It’s way too late – I’m writing this at 2:40 AM, for publication at 7:30 – so just a few simple notes. First, how about our main man? That was a hell of a speech, and exactly what America needs to hear now: “I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voice, I need your help, and I’ll be your president, too.” But I spend enough time here praising President-Elect Obama. Now, it’s time to praise his erstwhile opponent, Senator John McCain.
Last night saw a spectacular return of the real John McCain: the man who should have won the RNC nomination in 2000, did win it a few months ago, and then mysteriously disappeared from the campaign trail. Last night, McCain found himself again. In effusive language, McCain praised not only his former opponent, but the shared ideals of all American citizens. He forged common ground, and espoused a unity of purpose…
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…to a crowd that booed loudly whenever Obama’s name came up, and alternated between raucously cheering and booing Governor Sarah Palin. One supporter – while McCain described his noble intentions of working with the Obama administration – even screamed, “you deserve more!”
That’s right, Unnamed McCain Supporter. McCain does deserve more. He deserves more than people like you for a constituency, and he deserves a better party than the GOP can provide. That the presidential campaign so thoroughly coopted the essential characteristics that made McCain McCain only goes to show: when it comes to being a “maverick,” at least in the Republican Party, you can’t take it with you. If the Republican Party is to find its footing again, it would do well to focus in on the John McCain we saw last night, and not the Palin-ized McCain we saw for the past few months.
I look forward to learning to respect John McCain again. When he’s allowed to be himself, he is fundamentally a good man, and a great American.
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By the way, do you guys think the real John McCain could’ve won? I do.
Comment by Ames November 5, 2008 @ 12:35 pmI think he could have won, too. He lost this election with the moderates, obviously. People like my dad and stepmother. They’re somewhat ecnomically conservative – though certainly not “taxes bad” zombies like my mother – and are socially liberal on some issues and more socially conservative on others. They’re in that tax bracket that “should” have voted for McCain, but according to exit polls, broke for Obama anyway. Maybe that’s because they’re in another demographic that went solidly Obama – those with post-graduate educations.
As the primaires were winding down, my dad told me he probably wouldn’t vote for Hillary, but that if Obama won the nomination, he would really think about voting for him over McCain. In the end, my dad and my stepmother voted for Obama, the final factors being the tone and message of his nomination acceptance speech and McCain’s choice of Palin.
Comment by Kris November 5, 2008 @ 1:04 pmTrue fact Kris… I think that’s exactly it. If McCain had picked Lieberman or Ridge – and MAYBE even Romney – and gone the moderate route, he would’ve had a VERY close race against Obama. But, McCain and co. were held hostage to the conservative Republicans…. and so it goes.
Comment by Ames November 5, 2008 @ 1:39 pmHow is it any excuse that he was constrained by handlers and party? The president is supposed to be a leader.
The ‘real’ John McCain told a repulsive joke about the president’s daughter, who was only 18 at the time. If I were Bill Clinton, they’d have had to pull me off of him. The real John McCain has always shot from the hip, navigated with his gut – by his own admission – gambled with high stakes. He never was presidential material.
Comment by george.wiman November 8, 2008 @ 8:57 pm[...] That’s fine, but it ignores the evidence: McCain’s impressive leadership before and immediately after the campaign, and the numerous insiders who insisted, even then, that the pick was forced on him. [...]
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