Democrats Shouldn't Get Too Cozy, McCain At His Best As Underdog
Grrrrrr........
So I'm reading McCain: Myth Of A Maverick, by former war-blogger and Reason editor-in-chief Matt Welch and it's led me to some interesting epiphanies. Welch, who would likely describe himself as a libertarian (Reason is the leading libertarian magazine), seems to be trying to convince the reader that McCain isn't quite what he portrays himself to be, specifically, a maverick.
Last fall at the first BlogWorldExpo, I asked Matt if he were forced to vote today, would he vote for McCain and he thoughtfully paused and said "No, if I had to vote today, I'd vote for Ron Paul." I am not sure if Mr. Welch still feels that way, but one of his reasons was McCain's commitment to the Iraq War, and Welch's desire to see the U.S. extract itself from that conflict. Matt made it clear McCain's inherent war-mindedness, wasn't exactly what the country needed.
A lot's happened since last November. I'll be honest, I haven't finished the book yet, but so far, what I've read is superbly written, full of insight and well researched — and of course, McCain's camp wanted nothing to do with it.
What makes Welch's take on the man who might be our next president is his own political neutrality. That's not to say Matt's neutral, but his views could be construed as outside of the two-party system which dominates U.S. politics. Despite the book being written from a fairly neutral perspective, it's obvious Welch's research led him to portray McCain as a man who isn't so much a maverick, as much as he is defiant and bullheaded. McCain's also something else; he a master of coming from behind to win when all odds are stacked against him. Sort of like we are seeing right now. And this should be a warning to democrats.
McCain, a man of many contradictions, has on one hand distanced himself from his own Republican party by refusing to play partisan politics as Senator, but then as presidential candidate, he overtly pandered to the extreme right by choosing a polarizing running mate like Governor Sarah Palin. The over-arching theme to McCain's life is his ability to find himself in losing situations and relish in it. McCain's real nickname should be "Underdog" or "Back Against The Wall" or "Against All Odds" McCain, not "Maverick," or even such salty names as his paternal heroes like "Good G*ddamn McCain" and my favorite, "McNasty" as Welch reports.
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