My appreciation for John McCain continues to grow.

[tongodeon]

To recap: this evening's "Nightline" broadcast, from beginning to end, will be a reading of the names of soldiers who have died in combat in Iraq. David Smith, the Republican supporter who owns the Sinclair Broadcast Group, has decided not to air this show because he thinks it will help the Democrats. John McCain, my Republican senator from

Comments

[matrushkaka]

I would have voted for McCain if he were on the Presidential ticket, even without this, and I rarely vote Republican.

[merde]

me too. i'm a staunch democrat, but i'd still prefer him to Kerry.

[tongodeon]

Me too. I'd ask "so why didn't they pick McCain instead of Bush", but the answer is that McCain's not interested in advancing the Republican platform. So rather than pick an honest guy with great cross-platform appeal, they picked a guy who'd alienate 49.999% of the population and advance their goals. And their gamble paid off. I can't fault their strategy if it works.

[deeptape]

Only if you seal the voting records in Florida.

[deeptape]

Oh, good point. I should have read more carefully. : )

[tongodeon]

Whether he got more or less of the vote is immaterial. The point is that he won. A lesser, more extreme candidate with deeper obligations to special interests won. Now, the Republicans could have picked a guy who would have been a slam-dunk for both sides, but McCain wouldn't have done half the things that Bush did. So they gambled and won big.

[merde]

how many people would we have to kill before McCain comes up in the succession? i figure if we distribute the workload evenly we could wrap it up in a matter of weeks.

[merde]

incidentally, i should point out that i don't by a long stretch agree with all of McCain's positions. in particular, i've never in my life voted for a candidate for any office who wasn't pro-choice. but my perception -- which, of course, could be wrong, but what else can i go by? -- is that McCain has more personal integrity and is generally the better human being, and i think that's more important than my personal political agenda.

unfortunately, most voters don't think the way i do. which is precisely why McCain never won the nomination.