Old man McCain tries Bush’s crown for size

[emad]

May 29, 2005


ANDREW SULLIVAN



Washington is a strange city because, unlike New York, money doesn’t confer status and, unlike Los Angeles, neither does celebrity. The elusive element that structures life and work here is power or the appearance of power. Like electricity, this substance cannot easily be seen. But when it emerges decisively, you feel the atmosphere change in the city. And last week something shifted.

Fourteen senators made a deal. All the president of the United States could do was look on. In a finely balanced Senate, a centrist faction of seven Republicans and seven Democrats shelved the notion of abolishing the judicial filibuster, allowed a vote on three judicial nominees and punted on the others. It was one of those moments when you really understood the founding fathers’ notion of separation of powers.

For a while the Senate — or a free-floating cabal within it — ran the country. The upshot? The president will be mildly constrained in his picks for the Supreme Court later in the year; the Democrats will retain the threat of a filibuster under “extraordinary” circumstances; some judges will be confirmed; and the hard social right is livid. In the same week the evangelical lobby also suffered a defeat on stem cell research, as 50 Republicans defected in the house and voted against the president in favour of federal funding.

But there’s another upshot: John McCain. Called last week the McCain Mutiny, he is a crusty, temper-prone, old-school Republican from Arizona. He’s also a genuine Vietnam war hero who endured five years of torture at the hands of the Vietcong, refusing to be released ahead of any of his comrades. He’s the most popular Republican in the country, one of the least popular senators among his colleagues and would have beaten Al Gore for the presidency in 2000 by a large margin.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1631925,00.html

[Wapsie B]

1. I think McCain is looking at '08

like Dole did in '96. Dole thought he was owed a run at the WH because of his lifetime of being a good footsoldier for the gop. Well I got news for old John. The repugs would just as soon run Newt or Jethro. The party showed that they could get in the least qualified person for the presidency in the modern age. After this everything else will be downhill for them. Barring any of these scandals breaking wide open of course.

[brainshrub]

2. Would have beaten Al Gore for the presidency in 2000 by a large margin.

"Would have beaten Al Gore for the presidency in 2000 by a large margin."

I hate to admit it, but I think this article is correct about that statement. McCain represents what little is good about the Republican party.

IMHO a Dean vs. McCain race would be the most interesting political competition of our generation.

[FrenchieCat]

5. Sorry, but I don't see how McCain vs. Dean would be a competition....

Unfortunately, I do believe that McCain would mow Howard Dean down.....in what our foreign relations/national security/values war climate will be in 2008, as well as what it was in 2004, and is now.

I can't see what Dean would have offered to counteract the tough post 9/11 wartime maverick footing that McCain has in image.

Please elaborate on why you'd find this a competitive match.

Thanks.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[autorank]

4. Who designated Andrew Sullivan as a person who knows anything?

I find his opinion pieces far inferior to the average cab driver who at least has the incentive of being clever and charming enough to get an extra large tip.

He's an ass.

And here's why people can calm down about McCain. There are a whole set of new voters who don't really care about his war experience. There is a large group of middle and older voters who can (a) distinguish between Md Cain' admirable behavior in Viet Nam and his money sucking behavior here and (b) remember that McCain endorsed * in 2000 after * insulted his wife and child and supported him again in 2004 when it was clear that * was slime.

McCain has a short fuse and a big mouth. Watch for a wildly inappropriate comment or tantrum. And also remember, he was part of the "Keating Five" and received a reprimand during his first term for being a political whore for money by taking favors from the lowest of the low in S&L scandal.

[FrenchieCat]

6. Those are the things that could take McCain down.....

but whether the Corporate media (who seem enamored with McCain since after the nomination of Bush) would make those points about McCain during the campaign, or ignore them. You know that they ignored plenty about Bush in 2000 and in 2004....while assailing Kerry at everyturn.

The ones who can make or break McCain is the Corporate media...and so far, they seem to want to "make it up" to McCain for what they did to him in 2000. However, they might also turn on him during the GOP primaries as well. The Corporate Media is fickle. They really are like a box of chocolate....

[autorank]

7. "box of chocolate"...very kind. I was thinking more of...well, not here

CM is headed for the ropes, then the corner, then the canvas. We're not even a year into *'s second term and Fox is in Free Fall (500K viewers now :rofl:); even less watch CNN and MS-C/NBC. Network news is down and people who don't need kitty box liner stay away from the CM papers in droves.

CM will continue to manipulate but things are getting out of hand. One of the first pure blog news stories, the Gannon Affair, was researched and broken entirely by Jon Aravosis of AmericaBlog, amazing stuff. CM couldn't stop it but they did try to ignore it.

Here's some hope for you. The adoption curve for the internet as a news source is rising exponentially. Now that we're motivated, it will go much quicker and in 2-3 years, CM will be trying to catch up. Murdoch is said to ruminate on this frequently (by his own admission).

Take a look at this post. It will cheer you up.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x373553

CLARK 2008

NEW LEADERS FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

[FrenchieCat]

8. Thanks!

for giving me a glimmer of "hope"... :hi:

[autorank]

11. We'll win, we just have to get Clark to get pissed off & stay that way!

:hi:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. Here's proof that they know it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3750293

[autorank]

10. Yet they're still rearranging the deck chairs of their corporate Titanic.

AMF CM!