McCain’s Honor

A curiosity of this Presidential campaign has been the way former media idolaters of John McCain have suddenly turned on him. They now claim to be horrified by his choice of Sarah Palin, or by his ad hoc economic decision-making, or his TV ads, or something. Whom do they think they've been praising all these years?

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The John McCain of this campaign is the same as he ever was. The former Navy pilot's politics has always been more personal than ideological. His core convictions are duty, honor and country. He has always been passionate to the point of being impulsive, an unguided policy missile until he locks on target. Then he can be tenacious, and sometimes moralistic. These traits have characterized the McCain candidacy for better or worse and, we suspect, would also mark his Presidency. What the media can't say with a straight face is that they are shocked by any of this; they should admit they've simply found a new romance in Barack Obama. If the 2008 election were solely about character and experience, Mr. McCain would be winning in a walk. Few Presidential nominees have been better known or more admired. A McCain Presidency would have its surprises, but they would not be from personal vice or political scandal. His courage has been tested far more than most -- both in a personal sense in Vietnam, and in a political sense during the Iraq war. More...

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