McCain Strain

WHATEVER else you think of John McCain, he is not an uninteresting political figure—except, that is, in the hands of Elizabeth Drew in this short hagiography. Drew, of course, is a veteran and much-honored political journalist, but she has produced a book that reads like a long, rejected New Yorker article. She spent months in and out of McCain’s office during the 2001 fight over campaign-finance reform and chronicles here the utterly forgettable legislative minutiae, relieved only by periodic gushing pronouncements about McCain’s virtue, courage, and kindness to small children and puppies.

By page one, we learn that the country might have collapsed into a pool of quivering goo if it hadn’t been for McCain’s leadership in the wake of September 11. “During this time,” Drew writes, “he defined the situation, rallied the public’s morale, and soothed it when it became fearful.” Granted, McCain’s instincts on the war are nearly flawless and he had some fine Hardball appearances in the weeks after the attacks. I suspect, however, that the fearful nation would have survived even if Citizen McCain hadn’t had so many radio and TV bookings. This lack of proportion characterizes most of Drew’s judgments in this book, which is why she manages to create a toxic mix—dullness, without the sobriety.

About the Author

Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

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WHATEVER else you think of John McCain, he is not an uninteresting political figure—except, that is, in the hands of Elizabeth Drew in this short hagiography. Drew, of course, is a veteran and much-honored political journalist, but she has produced a book that reads like a long, rejected New Yorker article. She spent months in and out of McCain’s office during the 2001 fight over campaign-finance reform and chronicles here the utterly forgettable legislative minutiae, relieved only by periodic gushing pronouncements about McCain’s virtue, courage, and kindness to small children and puppies.

By page one, we learn that the country might have collapsed into a pool of quivering goo if it hadn’t been for McCain’s leadership in the wake of September 11. “During this time,” Drew writes, “he defined the situation, rallied the public’s morale, and soothed it when it became fearful.” Granted, McCain’s instincts on the war are nearly flawless and he had some fine Hardball appearances in the weeks after the attacks. I suspect, however, that the fearful nation would have survived even if Citizen McCain hadn’t had so many radio and TV bookings. This lack of proportion characterizes most of Drew’s judgments in this book, which is why she manages to create a toxic mix—dullness, without the sobriety.