The rise and fall of John McCain

The rise and fall of John McCain Do you remember the 2000 presidential campaign as well as I do? Just shortly after George W. Bush became the sentimental choice within Republican circles to be 'the guy' to restore dignity to the Oval Office, John McCain quietly started his hope-filled (and ultimately disastrous) quest for the White House. Did the wave of McCain popularity truly crest the night of the 2000 New Hampshire GOP primary, in which McCain rocked the vote and wrestled a victory away from Bush? From there, the Bush machine destroyed McCain in the South, most notably the South Carolina primary and the insinuations about a biracial child out of wedlock. And that was it. McCain and his Straight Talk Express took aim at the Religious Right and Bush's decision to visit Bob Jones University � this effectively ended his chances of securing the GOP nomination. But as the dust settled on one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, John McCain went back to his Senate seat and did little else to burn bridges with the cross-section of America that fell in love with his unique platform and even more unique method of spreading the word: the Straight Talk Express. Then came the war and the 2004 presidential election.

With the unpopular invasion of Iraq putting dents in President Bush�s bloc of support from Conservative America and the first in many waves to turn the tide toward a Democratic-controlled Congress in 2006, McCain got caught in an undertow.

Ever since throwing his support behind President Bush in 2004, John McCain has engaged in a mind-bendingly curious campaign to cozy up to the Far Right in America.

McCain had long been reviled in conservative sects, a pi�ata for the talk radio crowd � and he never had a chance of winning them over.

How has McCain engaged in this futile effort?

1. McCain supported the invasion of Iraq and has said the world is better off without Saddam Hussein. At the same time, he has expressed personal disdain for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld�s performance yet would not demand his resignation.

2. McCain, as recently as February 2007, stated he believes the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling should be overturned.

3. McCain supports the teaching of intelligent design in public schools.

4. McCain jokingly insinuated to an audience that the U.S. military should bomb Iran.

Conversely, McCain has held strong to some key ideas that keep him firmly at odds with the Pat Robertson crowd:

1. McCain, a former POW, has opposed the Bush administration�s willingness to condone degrading and harmful detainee treatment, bordering on torture.

2. McCain is no fan of the much-ballyhooed Mexican border fence touted by the anti-immigration crowd.

3. McCain supports embryonic stem cell research.

4. McCain was a member of the �Gang of 14,� which sought to bring a bipartisan solution to the contentious debate over President Bush�s judicial nominees and the Republican majority�s ability to use the �nuclear option� to end Democratic filibusters.

As much as McCain�s mixed platform in 2000 won broad support, his move to the right while holding some decidedly liberal-leaning positions since 2004 has fallen flat with many conservatives, legions of independents and most liberals.

And now word is out that Senator McCain�s 2008 presidential campaign has failed to keep up with fundraising compared to Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. McCain has also suffered major shakeups within his brain trust, most recently the resignations of John Weaver and Terry Nelson.

Some pundits have likened this development to President Bush operating without political mastermind Karl Rove.

But who knows? If Weaver and Nelson helped craft McCain into the failed candidate he is in 2007, I must imagine the pugnacious Senator McCain could possibly revive some of the magic he had in 2000 before the primaries of 2008.

But as a betting man, I must put my money not on what Senator McCain would wear to his inauguration in early 2009, but rather when the death knell for his presidential prospects sound off.

Is it possible I�ve already missed the bus on placing that bet? Just as well. That bus was probably the Straight Talk Express, and it could just as easily be rested in rubble somewhere at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

�Tried faith all worn and thin / for all we could have done / and all that could have been.�