His voting record on abortion is easily explained by the fact that he wants to maintain a power base in the Republican Party--- these votes tend to be party-line and don't tell us whether he would follow President Bush 41, 43 and President Reagan with respect to the Mexico City Policy, or whether he would be inclined to appoint judges who don't see abortion as a Constitutionally guaranteed right.
John McCain on Roe vs. Wade:
“I’d love to see a point where it (Roe v. Wade) is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.”
http://www.nrlc.org/Election2000/mccain/prolife_case_against_mccain.html
John McCain's record on pro-life issues is very poor, for a Republican-- pretty much like his record on everything else except the question of whether the United States should withdraw before victory in Iraq.
I am not saying McCain has a sterling record on abortion. It could be better. But Lieberman's record is abysmal. If you think NRLC doesn't like McCain, look at what they have to say about Lieberman.
http://www.nrlc.org/news/2000/NRL09/edita.html
And it's not just abortion. On issue after issue, McCain takes the more conservative position. Look for yourself on Project Vote Smart and you'll see what I mean.
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0061103
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0141103
Let me be clear, I don't like McCain and would not support him in the primaries. We have too many good conservatives in the Republican party, including the other Senator from Arizona. But if it came down to McCain and Lieberman, I just could not vote for the more liberal, pro-abortion, candidate.