McCain, Now That It's Over

Back to the Senate, joining his fellow might have been's: Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Joe Leiberman. I'm sure he will devote his time to reclaiming his image as a maverick and honerable forthright man. We'll see.

I find this article utterly fascinating. You spend the first 3/4's of it with a scathingly accurate depiction of why his lurch to the right was misguided and doomed to fail. But then you spend the last reel assuring him that all is forgiven.

Sorry. I don't think his redemption is going to be any where near as easy to accomplish as you make it out to be. If this election has proven anything, it's that the mantle of 'true America' has been taken away from the haters and handed to the hopeful.

find this article utterly fascinating. You spend the first 3/4's of it with a scathingly accurate depiction of why his lurch to the right was misguided and doomed to fail. But then you spend the last reel a$suring him that all is forgiven.

Sorry. I don't think his redemption is going to be any where near as easy to accomplish as you make it out to be. If this election has proven anything, it's that the mantle of 'true America' has been taken away from the haters and handed to the hopeful.

Well we have another pile of bullsh!t shoveled to us with the same meme. It wasn't McCain's fault. It wasn't the real McCain. He didn't really mean all that stuff he said. Hey Jay you forgot the whole "if only we had 10 townhall debates" shtick. Don't get motion sickness taking too many turns on that tire swing!

If nothing else, McCain's shown to be an opportunist...I think he'll slide back into dealmaking Senator with relative ease, if somewhat less influence.

Guys is there an emoticon for putting my fingers down my throat. Gag me with a spoon Jay.

He will be rejuvenated in the eyes of the media, bit nowhere else. Meanwhile, the media will continue to wonder why they are losing money.

Good article, Jay. I'm glad you at least noted that it was not simply that there was an economic crisis and therefore that was automatically bad for McCain.
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It is that Mr. McCain's few solutions looked exactly like the policies that got us into the mess in the first place and people weren't buying it. Also, he clearly looked erratic and unstable while Obama as always was calm, cool and collected. It waqs apparent to all but the most blissfully ignorant that Barack Obama appeared more presidential in his handling of the crisis.
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If McCain had gotten out in front of the unfolding crisis instead of insisting in words plucked straight from Herbert Hoover that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong," or opposed the bailout and helped to usher passage of a more populist measure, or simply looked more presidential and like he knew what the heck he was doing, McCain might have been able to salvage his dismal campaign.

moderator sucks. down with moderator.

The maverick mantle is not his to recapture any more. You can't vote and speechify one way in congress and take the opposite tack in a presidential campaign. It demonstrates to anyone who's paying even cursory attention that the positions you take are simply tactical, each one designed to maximize your visibility and to pander to a particular audience.
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But I don't doubt the press will help in his rehabilitation process. He'll return to the 'old John', the 'real John', and he'll revert back to shooting the breeze in a relaxed open style with hacks. He'll also explain how he was held captive by his campaign advisors - he was a POS (Prisoner Of Schmidt) - and how he's truly sorry about how things panned out.
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As I've done before, I'd advise people to go back and read the definitive election season assessment of McCain, Rolling Stone's 'Make Believe Maverick' article:
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http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print
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People now know what makes McCain tick. Over-riding ambition. And whatever he says and does in the future will be seen through that prism.

Thanx for letting me know you wrote the article, saved me the effort of clicking on the link.

"he could prove a valuable source of insight on national-security matters for the new young Democrat in the White House"

John McCain's position on international affairs the last twenty-five years has ranged from "antagonize other countries" to "wage war against other countries."

I have a shorter article I've written: "John McCain suspended his beliefs to solve his campaign crisis. The End."

After reading Jay's article I feel like I just got whiplash watching the Orangutans at Busch Gardens swing on the tire swing. Jay, as McCain stated in his speech, his lost was his fault. He knows he screwed up. Now he's an old man in the Senate with few friends on the right and even fewer friends than Lieberman on the left. He is in political purgatory, sitting on a bench somewhere with Joe Lieberman.

As far as his advice on international affsirs, he no longer has any credibility. He shot that when he beefed up Gov. Palin's foreign policy experience. Can anyone take him seriously now?

I wonder if his self imposed exile to his creekside cabin is going to result in a resignation prior to the New Year. He will be evicerated by the far right in the next few weeks, he will be relegated in a seat at the back of the Republican bus and he will have little ability to lend any weight to any issue. Unlike the Democrats who are a forgiving bunch and tend to walk away from internal fights, the Republicans love playing hardball and crushing those who are disloyal. They will joyously crush his spirit for all to see. There is not a good outcome out of this loss of John McCain.

Paul Dirks already said it. Can't be improved on.

Uh, newfloridian? You're getting a little ahead of yourself there. McCain has, as we've established, a record that's a little longer than the past two years.

"find this article utterly fascinating. You spend the first 3/4's of it with a scathingly accurate depiction of why his lurch to the right was misguided and doomed to fail. But then you spend the last reel a$suring him that all is forgiven."

Agreed, though it's a step up from Scherer, who couldn't possibly begin to pen the first 3/4.

A maverick, a man of "honor" would have been driven to win or lose on his terms, based on who he really was. In retrospect, what will sting Johnny Mac the most is that he couldn't have done worse by running like he did in 2000--straight talk, bucking his own party, alienating the religious nutjobs like Palin et al. Long before this election, when he went to Liberty, cozied up with those who destroyed him in SC in 2000, including Bush, his own brand was irreparably tarnished. Only those in the media bubble cling to notions of personal honor and integrity--the Broder-Brooks' great white (and now black) father syndrome, that in fact our leaders are like kings of old, underneath it all are saints. Of course, only those pols such writers' ideology favors, the centrists who dare not buck the estab.

Personally I am more interested to see where Lieberman goes from here then McCain. I read today that he is in talks with the GOP to possibly caucus with them now.

He's a bum ill-suited for command.

"I think you'll see a lot of straight talk from him right away," says veteran gop consultant Scott Reed. "He'll be the first to criticize what he really didn't like about the campaign and its tactics."

That doesn't make him the Resurrected Maverick. it makes him an admitted hypocrite who failed to take charge of, and responsibility for, his own presidential campaign.

By the way, Mr. Carney, do your editors ever get tired of fixing repeated capitalization errors like "gop?"

I read somewhere today a post about Georgia that pointed out that the Georgian government was responsible for attacking Russia. I forget which investigation determined that.
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It was McCain's immediate judgement that "We are all Georgians now." That alone proves to me that McCain's foreign policy expertise is another legend as so much about him is.

Jay you and an assortment of your pals must be chomping at the bit to return into the warm embrace of the Mav. That stuff won't play anymore. It will merely reinforce what I call the "Liz Sidottiness" of certain Beltway types. Not to worry :McVain will begin his rehab on Jay Leno, and go on to campaign of Saxby Chambliss - remember the Vietnam amputee vet whom Chambliss smeared. Yep: that is where McVain is headed.

1. Mr. McCain's "deep record on national security"? There's a tree in my back yard that's been in the neighborhood far longer than I have, but I'm not sure that it would be more qualified to serve on the city council than me, despite the many benefits it's given to the area in its long tenure here.
2. "..McCain just corkscrewed into the ground." I think there you have the summary of Mr. McCain's military and political service. Reckless, casual decisions that sometimes work out (how often by luck?), but other times lead to diaster. Political beliefs are one thing; presidential abilities are another.

I wonder what Max cleland must be thinking?

ivb
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That has been reported for awhile now in some foreign policy magazines but it was just reported today by the AP I believe