So
Slate's got a big homepage spread on "the new McCain";
one article reassures liberals that McCain is not a crazy conservative ideologue and the other is
a confusing op-ed (I think) by John Dickerson on McCain's balancing act between his own crusader tendencies and his need to play to the base if
he wants to win in '08.
I'm sort of pissed off at Slate for doing this. Nothing can kill a frontrunner like being labeled a "frontrunner" too early. I know Slate isn't exactly all that ya' know, important, but hell,
I read it. McCain needs to be free to establish his own identity if he's going to win and boy, do I ever want him to win right now. Sure, just the other day I called myself a "libertarian socialist", so theoretically I should only be voting for Noam Chomsky, but in a two-party system like ours, your best bet is to vote for
the guy most likely to win, who's character you most trust.
That's right- I'm saying that not only is politics a popularity contest, as it's rigged now, you should vote like it's a popularity contest. A-like so:
John McCain is, as of this moment, my vote for President in '08. He doesn't share all my values, or even a plurality of them, but he's the progressive heart of the Republican party, he's passionate about government reform, he's actually fought in a war and knows what war is all about (which in '08, should be a requirement for the office) and most of all, deeply believes in public service.
One of the great things about having sworn off the Democratic party and becoming, now and forever an Independent (except for primaries- I'll register for primaries), is that you can look at politics not from the 'Us vs. Them' attitude that is slowly killing democracy in this country, but instead, from a "what's good for the country" approach. John McCain is good for this country. If he's elected, I'm going to disagree with him, but (at least in the universal sense), he will listen to what I have to say and will offer up a reasoned answer for his actions (as opposed to, you know- lies and smug evasion). Most of all, he'll be honest. We need honest politicians desperately. I don't think Washington has a clue how fed up people are with the spin.
So now you're looking at me and going, "Yeah, but didn't the dude just agree to speak at Jerry Falwell's school?". Yes, he did, but when John Stewart asked him (that show gets more amazing all the time- first Stewart does his jokey spiel about McCain's "flip-flop" and then, *poof*, McCain appears live, having just seen Stewart's sketch. I bet this is what it felt like watching Johnny Carson when he was just getting started)- um, sorry for the parenthetical- when Stewart asked him, "Aren't you just pandering to the base?", McCain replied, "You got me, John."
Which in 2006, is what we call an "honest politician".
Plus, Hillary is mad scary.
P.S.- Looking back over the past few posts (McCain rawks!, Poor Cheney!, Don't believe everything twinkie pornographers tell you!), if you were a new visitor to the site, you'd think I'm some weird gay paleo-Repuublican. Rest assured, I hate both parties equally and yes, I'm all for free speech, gay marriage, and abortion rights. I just also happen to be for gun rights, personal responsibility and working as hard as possible to make abortion a thing of the past (in practice, not law), so basically, I terrify everybody.
UPDATE: I just got asked if there are any Dems who, if they ran, I would vote for (at this time) and there's one: Al Gore, who I think could really win. H's the living embodiment of all the missed opportunities of the last six years. He only lost (or whatever!) the Presidency by a narrow (I
said- "whatever") margin and now he's got this whole Aragorn
Return of the King thing going for him. Pair up with Barrack Obama for veep (a young, smart, moderate Black Midwesterner! Did the DNC create him in a test tube or something?) and throw Wesley Clark at the Dept. of Defense and Bill Richardson at the Dept. of State and you have, both from a political and practical perspective, a governing dream team.
See, not so crypto-conservative after all!
