McCain's Class, Buckley's Death, Clinton's Support & Texas' Craziness

If you haven't been checking Donklephant, I have four posts up over there since yesterday. Here are the links.

On McCain here.

Briefly on William F. Buckley Jr. here.

On Clinton's waning support here.

On the screwy Texas primary here.

McCain's Healthcare Problem

Michael Reynolds nails John McCain to the wall on the issue where he’s most vulnerable: healthcare. My number one reservation about McCain has been his less-than-comprehensive healthcare proposal. It’s not even really a proposal, it’s some superficial adjustments and free market bromides.

You don’t have to be a policy expert to know our healthcare system is ineffectual. Despite our world-class technology and highly-skilled physicians, far too many Americans have trouble obtaining basic care. We have a high cost, high quality, low access system. This is not only creating undo hardships for many citizens but is weighing down our global competitiveness by creating an immobile and risk-adverse workforce at just the time job fluidity and entrepreneurism is most needed.

We’re long past the point where tweaks might work – heck, incessant regulatory tweaks are one of the reasons we’re in this mess. We need big ideas now. Unfortunately, John McCain doesn’t seem to have them.

I’m not specifically arguing for Barack Obama’s or Hillary Clinton’s approaches. I think both focus too much on creating new layers of bureaucracy and not enough on removing the unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles already in place. However, at least the Democrats recognize the existence of a problem as well as the American people’s desire for a solution. McCain is apparently content suggesting the same “the system ain’t really that bad” proposals advanced by Republicans and others who just haven’t been paying attention.

By no means does McCain’s lack of a comprehensive healthcare plan disqualify him from serious consideration (to be fair, it’s just February and this wasn’t an issue important to winning his primary). But I’ll be listening to him. Just as I hope the eventual Democratic nominee develops a more rational Iraq plan during the general election I hope McCain develops a more workable healthcare plan. His failure to do so may not cost him my vote but it could very well cost him the election.

All the Tabloid News That's Fit to Print

The culture of rumor-journalism has gotten so prevalent that The New York Times is now conforming to the journalistic standards of Star Magazine. The Times’ “story” that John McCain may have had an affair during the 2000 campaign is based on nothing more than concerns some anonymous staffers had.

Concerns from anonymous sources? Really? That is tabloid level reporting. Hopefully this will wash right through the news cycle with more responsible journalists admitting that concerns from anonymous sources about a possible affair does not merit a news story. But I have serious doubts that the rest of the mainstream media will be so mature. This is going to be a thorn for McCain and that’s a shame.

Barking Mad

Rush Limbaugh, who has always had an abusive relationship with reality, has completely lost it. This from The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb quoting a piece in The New York Sun:

On Mr. Limbaugh's program today, he said people should not be rushing to back Mr. McCain over issues of national security. The talk host said America's direction in Iraq would not be substantially different, even if Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Obama were elected. "They are not going to surrender the country to Islamic radicalism or the war in Iraq," Mr. Limbaugh said after mentioning the two Democratic senators by name. "They are not going to do that to themselves, despite what their base says."

Goldfarb brings us back to reality:

There is no doubt that America's direction in Iraq would be substantially different if a Democrat were elected in November. No well informed person could argue otherwise.

Yep. But Limbaugh and others on the unhinged right are operating in a fun-house mirror version of reality where McCain is the product of some vast liberal conspiracy (apparently perpetrated by a significant number of strong conservatives). It’s all off-the-wall crazy.

Limbaugh, Coulter, et. al. have long been the right’s half-crazed attack dogs. Let them into your house and it’s no surprise when they piss all over the furniture. If McCain wins big tonight, the Republican Party is going to have to figure out how to get its crazies back in the kennel and ready for the real fight this Fall.

You Know What I Like About John McCain...

…he’s not an ideologue. He’s a principled, independent conservative. We know where he stands and we know he’s not going to change just because some pollster says it’s in his best political interest. Yet we know he can change if the times and circumstances demand it. He won’t let the nation go to hell just to preserve his own blessed ideology.

His allegiances are to no party or political theory. That drives a lot of people crazy. It drives me to like him all the more. A president who’s obliged to carry the water of no one is a president who can put America’s interests and honor well before the petty desires of his party.

I don’t agree with every position he holds or like everything he’s done. But there’s not a politician in Washington who shares all my beliefs or who’s never made condemnable mistakes. The goal is not to contort oneself into the unsustainable pose of a true believer. The goal is to find a candidate you can trust to be wise enough to consider the best opinions and smart enough to follow the right course.

McCain would not make a perfect president. But I think he would make a very good one.

Undecided No More

Always one to follow the herd, I’ve made a decision on Campaign 2008. Actually, I’ve made two (how’s that for being a wishy/washy Centrist?).

If it hasn’t become obvious to all my readers, I’m supporting John McCain AND Barack Obama. See, I’ve decided it isn’t necessary to choose just one candidate and then really, really hope he gets his party’s nomination. I’m supporting one candidate from each party in the hope we get at least one good choice this November. If I get a two-fer-one and it’s McCain vs. Obama, I guess I’ll be one of those coveted undecideds for a good while.

So, while I have reservations about Obama’s liberal policy stances and concerns about McCain’s party affiliation (I’m not sure another 4 years of Republican leadership in the White House would be effective, no matter how appealing that Republican is), they are the only two candidates for whom I realistically could vote.

So, there you have it. Now when I write anything that favors McCain or Obama you can accuse me of blatant bias (although I still plan to be cool-headed and critically honest about every aspect of this campaign).

McCain Wins South Carolina

He's now the clear frontrunner. Huckabee is running for Vice President. And Romney? He could easily hang around long enough to make this thing very interesting. But Republicans like to get in line sooner rather than later. If McCain can win Florida, he'll likely clinch the nomination on Super Tuesday. And as far as I'm concerned, a McCain nomination would be a very good thing.

Is McCain the Only One Who Can Beat Obama?

That’s what some believe.. I’m inclined to agree. Not only can McCain wrest away some independents but he (unlike any other Republican or even Democratic candidate) can simultaneously offer comprehensive experience while standing for change.

Of course, assuming he gets the nomination – and that’s still a big assumption – McCain will have to deftly communicate his support for the Iraq war in a way that makes sense to a nation fatigued by the conflict. He will also have to choose a socially conservative vice president and find a way to speak to the so-called values voter in a way that brings out enough of the base without alienating independents. None of this would be easy, but McCain appears to be the most equipped Republican to execute such an acrobatic political maneuver.

Reckless

That's the word used by John McCain today to describe the Democrat's Iraq plans. That's the perfect word. It is reckless to plan for withdrawal without also planning for the consequences of that withdrawal.

Saddly, "reckless" is also the perfect word for the original invasion. First we go in with too little forethought and now we want to leave with too little forethought. In ten years time, if we've grown as a nation, we will bemoan the narrow vision and reckless attitudes of those on both sides of the Iraq issue.