John McCain loves being called the "Maverick," and for the most part the media dutifully falls in line with the infected blankets he's selling. Thankfully there are a few journalists out there that do not fall for his crap (and probably aren't invited to McCain's special getaway for the press). There are a few outside of the punditry class that will actually highlight what McCain says versus his record as a Senator.
From The NY Times:
Mr. McCain, who derided his onetime Republican competitor Mitt Romney for his political mutability, has himself meandered over the years from position to position on some topics, particularly as he has tried to court the conservatives who have long distrusted him. His most striking turnaround has been on the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against twice but now wants to make permanent. Mr. McCain has also expressed varying positions on immigration, torture, abortion and Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary.
Mr. McCain’s advisers say that he has evolved rather than switched positions in his 25-year career in the House and Senate and that he has been remarkably consistent on his support for the war in Iraq and the American troop escalation there.
“But he also believes in getting things done, which requires legislative compromise sometimes and putting aside some goals to address more urgent goals,” Charles Black, one of Mr. McCain’s senior advisers, said Sunday in a telephone interview from Mr. McCain’s Arizona ranch.
Hmmm, so the one thing he stays consistent on is the thing Americans are most united against. Then when his adviser says that he will compromise to get things done, he really means getting things done like winning the White House. McCain will do and say anything to get that radical right-wing base behind him, even if it means forgoing those things like principles.
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