Senator John McClean McCain is sanitizing his maverick image, scrubbing away the independence that made him so appealing to voters tired of politics as usual. Why? Because he is desperate to win the presidency in 2008. So much so that he is selling his soul to snuggle up with Jerry Falwell and George W. Bush.
Hitting the campaign trail, McCain isn’t just embracing his former nemesis Falwell, he’s locking lips with the saccharine pulpit pounder he once called intolerant. He wants to put the past where it belongs because according to John, “The worst thing you can do in life, much less politics, is to hold grudges.” That’s the worst? Gee, I can think of plenty of things that would make me more ashamed than holding a grudge. For instance, giving a president the authority to wage an illegal war, voting to fund endless war, and, particularly, believing that war is the only choice. For all the righteous certitude, Falwell is singing McCain’s praises, gushing because Sen. John doesn’t support same-sex marriage or a woman’s right to govern her body. That these two are harmonizing is a song of hypocrisy.
And McCain is glomming onto George Bush like a groupie in love. Supporting George’s neoconservative agenda, the Senator, who once declared Bush’s tax cuts a disaster, has voted to make them permanent. Not only is McCain being advised by Bushies, he’s also soliticited the aid of Bush fundraisers. It makes you wonder if McCain spends hours in front of a mirror repeating, “Being George Bush.”
Remember the ugly campaign leading up to Bush’s nomination for the 2000 election when W’s hit men hatched so many angles to discredit John McCain, even suggesting that the war hero’s years of captivity in Viet Nam created a crazy? No more grudges.
And remember that stage in Iowa when the candidates were asked to name their favorite philosopher? George Bush said, “Jesus Christ, because he changed my heart.” Then, several others capitulated to the ultra-religious base and agreed. John McCain didn’t. Instead, he said, “Theodore Roosevelt.” That’s when he was still the maverick.
Today, I believe he’d say, “Jesus Christ, because he changed my heart.” And if asked about his position, McCain would say, “Missionary.” But, then, he, Jerry, and George would struggle with who’d be on top.
Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, in Iraq on August 6,'05, she has been writing political articles.
