Posted on 06/02/2005 5:14:20 PM PDT by This Just In
ON THE DAY JOHN McCain engineered the "deal" that undercut Bill Frist and apparently sacrificed fine nominees to his own ambition for reputation, The New Yorker hit the stands with a lengthy profile of Arizona's senior senator. The magazine confidently predicted the senator's 2008 presidential run and quoted him as saying, "When people are in close races, I am the first Republican who is asked to come and appear for that person. I am the most sought-after of all Republicans. In this last campaign, I was the one asked by the president to travel and campaign with him....When you look at the rank and file of ordinary Republicans, I'm extremely popular-it's some of the party apparatchiks who still harbor bad feelings toward me. But it is a little hard for them to do that now, because of my strong support for Bush....Particularly since the 2004 campaign, there has been a great softening of dislike for me."
What a difference a "deal" makes.
Many center-right GOP activists had in fact begun to warm to Sen. McCain. He is without question a great American, whose example of valor and sacrifice inspires even his harshest critics, or ought to. His support of the war on terror has also been admirable.
But great Americans can be lousy senators and terrible Republicans, and once again Mr. McCain has proven to be both. He has now done for the judicial nomination and confirmation process what he did for campaign finance reform. He brought the country George Soros and the scourge of the 527s, and with his leadership on the deal that threw at least two of George Bush's nominees under the bus in exchange for the most ambiguous of promises, the senator has once again turned his back on a core constitutional value in order to advance his own agenda.
Whether this was a blunder or a plan to recover from a blunder, we won't know for years. Mr. McCain as first said he would "listen to the leadership" regarding judicial nomination procedure, only to suddenly, on an apparent impulse, declare to Chris Matthews that he would vote against ending the disfigured filibuster. The backlash against him was immediate and intense. Perhaps he thought he could undo the damage to his carefully planned political rehabilitation with a bold "compromise." The result seems just the opposite. Not only is his political house on fire, so too is that South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and Ohia's Mike DeWine.
Mr. McCain's sacrifice of good people isn't the sort of calculation that plays well in GOP presidential primaries.
A legend in his own mind.
McCain is not in touch with the people, just his ego.
bump
Is McCain off his meds again?
An up or down vote is better than a deal,if they lost it would have shown just what we needed to get a true majority
A decision I would have strongly supported as well.
McNitWit is irrelevant.
The 2008 'pub nominee will not be a current Senator.
Excuse me senator. I'm not a professional politician but even I can figure out that the strategy is to pull democratic voters. If you want to win a presidential primary, your only hope is to run in the democratic primary
"...irrelevant."
Perhaps, but his "deal" is relevant to us all.
As a Vietnam Vet, I would have thought that Sntr McCain woul,d have learned first hand through his POW experience of the "strength" that a "united front" would pose to enemies as a POW and in politics!!
I guess the Pew Foundation's sponsorship and support of Mr. McCAin's Senatorial Office and the passge of McCain-Feingold means more to him than the people of Arizona that elected him into office!!
But Mr. McCain has forgotten that it is his continuents that have the majority when it's time to vote.
Unfortunately, he probably won't have any trouble getting re-elected yat again. I don't think he'll even get close of he runs for POTUS though. Me suggests he change his party affiliation and run against Hillary in 08.
What a colossal B O R E he is; he's actually more derranged than I thought!
Particularly since the 2004 campaign, there has been a great softening of dislike for me."
that just goes to show one of two things; either he's not reading his email and listening to his voicemails, or his staff isn't showing it to them.
I wish Mr. Hewitt would explain to me what it is, beyond megalomania, that makes McCain a great American. What, exactly, is great about him?
The 2008 'pub nominee will not be a current Senator.
It's hard to pull a name for a pubbie candidate for 08, but at this point, I'd say the only folks with name recognition are US senators.
I hope Cheney has a change of heart and runs. I won't count it out.
Who knows, he may be Hillarys running mate. The question would be, who will be running as president on that ticket?
Not only is his political house on fire, so too is that South Carolina's Lindsey Graham and Ohia's Mike DeWine.
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Let the WRATH of the American people come down on them. We must Elect people we KNOW. People who are God fearing and will protect and Defend the US Constitution. These Prefessional Politicos have and will continue to sell us out!!
We must elect favorite Sons or Daughters under the Write in Candidate Provision, no party affiliations, just plane everyday Patriotic AMERICANS! We started the country with people like these, NO Lawyers allowed!!
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