Disappointed with McCain

I have always thought highly of Senator John McCain, as an independent-minded Democrat. In 2000, I was willing to support (and did support with countless annoying e-mails) McCain and Bill Bradley. I wanted anything but Bush vs. Gore.

(I recently browsed through my high school senior yearbook and noticed a message to me from some girl I barely remember saying that she was glad that we got along even though I was a “conservative Republican” and she was a “socialist feminist”—she based this ideological profile entirely on my McCain endorsement; little did she know that I would go on to star as one of only two men in my college’s production of The Vagina Monologues.)

But McCain’s actions today have led him to diminish in my view. First—I have heard the allegation that McCain promised no Republicans would be indicted in his Abramoff hearings, and this makes me suspect his motives. How can he promise this before the hearings, and still go on with said hearings in good faith?

Second, McCain appeared on the tv show 24, the show which has done so much in recent years to portray torture as a positive thing. This might be unfair—I oppose torture, and I’m a fan of the show. But I would feel conflicted about appearing on the show given

Finally, his spat with Obama has left him looking like a jackass. As best as I can tell from the letters that have been made public, McCain is concerned that the Republican party will be hurt by the scandal and has sponsored a bill that will allow Republicans to save face while making some real changes. Obama is supporting a bill which has no chance of passage, but more clearly responds to the Republicans’ “indiscretions”. Overall, Obama has showed real class, and McCain, has just acted like a jackass.

I still consider myself to be a fan of McCain—and more, a fan of his prospects. I think the ideal candidate in 2008 would be a one-term moderate Republican in order to cool down the country and allow national security and the War on Terror to become bipartisan (rather than wedge) issues. But all this has me doubting his judgment.

Well, on the upside, I will just be less disappointed come 2008 when McCain tries to run for president as a Republican and fails because of the rabid right-wing base.