Why John McCain is wrong

Well, if I really wrote this blog to include everything that could be written on under its title I would fill up several pages of content.  Instead, I mean to refer specifically to John McCain's continual assertion that he- nor anyone else (like Bob Dole)- be attacked on anything simply because they are "decorated war veterans".

While I respect John McCain for his service to our country, and admire his ability to persevere through half a decade of captivity and relentless torture, I do not use that as a reason to not hold him accountable for his actions.  Sen. McCain's action in Vietnam are of a totally different nature than his action in the United States Congress.  Commanding a Navy unit does not make you invincible on your economic record.  Nor does it give you an excuse to side with Nancy Pelosi and her ilk on global warming.  Nor does it excuse you from partnering with Ted Kennedy (or Joe Liberman or John Edwards).

Again, though, the real blame rests with two other key groups of people outside of John McCain and his staffers.  The media and (thus far) a majority of the "Republican" (and independent) electorate have not done the country any favors by buying into his "I'm a hero and, therefore, do no wrong" rhetoric.  Either way, it's time for the general public (and not just Rush and company) to hold the Senator from Arizona accountable for his actions.

John McCain's greatest enemy...

is himself.  That's my take following tonight's debate at the Reagan Library.

There is no question that McCain is certainly the candidate to beat following his win in Florida (as much as it pains me to say it).  And tonight his attitude was certainly that of the cocky high school quarterback asking out the captain of the cheerleading team.  Of course, who could blame him: three major primary victories, the endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, the expected endorsement of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his long-standing lead in the national polls.  At the same time, the maverick isn't in the clear yet.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the competition between he and Mitt Romney is still close enough for an upset finish on Tuesday... an overly confident Senator from Arizona would only play to Mitt's advantage.

In addition to his cocky demeanor, McCain has also taken to outright lying about Romney's record on the war in Iraq.  If he wasn't criticizing the Governor from Massachusetts for his alleged support of a troop withdrawal, he was criticizing him for his negative attacks.  Oh the irony.  So much for straight talk, huh?

While we're on the subject of the debate, allow me to point out that Mike Huckabee has already taken his spot as the third wheel.  During tonight's debate he reminded Anderson Cooper several times that there was a third person in the race (unfortunately, there is a fourth too... poor Ron Paul).  Has Mr. Edwards already taken my advice and called Mr. Huckabee's campaign?

Every political commentator in the country said that Mr. Romney would have to pull some pretty big punches in order to come off as successful in tonight's debate.  While I'm not quite sure Mitt lived up to his end of the deal, Mr. McCain did the dirty work for him.

Goodbye John

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  Finally, this morning, John Edwards withdrew from the presidential race.

I'm not sure I really blame him for staying in as long as he did.  In fact, I half expected him to stay in longer and use his delegates to broker a deal in his favor at the convention late this summer.  But after hearing the news of a spot already being reserved for him in the Obama administration as Attorney General I guess staying in the race isn't really necessary after all.  Whether he was staying in the race to gain power at the convention or not, I believe that he served a purpose.

After the debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute in Myrtle Beach last week I had a chance to do a one-on-one interview with Edwards's senior advisor Joe Trippi.  Not surprisingly, his overall message seemed to echo what his candidate tried to remind everyone of throughout that night's debate: that there were three people left in the race- and the third person wasn't staying in just for the fun of it. 

I feel as though John Edwards hung around as long as he could to be a constant reminder that the presidential race wasn't about race or gender or slum lords or executive boards but, rather, about substantive issues.  Whether you agree with Mr. Edwards or not (I, of course, do not) you have to applaud him for not being so willing to lay down for the Clinton-Obama steamroller that seems to have run over this year's presidential race.

His departure, however, was certainly inevitable.  Now, lets hope that his people call Ron Paul's people and maybe even manage to convince Mike Huckabee's people that their campaign is become more and more of an exercise in futility too.