I once admired John McCain as the maverick he often plays on TV. I then read his autobiography, and it was unsettling. I can’t quite say what really bothered me about it. Some things just seemed disjointed, and not in a literary or grammatical sense.
The Keating Five scandal was far greater than anything done by Enron executives, but McCain walked away almost unscathed. He operates in Arizona in the same way Robert Byrd does in West Virginia–untouchable due to his Vietnam record and his wife’s family’s influence.
His conflict with Bradley Smith goes back a long way. I wonder if there isn’t something McCain is worried about coming to light, and Smith has the flashlight.
And I’m for just about anyone who is against John McCain. I agree with Winfield Myers:
From my perspective, these amount to many reasons to like Bradley Smith, to believe he’s a man of integrity and courage, and to take heed to what he says. There is a segment of the Establishment that is annoyed by the need to hear criticism of their ideas and policy positions. In the past, they could count on the MSM to beat the drum for their causes and, in most cases, simply ignore their critics. That was certainly true in history of campaign finance “reform,” which was and remains a mandatory article of faith to John McCain and virtually the entire political left.
You know I kind of agree with you, I used to respect the hell out of McCain, he reminded so very much of Harry Truman. Then came the trashing he suffered in the South Carolina primary in 2000, and he still kissed W’s ass afterward, when most men would have choked the shit out of the little twerp. Not to mention Karl Rove too. I lost respect for him when he began placing party above truth after that year. Now I don’t think I would vote for him as an animal control officer anymore
Comment by Bubba Bo Bob Brain — March 6, 2005 @ 10:23 am
Very interesting take on McCain. My father, during the 2000 primary campaign, made almost the same comment about McCain — “there’s something about him that bothers me — there’s something not right about him.” I wonder if it has something to do with all those years at the Hanoi Hilton.
Comment by John Adams at The Commons — March 6, 2005 @ 10:48 pm
I’ve know quite a few of McCain’s “roommates” at the Hanoi Hilton, and none set off that alarm in my mind like he does. And the fact that I can’t identify it bothers me more. I think in the last decade he has become something like Ted Kennedy, a self-nominated keeper of the status quo. I believe in campaign finance reform, but there are far simpler ways of handling it than the law which was passed.
Let’s require all candidates for Congress and the Senate to travel within their states by car rather than plane. Limit the number of campaign advisors. Allow for the printing of only a certain number of posters and bumper stickers. Require candidates to visit a certain percentage of towns and cities within their state/district. Limit the number of television commercials. Restrict Presidential candidates from visiting any state more than twice in a campaign.
All of these are better limitations than the ones in the law, yet all of them are also, in my mind, unconstitutional.
As long as money is identified as to where is originated, then there should be no restrictions except that it must come from individuals. You want to keep big money out of politics? Don’t let organizations or companies donate to candidates. The First Amendment applies to individuals, not groups.
Comment by Bunker — March 7, 2005 @ 8:51 am
Wow, now THERE’S something we can agree on big-time. Wonder if there’s any chance they would ever go for it… not feeling optimistic.
Quite a different experience for the Texas candidate and the Rhode Island candidate!
Comment by Bogey — March 7, 2005 @ 10:09 am
At least those in Alaska could do it fairly easily–not a lot of cities far from the coast!
Comment by Bunker — March 7, 2005 @ 10:49 am
I think that next to the word “smarmy” in the dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=smarmy), there might be a little pen and ink drawing of John McCain. He just looks like one of those kinds of guys that make you want to head to the nearest rest room and wash up after shaking hands with him.
I might have that completely wrong, he’s probably like every other politician I’ve met. Lots of charisma…could probably get me to vote for them moments after meeting them…Thank God we don’t have federal politicians at the polling places.
See you on the high ground!
MajorDad1984
Comment by MajorDad1984 — March 7, 2005 @ 7:38 pm
I’ve never liked McCain and have been of the opinion he is a loose cannon.
Having lived in Fairbanks, AK for four long years lol, I can attest to the fact that there are quite a few towns (admittedly small) in the interior and beyond. Farther out, there are places that are accessible only by air. So the travel by car plan wouldn’t be an option for those running for office in AK.
I think your idea for REAL campaign finance reform of allowing individuals to donate to campaigns and not groups is a perfect solution. I think everyone in America (except politicians)could get behind this. I also think this would help eliminate big business from having such influence over our elected officials.
Tonight, I ran across this article about McCain’s little “go around” of his own campaign finance reform and thought about you. Figured you might be interested in reading it – if you haven’t already. McCain Group Got Big Cable Donation.
Comment by Army wife — March 7, 2005 @ 9:31 pm
Oops. For some reason my link didn’t go through…
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050308/D88MFUN00.html
Comment by Army wife — March 7, 2005 @ 9:34 pm
Bunker, thanks: some days it seems like I’m the only person who remembers the Keating Five. Elected in 1986, involved in a major, sleazy, financial scandal before the end of his first term, champions as a “get the money out of politics” guy, white charger and all.
We have a phrase for guys like him Back East: “Piece of Work.”
Comment by Paulie at The Commons — March 8, 2005 @ 10:37 am