[Note: Since I’m on the road tonight, I’ve decided to recycle this post from December 2004. Although it is twenty months old, it is even more relevant today than when I originally wrote it.]
During the 1992 election season I lived in Washington D.C., surrounded by the constant buzz of political discussion. Although no one could talk about anything else, many people were unenthused about the choice between the lackluster incumbent President and the womanizing governor from Arkansas.
Knowing I was from Texas, a friend confided that she was considering supporting the intriguing third party candidate from my home state -- Ross Perot. She admitted that while she didn’t know much about where he stood on the issues she found him intriguing and wondered what I knew about him.
“He’s an incredibly fascinating man,” I admitted. “And completely out of his mind.”
Within a few weeks my friend joined many others in wondering why they every took the Dallas businessman seriously. Perot’s considerable business acumen and leadership ability, while admirable, couldn’t translate into the realm of executive branch politics. I suspect that a similar reaction will soon be coming over Arizona Senator John McCain. McCain, of course, is no Ross Perot. But he’s close.
McCain’s life story is undoubtedly one of the most incredible of our time. After being shot down over Vietnam, the Admiral’s son suffered seven years in a POW camp, an experience that helped transform him from a playboy Naval aviator to a nationally admired politician. His natural charisma charmed many during his 2000 primary run and the “Straight Talk Express”, a campaign name derived from his media-friendly campaign bus, endeared him to many in the press and made the “maverick senator” a favorite even among those prone to despise Republican politicians.
Even though the Inauguration for the last election is still a month away, McCain is already considered a serious frontrunner for 2008:
"The big question is: Can McCain get any hotter?" said Scott Reed, a Republican consultant.
The talk is coming from outside the Washington Beltway, too.
"He's pretty well set to go in four years," said Jerry Roe, a former head of the Michigan Republican Party. "Politicians that go anyplace are like rock stars. McCain's a rock star."
The fact that McCain is even being considered shows how little attention Republicans have actually paid to the record of the eighteen year Senate veteran. McCain has a tendency to throw his support behind measures that, while well-intentioned, overstep the legitimate authority of the federal government. Campaign-finance reform, for example, attempted to correct a legitimate problem but has morphed into a Constitutionally-suspect unmitigated disaster.
His latest crusades provide even more examples for why he shouldn’t be considered a serious candidate. While our country is facing grave concerns like global terrorism and the dehumanizing effects of biotechnology, McCain has his attention focused on professional sports.
Last week’s revelations about baseball players taking steroids caused an infuriated McCain to threaten taking legislation against Major League Baseball and the players if they didn’t “clean up their act.” What the Senator never explained was why the issue deserved the attention of the Federal government.
Not content to stop with America’s favorite pastime, the Arizona Senator has been pushing his pet project of establishing a national boxing commission, threatening to hold up every piece of legislation in the Senate if House leaders didn’t go along with his plan. When he discovered that House leaders were refusing to act on his boxing bill, he attached it to every remaining bill in the Senate.
The fact that McCain’s top legislative priority is establishing a federal regulatory entity to monitor a sport in which two men pummel each other, is further evidence that he isn’t ready to take the next step as a national leader. When you find your agenda aligns with that of Don King and you’re more concerned about the “credibility of [boxing] in the eyes of the public” than you are with the credibility of the Senate, it sends a signal to serious Republicans that you’re not quite ready to sit in the Oval Office. If the GOP wants to avoid a trainwreck in 2008, they need to take measures now to derail McCain’s “Straight Talk Express.”
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"McCain has a tendency to throw his support behind measures that, while well-intentioned, overstep the legitimate authority of the federal government."
Which potential GOP or Democratic frontrunner hasn't?
posted on 08.22.2006 1:31 AM3
The Republican Party would have strength lasting into the 2010s if it hadn't been for the workings of Rove and others in South Carolina in 2000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_poll). The 2000 election would have been a landslide and Republicans would have operated on a strong mandate. Instead, we had to depend on the Supreme Court.
Now, a strong Democratic candidate in 2008 could likely be having their mail sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The Republicans' success is dependent on whether or not the more politically inept side of the Democratic Party controls the message.
I have no doubt that a President McCain would have angered many social conservatives by not "pushing" matters that mattered to them. But answer me this, what issue close to hearts of Christian Conservatives would he not have backed that President Bush did? Also, would we have the same deficit? Would we have followed the same tactics in Iraq?
John McCain's popularity with the Middle, some of the Left, and all but the far-Right of political spectrum could have gotten a lot done for the Conservative cause.
posted on 08.22.2006 8:41 AM4
. . . a Constitutionally-suspect unmitigated disaster.
I agree. Anyone who would do this is unfit for office.
posted on 08.22.2006 8:55 AM5
This is already stale. McCain's record is coming out, and he's as popular with righties as Hilary is with lefties. They've been "anointed" by the Washington insiders, but the grassroots has other ideas.
Chuck Hagel's the guy to watch.
posted on 08.22.2006 9:43 AM6
Hagel has a better chance running as a Democrat than he has as a Republican. He is approaching RINO status.
I agree with the annointment statement, though. Which of our last President's were actually the pick of the media and the power players?
Bush - first and second elections, no
Clinton - first election, no. Second, yes.
Bush 41 - Yes
Reagan - first election, no. Second, yes
Carter - no
Nixon - first election - no, second, heck, no, according to the power players.
And so on.
It appears that America doesn't trust Washington and its spawn. Look for a governor. Allen, maybe, because he was a governor. But if the perception has changed to he is more insider than outsider, he's out.
McCain is very popular with the media, and he is working hard for the nomination. It probably won't be enough.
posted on 08.22.2006 11:55 AM7
Those who John McCain personally, or who have followed his career from his discharge to military service, through the unseemly politics of Phoenix, across a devastated family, and on into Congress know what a creep this guy really is.
He is Bill Clinton with a military record.
posted on 08.22.2006 12:51 PM8
When was the last time a senator was elected president? JFK I believe - since then it has been governors and veeps. McCain seems an unlikely candidate to buck that trend, Chuck Hagel even less so. The modern presidency demands a successful executive internship, putting forward one's own agenda and standing or falling on one's record. I would also say that a certain optimistic but bland charisma is necessary for the job; it may be that the electorate wants to balance the power of the Presidency with a personality that seems unlikely to abuse it.
Senators pool responsibility for their actions; any appreciation for insightful and daring legislation is spread among members of the Senate while any negative attention is smeared on all members, regardless of merit. Legislators also acquire the tendency to govern through compromise, which isn't an electoral positive in today's polarized climate (a good compromise just makes everyone mad).
I predict that Republicans will nominate a governor for 2008 (as I've said before, my money's on Mitt, although a serious terror attack would push forward Giuliani, another successful executive). I also think that if Hilary were serious about being President, she would be governor of New York for a term or two.
posted on 08.22.2006 1:44 PM9
I remember Ross Perot. The guy who put Bill & Hillary in the White House. (There's a book called Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms by a professional campaign manager that described what it was like to work for Ross Perot -- Dilbert's Pointy Haired Boss had nothing on Perot for autocratic whim and bloated ego.)
In 1992, my parents had "accepted Ross Perot as their Personal LORD and Savior" -- that was the only way to describe it. When I visited them in the summer of that year, they spent the entire visit in high-pressure "Witnessing!" to me -- again, that was the only way to describe it.
posted on 08.22.2006 4:22 PM10
Gov. Mike Huckabee is the only true social and fiscal conservative in the race. Learn more about him and see why he's going to be the GOP's go-to guy for 2008.
http://www.mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com
posted on 08.24.2006 9:05 AM