Upstate Congressional Candidate Raises Eyebrows Over Remarks (Updated)
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- April
- 9
The Daily Politics has picked up the clip, below, of Batavia resident and congressional candidate David Bellavia’s controversial remarks yesterday when introducing Sen. John McCain at a rally in Washington D.C. yesterday.
Bellavia, who is a founder of the 527 Vets for Freedom, said “You can have your Tiger Woods, we’ve got Sen. McCain. My friends. this is the real audacity of hope.”
Bellavia is a Republican candidate seeking the party’s nomination to run for the open seat being vacated by Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-Clarence, Erie County.
McCain didn’t address the remarks after he was introduced.
Updated: A reader sent in what he said is the full quote from Bellavia:
“Sen. John McCain has spent a lifetime in service to our nation. His example of unwavering courage is a model for every American. Rest assured that men like Senator McCain will be the goal and the men that my two young boys will emulate and admire. You can have your Tiger Woods, we’ve got Senator McCain.”
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on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 11:48 am by Joseph Spector.
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Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0. 
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
Bellavia was not comparing Tiger to Obama. He was simply making the point his sons will grow up to admire real heroes like John McCain and not sports figures like Tiger Woods. He used Tiger as an example because that is the first name to pop into his head. Yes, he took a jab at Obama at the end of his speech with the “Audacity of Hope” comment, but this was not about race either. David has been through hell and back and does not deserve these attacks. Did you know he is nominated for the Medal of Honor? Read his amazing book “House to House: An Epic Memoir of War”....then tell me what kind of person he is.