McCain: pathetic, phony hypocrite

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by The Goat

That was a boring damn article, but the worst thing is the title was stolen from one of the best non-fiction books of the last 20 or so years. The real "Confessions" by Perkins is amazing.

Here's my question for everyone on this thread: why is it that people either really dislike McCain or really like him? Some of my conservative friends/family hate his guts. Some think he's awesome (usually military folks). A few progressives I know think he's the best Republican in a long time but most think he's ignorant about the economy and most domestic issues.

I'm asking because I've always thought the guy to be likable but not legendary, and at the end o the day i think he'd be an average pres. Any takers?

Well I think generally speaking people either really like or hate most presidential candidates. I don't think it's specific to John McCain. People either love or hate Hillary Clinton. They either love Barack Obama or, at the very least, have some serious reservations about his level experience, religious beliefs and whether or not the media is a little too soft on him. Obama's ties to Reverend Wright didn't do much to help those reservations either. Then there's the electabilty argument with Obama. Can he carry this state or do well within this or that demographic? So I think that line of thinking, even within the respective parties, ring true accross the board. Seldom will you find the majority of folks say that a candidate is simply "okay" and leave it there. We Americans tend to take extreme views on our politics and our public officials, but that's another discussion.

I think McCain's distaste among conservatives has to do with a few things. First of all, many of those from the Ronald Reagan years, who is considered the standard bearer of modern day Republican politics (Reaganomics) believe that John McCain is not lock-step with the party on some key issues. Republicans use "The Reagan Years" (name of a local band, by the way) as a template, so to speak, on how to faithfully execute their office and keep the party together at the same time. Not to the letter neccessarily, but at least to give some semblence of that era and invoke a sense of party.

McCain on the other hand, while I'm absolutely certain he has high regard for Ronald Reagan, raises some serious doubts whether he will fragment the party more than help it. Being that he appeals to Independent voters as well, it's hard to imagine how much, if any, of the party's core beliefs will be exchanged for those votes. More recently, I think his ties to George W. Bush, an unpopular President, and his position on the war in Iraq have rubbed many Republicans the wrong way, especially since during McCain's first run for office he opposed Bush on some issues. Also his stance on immigration has stirred some controversy among the GOP faithful. That's kind of it in a nutshell. And there's all the other riduculous shit people can think of: He's too short, too this, not enough that. His wife looks like Barbie, blah, blah, blah.