The Arizonian Candidate
John McCain just can't seem to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up: A Republican or a Democrat. After campaigning half-heartedly for George Bush, he now tells NBC's Tim Russert that Hillary Clinton would make a good president.
There must be someone in John McCain's life that cares enough to get him a CAT scan. Apparently, the Viet Cong interrogators at the Hanoi Hilton were very proficient, and McCain is suffering from a head-injury that has gone undiagnosed for many years now, or he has simply spent way too much time in the searing Arizona sun. How else can his erratic statements and behaviors be explained, unless there is a more sinister and cynical motive in his constant attempts to ingratiate himself with the Democrats.
Even worse, Republican leadership never seems to have the courage to slap McCain down when he deserves it. He wears the mantle of "war hero" so effectively that no one dares take him to task, although it is reasonable to ask how crashing two planes and getting a third shot out from under you qualifies anyone for "hero" status. By all accounts, McCain was not particularly brave or heroic or inspirational while he was in POW confinement, as many were, and there are enough rumors about collaborative conduct in the Hanoi Hilton to at least raise a few eyebrows.
But someone (read Senate Leadership) should clamp down on this loose cannon, and quickly. With no clear Republican front-runner for 2008, and with Clinton already in campaign high gear, McCain's comments are nothing short of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. And this is not the first time McCain has proven himself a dead weight around the party's neck.
McCain claims to be a "good Republican", and a party loyalist, but recent history leaves those assertions in great doubt. Following his humiliating defeat during the 2000 Republican primaries, McCain became embittered. After all, how could he, the war hero and long serving Senator, lose to a political novice like Bush? His nasty resentment and purple-faced anger began to manifest immediately, as McCain found every opportunity to criticize the president, and ally himself to the Democrats on issues such as campaign finance "reform", tax cuts, drilling for oil in ANWR, corporate mergers, and gun control. After 9/11, while Democrats temporarily tempered their incessant criticism for fear of public back-lash, McCain forged ahead for them. He criticized Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for lack of progress in the battle against terrorism, and accused the administration of incompetence by not sending enough troops into battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. More recently, he blamed the Bush administration for the Abu Ghraib fiasco, and gleefully allowed four months to pass before he declined John Kerry's desperate attempts for a "fusion" ticket against Bush. Almost as an afterthought, he half-heartedly joined the Bush campaign where he spent most of his time telling everyone what a nice guy John Kerry was, and what a great president he would make. All this from a self-professed "loyal" Republican.
No one would respect loyalty at the expense of personal integrity, but McCain is simply nasty and conniving in his dissent. Instead of respectful disagreement, McCain appears to be venting, and aligning himself against Bush and the Republicans out of spite or personal advancement. Everytime he distances himself from his own party, he becomes the media darling once again, and face-time on network news shows seems to be more important to him than conservative principles or his own constituents. These are not the motives of a stable individual, or a true leader.
The Senate Leadership should make it clear to McCain that he needs to make up his mind. There is a difference between the ideals and goals of the Republican Party and those of the Democrats. The chasm of idealogy is wider than his home state's Grand Canyon, and even a flake like McCain should be able to see that. If he chooses not to support the party to which he belongs, and he continues to cozy up with those who would destroy it, his chairmanships should be stripped and his office should be moved to a broom closet twenty blocks from the Senate Office Building, at the very least.
It is well past time to stop treating this man with a deference he has never earned and continues to sully.
Either McCain quits undermining his own party, or McCain has got to go.
There must be someone in John McCain's life that cares enough to get him a CAT scan. Apparently, the Viet Cong interrogators at the Hanoi Hilton were very proficient, and McCain is suffering from a head-injury that has gone undiagnosed for many years now, or he has simply spent way too much time in the searing Arizona sun. How else can his erratic statements and behaviors be explained, unless there is a more sinister and cynical motive in his constant attempts to ingratiate himself with the Democrats.
Even worse, Republican leadership never seems to have the courage to slap McCain down when he deserves it. He wears the mantle of "war hero" so effectively that no one dares take him to task, although it is reasonable to ask how crashing two planes and getting a third shot out from under you qualifies anyone for "hero" status. By all accounts, McCain was not particularly brave or heroic or inspirational while he was in POW confinement, as many were, and there are enough rumors about collaborative conduct in the Hanoi Hilton to at least raise a few eyebrows.
But someone (read Senate Leadership) should clamp down on this loose cannon, and quickly. With no clear Republican front-runner for 2008, and with Clinton already in campaign high gear, McCain's comments are nothing short of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. And this is not the first time McCain has proven himself a dead weight around the party's neck.
McCain claims to be a "good Republican", and a party loyalist, but recent history leaves those assertions in great doubt. Following his humiliating defeat during the 2000 Republican primaries, McCain became embittered. After all, how could he, the war hero and long serving Senator, lose to a political novice like Bush? His nasty resentment and purple-faced anger began to manifest immediately, as McCain found every opportunity to criticize the president, and ally himself to the Democrats on issues such as campaign finance "reform", tax cuts, drilling for oil in ANWR, corporate mergers, and gun control. After 9/11, while Democrats temporarily tempered their incessant criticism for fear of public back-lash, McCain forged ahead for them. He criticized Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for lack of progress in the battle against terrorism, and accused the administration of incompetence by not sending enough troops into battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. More recently, he blamed the Bush administration for the Abu Ghraib fiasco, and gleefully allowed four months to pass before he declined John Kerry's desperate attempts for a "fusion" ticket against Bush. Almost as an afterthought, he half-heartedly joined the Bush campaign where he spent most of his time telling everyone what a nice guy John Kerry was, and what a great president he would make. All this from a self-professed "loyal" Republican.
No one would respect loyalty at the expense of personal integrity, but McCain is simply nasty and conniving in his dissent. Instead of respectful disagreement, McCain appears to be venting, and aligning himself against Bush and the Republicans out of spite or personal advancement. Everytime he distances himself from his own party, he becomes the media darling once again, and face-time on network news shows seems to be more important to him than conservative principles or his own constituents. These are not the motives of a stable individual, or a true leader.
The Senate Leadership should make it clear to McCain that he needs to make up his mind. There is a difference between the ideals and goals of the Republican Party and those of the Democrats. The chasm of idealogy is wider than his home state's Grand Canyon, and even a flake like McCain should be able to see that. If he chooses not to support the party to which he belongs, and he continues to cozy up with those who would destroy it, his chairmanships should be stripped and his office should be moved to a broom closet twenty blocks from the Senate Office Building, at the very least.
It is well past time to stop treating this man with a deference he has never earned and continues to sully.
Either McCain quits undermining his own party, or McCain has got to go.
posted by Mark Outland at 4:23 PM
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