"But That Was Yesterday . . . and Yesterday's Gone"

   We begin with a heartfelt -- albeit pro forma -- declaration: Senator John McCain is a man of uncommon valor and fortitude.  What he went through during his five tortuous years as a P.O.W. is beyond human comprehension.  He was tested in ways that not even Franz Kafka could imagine, and emerged to greet the sun of a new day. Senator McCain was, is, and shall always be, a shining example of the ineffable in man.

   Having unburdened ourselves of the plaudits due the man, let's get to the subject at hand: the genius of John McCain . . .

   For years, editorial writers have used the words "maverick," and "principled" to describe Senator McCain.  Time and again, he has been applauded for bucking Republican orthodoxy, for being the "heir" of Teddy Roosevelt.  At one point this was undeniably true.  Consider that in past years, Senator McCain co-sponsored a patients' bill of rights with liberal stalwarts Ted Kennedy and John Edwards.  He united with Senator Chuck Schumer to sponsor one bill allowing the reimportation of prescription drugs and another permitting the wider sale of generic alternatives.  All three of these drove the health care industry, the White House and the GOP leadership up the wall.  Despite pressure, Senator McCain did not cave.

   Senator McCain joined John Kerry in co-sponsoring a bill raising automobile fuel efficiency standards.  Another time he teamed up with Joe Lieberman on a measure imposing a cap-and-trade regime on carbon emissions.  He was also one of only six Republicans to vote against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.

   He has worked with Michigan Senator Carl Levin to close tax shelters, co-sponsored bills to close the gun-show loophole and federalize airport security and, perhaps most notably, voted against both the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts.   Talk about a maverick!

   In fact, his moderate bona fides were so accepted, so much of the myth that is John McCain, that in 2004, John Kerry actually wooed him to join his ticket as vice president.  According to the New Republic's Jonathan Chait, the two held no less than a half-dozen clandestine conversations on the topic which, as Chait noted, was "about a half-dozen more than would have been needed if McCain was a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Republican."

    At this point, a lyric from Chad and Jeremy comes to mind: "But that was yesterday . . . and yesterday's gone." [For all you guitar enthusiasts out there, that's E7, A, Bm7-5, E7, A, Bm7-5, A D9, E7.] 

    Where then is the John McCain of yesteryear?  What became of the man who, like T.R., was dead-set against repealing the estate tax, and once called the Reverends Falwell and Robertson "agents of intolerance?"  Is this the same man who now wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, and is "very honored" to have the endorsements of Pastor Rod ["America was created to destroy Islam"] Pasley and Reverend John ["The Catholic Church is a whore"] Hagee?  How is it that a man who spent so many years working in tandem with Feingold, Kennedy, Schumer, Levin et al, can now claim the mantle of George W. Bush? 

   During the Republican primaries, many of the nation's most influential papers lauded McCain as a principled, straight-shooter:

• The Boston Globe: "Voters may disagree with his policies, but few doubt his sincerity."
• The Los Angeles Times: "The Arizona senator's conservatism is, if not always to our liking, at least genuine."
• The Wall Street Journal: "His philosophy is best described as a work in progress."

   Truth to tell, McCain's metamorphosis from "maverick" to "true believer" is not all that surprising.  After all, he is running for president, and will need both the hard-core right and big money if he is to win in November.  That's just the way politics works.

   What is a bit surprising -- and more than a little frustrating -- however, is the relatively free ride he has gotten from the media.  Articles and editorials enumerating his many flip-flops are in short supply.  Nowhere do we find commentary on his weak, dunderheaded rationalizations about why he wishes to make permanent the very tax cuts he originally voted against. When repeal of the estate tax first hit the senate floor, McClain noted "I follow the course of Teddy Roosevelt who talked about the malefactors of great wealth and gave us the estate tax."  Likewise, his votes against both the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.  Today, he declares that voting to make those cuts permanent is not in the least inconsistent: "To let them expire would amount to a tax hike." 

   Excuse me? Isn't this the height of illogic?  While it is perfectly natural for some to oppose -- and others to support -- tax cuts, where is the logic in claiming that the repeal of said cut is tantamount to a tax hike? It buggers the imagination.    

   Those who have made a cottage industry out of harping on Senator Obama's "relationship" with Jeremiah Wright are strangely mute on the subject of the "Straight-Shooter" and his ecclesiastic minyan.  Where the Reverend Wright spewed his bilge in front of a couple of thousand each Sunday, the Reverend Hagee's, national television and radio ministry reaches an estimated 99 million homes a week [source: http//www.ministrywatch.org]

      There has been a great deal of speculation over which Democrat -- Obama or Clinton -- has the best chance of defeating John McCain.  Yes, we're well aware of those exit polls that purport to show an unhealthy percentage of Clinton supporters who claim they will vote for McCain if their candidate doesn't capture the nomination.  To our way of thinking in early May, those polls don't mean a whole heck of a lot.  We've yet to see a head-to-head debate between McCain and Obama.  Our money is on the Illinois senator; he has the issues, the message, and ability to make himself understood.  And, his thermostat is set a lot lower than McCain's, who has long been known for possessing a volcanic temper.

   One wonders if Senator McCain -- unlike Senators Obama or Clinton -- is immune to media scrutiny because "attacking" him -- i.e. revealing the truth -- would be tantamount to trashing an American hero.

   It is indeed a long, long journey from working with Ted Kennedy and having serious chats with John Kerry to climbing into bed with John Hagee and Rod Paisley.  It takes seven-league boots to make the leap from maverick to mossback. 

   Chad and Jeremy were right: But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.

    It only remains to be seen if the American voting public and the Fourth Estate know how to sing that refrain.

©2008 Kurt F. Stone

Comments

[Alan Weiss]

Not surprised! All politicians follow the money....

[Ken]

John McCain is not the person he is perceived to be. Example # 1: McCain voted against a comprehensive G.I. Bill of rights for returning soldiers; rights that were extended to him when he returned from Viet Nam
I would describe McCain in a similiar way as I would describe Justice Clarence Thomas. and I may throw in Joe Lieberman.