manner. Look at the audience reaction - watch how they went: "oh my god, did he just say that?" This is Nashville, Tennessee -- rooted in the South -- racial inequality pretty prevalent in the 1960's along with most of the South.

So when you refer to another human being as "that one" -- remove race for a moment -- only impugns your character to the point of obscurity. Because McCain has no problems calling out Obama in his stump speeches over the last several days -- at least have the decency to refer to "that one" as "he" or "Senator Obama" or "him" or even "that dude." Because at point you've at least recovered the fact that you think Obama is actually human and happens to be running against you for public office. Anything less shows that you're at best "uppity" and at worst a racist.

Intended or not - it proves that McCain simply lacks the mental fortitude to conduct himself in a respectable manner without committing such a horrific insensitive gaffe. McCain may have just blasted through the door if this was the race card moment ... the crowed felt it, the Brits felt it -- a lot of people felt it.

Check the tape -- make sure he wasn't misquoted .... (hint: he wasn't.)