August 18, 2004
BI?:
McCain's Bipartisan Mirage (Mary Lynn F. Jones, August 17, 2004, The American Prospect)
Ever since Sen. John McCain ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 against then-Gov. George W. Bush, he has been the Democrats' favorite Republican. McCain championed campaign finance reform, an issue Democrats pushed into law over GOP objections. He was thought to be in the running for Sen. John Kerry's vice-presidential nominee and defended Kerry against a recent ad criticizing Kerry's Vietnam service.But McCain – who Democrats once hoped would pull a Jim Jeffords (by leaving the Republican Party) or a Zell Miller (by remaining in his party but acting like he's a member of the other party) – has also been a loyal Republican. Campaigning with George W. Bush in Florida earlier this month, he said Bush has "earned our admiration and our love," according to CongressDaily. McCain also plans to speak during primetime at the Republican National Convention in a few weeks.
All of the attention has been great for McCain, who has become the darling of both parties. A frequent guest on television shows, McCain is seen as a credible, articulate straight shooter. And it's never hurt an ego to be considered the most popular guy on campus. As a result, he's become untouchable in the sense that neither party thinks it can afford to alienate or even criticize him.
Numerous Democrats, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and even Kerry in his Boston acceptance speech last month, keep touting their friendships with McCain to hitch themselves to his popularity and to show that they're bipartisan. But they also need to recognize that McCain is never going to join their ranks, and that, in the presidential election, he's working for everything they're working against.
Ah, the Left's version of bi-partisan...you abandon the GOP entirely and become a partisan Democrat. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 18, 2004 9:19 AM
OJ:
You are certainly correct that to a Democrat, a bi-partisan Republican is one who adopts all their positions on all issues. I think, however, that McCain is to blame for encouraging Democrats to believe this. Ever since he was implicated in the Keating finance mess some years ago, McCain has not only become nauseatingly self-righteous about campaign finance reform, but he has violated and has continued to violate what I believe is the 12th Commandment for Republicans -- stop caring how your speeches and actions are treated by the NY Times and Washington Post.
Fortunately, we've elected a President who observes that commandment and it is his willingness to ignore the caterwauling of the so-called elite, which those two old dinosaurs consider as the received wisdom, that will ensure our ultimate triumph in this, World War IV (I've taken the liberty of adopting Norman Podhoretz's characterization of the current war).
Posted by: Morrie at August 18, 2004 9:37 AMMorrie:
I believe they call that "growth" inside the beltway. Ms. Jones is just dissappointed at the realization that McCain is never going to "grow" into another Jim Jeffords.
Posted by: Jeff at August 18, 2004 9:59 AM>Ah, the Left's version of bi-partisan...
i.e. "Repenting and Converting to the One True Way."
Posted by: Ken at August 18, 2004 12:25 PM"A frequent guest on television shows, McCain is seen as a credible, articulate straight shooter. And it's never hurt an ego to be considered the most popular guy on campus. As a result, he's become untouchable in the sense that neither party thinks it can afford to alienate or even criticize him."
Yeah--that'll really hurt him come 2008.
I've already seen a few rumblings on the Internet from Democrats who feel that McCain has betrayed his claims of being a straight talker by continuing to support Bush. From McCain's side, if he still harbors hopes for a presidential bid in 2008, I hope he realizes no matter what Democrat he runs against were he to get the nomination, the demonization of him by the media would be almost in the same league as it is for Bush today (and probably the same if GWB wins in November and McCain ran to replace a Republican incumbent).
Posted by: John at August 18, 2004 5:08 PMJohn:
True enough - but the media would run a terrible risk by attacking McCain like they have Bush. McCain's image as a truth-telling hero is firmly set - few remember him as the junior Keating grifter and the man who put into place the legislation that enabled the telecom bubble.
I don't believe any Democrat could attack McCain. What are they going to do - blame him for getting shot down?
McCain's biggest challenge would be holding his tongue - Bush has absolutely excelled at not pissing on the media. He just ignores them.
And by Nov. 3, the media runs the risk of having zero credibility in this country. The gauntlet certainly has been thrown down by Prof. Instapundit and others on the Kerry/Cambodia story.
Posted by: jim hamlen at August 18, 2004 9:57 PM