I had forgotten, but there is a really annoying streak of self-righteousness to John McCain. The positions he holds are, of course, the correct ones by virtue of his holding them, and anyone who disagrees is shifty and unprincipled. Exhibit A:
“Launching his campaign by going back on a promise to voters would be dishonest, and exposes his politics of hope as empty rhetoric out of a typical politician.”
This quote refers to Barack Obama deciding not to opt into public financing. Except not really, since his financing is overwhelmingly public and includes few fat cat and special interest donors. It's a bit overblown, don't you think, especially since literally two people might decide their votes on this issue? They're probably just angry that Obama will probably be able to outspend them 2-1 in the general election.
Seriously, though when did John McCain get all this character? He was a terrible student at the Naval Academy. After getting shot down he signed a confession denouncing the United States. He did withstand the torture of the Viet Cong with some grace, then returned home and immediately began cheating on his wife (who raised his kids and remained faithful to him when he was in Vietnam) with a young, attractive heiress who bankrolled his political career. As a member of the House and Senate he has spent the last 30 years doing jack shit. About the only notable piece of legislation that bears his name is the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, a worthy but minor bit of procedural reform. His squeaky-clean image is belied somewhat by the Keating Five scandal with which he was associated in the past, and his notorious temper and use of abusive language suggests someone who I would rather not have with his hand on the trigger.
So, where's the much-vaunted character? Yes, during the 2000 campaign and for a few years afterward McCain moved to the center on many issues, but he's moved back to the hard right on most of them, and he's made it abundantly clear that there is no pet issue that he won't flip on if his base wants him to. Even things he professed to care deeply about, like his opposition to the use of torture or his "humane" immigration plan, have been ignored or softened during his campaign. In fact, McCain voted against a significant anti-torture amendment not a month ago.
This is not to say that John McCain is a terrible person, but if he has some great moral credibility I don't see it. Like all of us, he has some admirable things in his past and some not-so-admirable things, but I'd like to know when, exactly, the myth of McCain the Man of Character emerged. I don't really blame him for some of his recent flips (he's got to appeal to his party's base) but for a man who has claimed to embody the things he's claimed to embody it's a letdown. My opinion of him has been revised downward quite a bit.
