[Deckard]

I can understand why some people would find it annoying Cacophony, infuriating even. It's not a good way to speak.

Whether he really is the kind of person to view women in that demeaning way, I'm not so sure. I see nothing else that points to that, and it would seem at odds with what I know about him. Language is frequently formed by habit (itself informed by culture) rather than a direct reflection of those views. I'm not excusing that habit, and I don't dispute that he was wrong to use it - but neither am I sure we can be so quick to assume that it "speaks volumes" about him.

Occasionally phrasing things in a way likely to offend can indeed be indicative of that person's true attitude - but not always. Sometimes it just betrays clumsiness, laziness or - as he said - a bad habit. Sometimes a certain word is just more rife in a certain culture where it doesn't generally offend as much as its roots might suggest. His apology was swift and gracious, though no doubt we could argue over whether it was strategic or genuine (my guess: both), but I'm certainly not going to jump to any conclusions about his attitude to women from this single habit.

(Btw with all the excitement surrounding his candidacy, I'm aware of the danger of idolising him so much that we turn a blind eye to his faults. I consciously try to avoid that and I don't believe I'm doing it in my judgment of him here)