McCain

We need to talk about Johnny Mac while we have the opportunity. I really don't understand the campaign he's running. It's basically "George W. Bush? I'll give you more of the same." Considering everything he's been through in his life, I don't understand why he'd want to try and sentence himself to four years in the White House.

2000 showed us that McCain is susceptible to dirty politics, and that was from within his own party. Well, it was Rove attacking, but still... If McCain gets the nomination, expect to see and hear many, many stories about the Keating Five and similar. I don't really think J McC is first in the minds of many primary voters, though. If you forced me to guess why he's still in the race, the best answer I could give you is "I don't know". Perhaps he's angling for a cabinet nomination. Perhaps Secretary of Defense, although in real terms he could do more with his senority as a Senator. Maybe he's running just to get first-hand experience with how his campaign finance reforms are working.

C: Kreskin, you've been reading my mind, Senator McCantankerous is red hot in New Hampshire. No matter what else, his is a fascinating American story. He's one tough SOB, spending a bit of time as a guest of North Vietnam probably makes political life feel like a garden party. In the Senate, he's pissed off his own party so many times for coloring outside the lines I imagine that's why he's got cred on both sides. Why he's running? Getting swiftboated by his own party has stuck in his craw, a vengeance thing. That, and I think he has a ball on his bus shooting the shit with his press entourage. But I remember that scene where he shook hands and hugged GWB and I could almost hear his teeth grinding. Vengeance. But what a weird six months, his Iraq position nearly blew up his campaign, he fired everyone, went broke and yet here he is. A survivor. A crazy old goat who's having a good time. The immigration Foam-at-the-Mouthers are going to come at him hard. I'm not writing him off. I also imagine him saying to GWB and Rove if he gets the nomination, "Where do you want it, the head or the gut?" Oof.

J: I do find it interesting that his Iraq position has been consistently about three months ahead of media reports. Almost everything he says about our little adventure in the Middle East has been somewhat ridiculed at the time, and accepted as common knowledge about 90 days later. I don't know if this will help or hurt him with GOP primary voters (since they aren't getting the unfiltered data from Iraq), but it'll read nice in the history books. 

If nothing else, McCain is a great character, in the literary sense. He brings an interesting personality into the race, and if for no better reason than my own amusement, I'm glad he's there.