One reason conservatives who find John McCain appealing have held back
from supporting him is the sense that he takes every opportunity to play
to the media. Every chance he gets, he trashes his Republican colleagues.
They not infrequently deserve trashing, of course, but when was the last
time you heard McCain stick up for them when they are doing the right
thing? Here's a typical McCain exchange from the Larry King show on
Monday:
LARRY KING: Are you surprised that the Republican Congress is held in low
esteem in national polls, the Republican majority in the Congress itself?
It's a small majority, but are you surprised that they're held in low
regard?
JOHN McCAIN: I am very saddened, and I am very disappointed, but I can
understand some of it, because we won't address the issues that affect men
and women, and we're gripped by special interests and their influence over
us, such as we can't come up with an HMO bill of rights. We need to pass
the legislation on gun control. It was passed through the Senate. We need
to do things that the American people want us to do rather than being
gridlocked by the special interests, and we're gridlocked on both sides.
Other than the last six words, is there any part of that comment that
couldn't have been said by Dick Gephardt? If John McCain really wants the
Republican nomination, at some point he's going to have to get in a fight
that displeases Al Hunt. And time is running out.
Richard Benedetto has a story in the Nov. 18
USA Today headlined "If govs
guaranteed states, Bush would win in walk." It's a perfectly respectable
article, pointing out that all but five Republican governors have endorsed
George W. Bush's presidential campaign. But why is the Republican
Governors Association, which is supposed to be formally neutral in the
primary race, faxing the story around?
