This is making some waves tonight. Arianna Huffington claims that John and Cindy McCain told her that they didn’t vote for George Bush in 2000. She claims Cindy wrote in John’s name, but there’s no mention of who Senator McCain actually voted for.

She writes:

The fact that this man was so angry at what George Bush had done to him, and at what Bush represented for their party, that he did not even vote for him in 2000 shows just how far he has fallen since then in his hunger for the presidency. By abandoning his core principles and embracing Bush — both literally and metaphorically — he has morphed into an older and crankier version of the man he couldn’t stomach voting for in 2000.

Really? The statement above is, let’s just say, slightly better than Hillary dodging sniper fire in Bosnia. McCain’s public embrace of Bush happened much earlier than she claims. As a matter of fact, McCain gave Bush a big old bear hug of an embrace with Arianna standing not inches away. Like Hillary, I guess she is misremembering…

Right before the 2000 GOP convention in Philly, Arianna Huffington had a “Shadow Convention” and McCain was one of the guest speakers. An excerpt from his speech:

That’s why I remained a Republican despite temptations to use other unconventional political means to satisfy my own ambitions. I understand that you didn’t come here for the purpose of entertaining overt political appeals by representatives of Republican or Democrat parties. I believe that you believe it is necessary to seek long overdue changes to politics and governance outside the two-party system.
But I believe still, despite our imperfections, that Republicans are the party of reform, and it would be dishonesty by omission if I failed to state my belief clearly to you. Likewise, I am obliged not by party loyalty, but by sincere conviction to urge all Americans to support my party’s nominee, Governor George Bush of Texas. I think it’s quite clear…
(APPLAUSE)
(BOOING)
I think it’s quite clear that he’s the candidate who offers change and that the vice president is the candidate of the status quo. And as most people know, I don’t care much for the status quo. Governor Bush and I were in a tough contest, and as everyone knows, we don’t agree on every issue, including of course the issue of a complete ban on soft money.
But we do agree on many more issues than we disagree on. We agree on important reforms, reform of public education, entitlement programs, the military, government spending and many others, and we agree completely that the way the public’s business has been conducted in recent years, consumed by an almost mindless partisanship, is shameful and offensive to Americans who expect more from their elected leaders.
(APPLAUSE)
I am impressed by Governor Bush’s approach to repairing an educational system that is currently failing too many of our children, a system afflicted by what he accurately denounces as the bigotry of low expectations. I believe and support his promise to reform Social Security and allow people the freedom to create personal wealth with part of their payroll taxes rather than simply drain a nearly bankrupt system. I fully endorse his support for faith-based institutions as the best means to help those Americans who have yet to share fully in the promise of freedom and to help them secure that most precious of all treasures, the hope that our children will lead better lives than have we.

I guess it all depends on what the definition of ”embrace” is.