McCain The Front-Runner In 08? Who Knew?

I'm going to hazard a guess that David Ignatius of The Washington Post doesn't vote in Republican primaries, though certainly I could be wrong.

But as the apparent front-runner in the 2008 presidential race, McCain is spending more of his time in the bog of American politics, and it's no picnic.

The Post's headline suggests McCain isn't the type to sell his soul, of course not, why sell ones soul when selling out the First Amendment will do?

The Examiner notes McCain's comment last week that he prefers "clean government" to respect for the First Amendment...

Here's an interesting quote from McCain in today's Washington Post:

"I haven't changed. My record is the same on all issues, which is that of a conservative Republican. Not a liberal Republican, not a moderate Republican." But in the next breath, he lists all the positions he has taken that have made him the darling of centrist Republicans and Democrats, from torture to ethics reform to climate change.

See, McCain isn't a liberal, or even a moderate Republican - he just plays one on TV ... and the Senate floor, as well, unfortunately. And, really, we should allow for the loose language below, but McCain should also be more mindful of making it appear as though he views the Republican base as the devil. McCain might want a better characterization here.

If that means I can't get the Republican nomination, fine. I've had a happy life. The worst thing I can do is sell my soul to the devil."

And here is another rich bit from McCain Ignatius doesn't analyze:

A measure of McCain's loyalty to Bush on Iraq is that he won't rule out becoming secretary of defense if Rumsfeld goes. "I would have to assess where I can be most effective," he said, adding: "It's awfully hard to say no to the president of the United States."

One perennial knock on Senators running for President is their lack of executive experience. Except possibly for his military experience, McCain has none. Ultimately, I doubt his particular military experience qualifies as a form of organizational executive experience. Perhaps it might really be that he wants to pad the resume before he makes the big run.

He's the victim of torture who opposes torture, the man caught in the "Keating Five" ethics scandal who insists on reform, the critic of Iraq policy who insists that America must win the war, the conservative who is beloved by moderates. A McCain candidacy, if he makes the formal decision next year to run, will be rooted in his image as a man of principle.

Unfortunately, it's difficult for me to see McCain's image, what with all the smoke and mirrors hanging around. I'm glad Ignatius sees it as an image based on principle. Unfortunately, as far as many Conservatives can tell, it really may be about image and only image with John McCain.

Comments

[Caesar Wackadoo]

McAnal isn't any of the things he claims to be. I look back at the whole Jeffords deal. You KNOW that McAnal was a breath away from doing the same. Yeah, what Rove (whose conservative credentials I also question) did to him in South Carolina was bullshit, and maybe I can understand the grudge. But in the end it's better that we didn't get McAnal.

He's just like Clinton but with an "R" next to his name. God, we need a charismatic conservative to run! Frist won't do. George Allen, maybe, but he needs to build up name recognition and start doing it rapidly.

I'm so glad you brought up the Keating 5, by the way. How come he's off the hook for this?

[tester]

I dunno, but my guess would be that he would have a harder time getting the republican nomination than the presidency.

[rwilymz]

"He's just like Clinton but with an "R" next to his name."

And what's wrong with that? Republicans and "conservatives" accuse Clinton of all manner of things, and then get offended when Democrats and "liberals" return the compliment.

Clinton was a grasping, self-righteous sleaze bag; he used the military incompetently and in severe variance with both accepted military practice and immediate military advice; but a "bad president" he wasn't.

The stereotypical "conservative" is a divisive figure in American politics; the American people want legal abortions and stem-cell research, and the dyed-in-the-wool "conservative" won't accept that. This IS still a democracy.

The only reason "conservatives" get elected to national offices are because of the entrenched "conservative" voter bloc and because the "liberals" are in a holding pattern of trotting out even more divisive and simplistic idiots.

The stereotypical "liberal" also needs to understand that the nation is still a democracy and that even though the vast majority of us want legal abortion that not all abortions should be legal -- but they're too busy catering to those who wet their panties every time someone suggests parental notification laws.

[richard mcenroe]

McCain and Hillary share one quality, to steal a line from Robin Williams: they wear their sunglasses mirrored on the inside.

Neither of them sees the welfare of this country as anything more than an inconvenient fiction people have invented to interfere with their perfectly reasonable personal aspirations...