McCain's Lost Way

“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Jesus, Mark 8:36)

For many years I was an admirer of John McCain. The story of his imprisonment in North Viet Nam was a compelling statement of his character and strength of will. He continually talked about a willingness to decide political questions on their own merits, regardless of political party position or any popularity contest. He seemed willing to work with Senate colleagues of either party to accomplish the country’s legislative needs, as we often used to see in Congress in the 1950s/1960s. He was warm and accessible to news reporters, credited with being a “straight talker.” It was my belief that throughout this time he genuinely acted from a firmly held core value of “honor” that drove his actions.

Then eight years ago, he ran for president. He did well for awhile, until he went to South Carolina for its primary election against Bush the Junior. Here he ran into the new Republican attack-dog politics, and he lost. John McCain was never the same thereafter. The navy man who is the son and grandson of admired and successful naval admirals had come up short; failed and unsuccessful. He was forced to watch his rival George go on into the presidency that he had seen as belonging to him. “Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned,” but ambition is never so fueled as by the failure to live up to success expectations one perceives on him-/herself.

So after 4 years of lying in wait until his next opportunity could arise (preparing for the 2008 election), a very different John McCain emerged. One we did not recognize at first, until our slight confusion gradually gave way to a clear view of this new persona. John McCain had learned the “how to succeed” lesson all too well. Like the based-on-reality fictional Willy Stark who was beaten down by the entrenched political machine in the 1940s movie All The King’s Men, John took the devil that had beaten him and made that devil his new campaign platform.

So began the turnaround. He served as a commencement speaker for the evangelical preacher that he had once (accurately) denounced as a purveyor of hate and intolerance. He suddenly was a new forceful advocate for a Republican right agenda that he supposedly had always supported, albeit apparently not for public view. Ronald Reagan was now revealed to be his model and hero, though McCain has neither Reagan’s oratory skills nor his vision, and he glosses over Reagan’s true legacy of expanded government and bloated deficits from giving tax cuts on upper incomes. And after years of pronouncing himself to be a true-blue (true-red?) Republican supporter of free markets and deregulation, one Wall Street meltdown later he is all for “strong oversight and regulation of the financial industry.” Having for years understated his war experiences (as most war veterans similarly do), he now rolls out those stories at every opportunity in a play for the nobility / sympathy vote. (Notwithstanding that being a captive in war does not in/of itself make one either inherently more patriotic nor any more qualified to be Commander in Chief!)

In short, it is now a strategy of do and say anything and whatever is needed to get elected. George Bush and his team were singularly all about being elected; they had no clue about subsequently GOVERNING this country. John McCain is now about winning at any cost. The man who last spring promised to run a “respectful” campaign has so far done anything but. He is almost universally seen as the dirt-thrower this go-around, moving beyond the “stretching the truth” to outright and undeniable lies approaching “swift boat” demagoguery. Interestingly, he even uses a new campaign tactic of accusing his opponent of exactly his own weaknesses before they can be used against himself. The man who helped to write the current rules that try to limit the influence of lobbyists and their money in politics is now shamelessly surrounded by same. The man who thankfully protested against political sleaze in 2000 has become the poster boy for that very sleaze. Not surprising given that his campaign team is led by former Bush team players. And he caps this reversal of character by choosing an increasingly obvious incompetent running mate whose only qualification was to be a philosophical bone to the political party who doesn’t really trust (or like) McCain as their own candidate in the first place. This rather than truly considering “country first” and selecting a highly credentialed associate capable of leading this country if and when necessary.

The sad part is that I actually do not write this blog item as a specific criticism of John McCain the political candidate. Rather, I write it as a commentary about what happens when one loses sight of who she/he is, when the push of our inner demons and self-perceived inadequacies cause us to forget who we are truly about. It is what happens when winning by any means replaces integrity, and ambition trumps honor. In these incredibly difficult times, this country needs some hard, thoughtful discussions about the issues that face us. The opportunities that are possible, and the choices that we need to make. The ways we can find some common ground that has been missing, so that we can move forward instead of spinning in do-nothing circles.

This is a time when we need conversations among a wide variety of thoughtful and experienced persons. This is a time when we could benefit from the contributions of John McCain’s thinking and dialog. But not this erratic John McCain who we no longer know. We need the John McCain that we thought we knew in 2000. The one who seemed to speak from core values of honesty, integrity, and fairness. Unfortunately, that John McCain who once acted from a personal place of deep honor is now nowhere to be seen.