Get to know the real John McCain...

[cynatnite]

snip:
"I think that gay marriage should be allowed, if there's a ceremony kind of thing, if you want to call it that," McCain answers, searching in vain for the less loaded phrases he knows are out there somewhere, such as "commitment ceremony" or "civil union." "I don't have any problem with that, but I do believe in preserving the sanctity of the union between man and woman." It may not be clear just what McCain is trying to say, but it's easy to see how his words could be skewed in a direction that the Republican right might not like at all.

snip:
But then, out of nowhere, he adds, "Could I just mention one other thing? On the issue of the gay marriage, I believe if people want to have private ceremonies, that's fine. I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal."

snip:
If this awkward little day of straddling feels familiar, it is because McCain has tried it before. In the 2000 campaign, he waded straight into the hottest controversy in South Carolina, not long before his crucial primary showdown with George W. Bush, by offering his unvarnished opinion on whether the Confederate battle flag—the Stars and Bars—should continue to fly over the state capitol. "As we all know, it's a symbol of racism and slavery," McCain said. After John Weaver and others did more than whisper in his ear, McCain took to reading aloud from a piece of paper with a statement that began, "As to how I view the flag, I understand both sides," and went downhill from there.

snip:
he calls the leader of North Korea a "pip-squeak in platform shoes," and in seconding my view that Islamabad has limited charms, he volunteers that the Pakistani capital "sucks." At a nascar race in New Hampshire, he introduces Bobby Allison, "the greatest driver in the history of racing," to one of the journalists following him that day, declaring, "This is Adam Nagourney, New York Times. They're a Communist paper, but he's O.K."

snip:
To a gathering of businessmen he says, "I want to keep health-care costs down until I get sick, and then I don't give a goddamn,"

snip:
McCain said he believed that intelligent design, which proponents portray as a more intellectually respectable version of biblical creationism, should be taught in science classes. But then, in the face of intense skepticism from his listeners, he kept modifying his views—going into reverse evolution.

snip:
"Yes, he's a social conservative, but his heart isn't in this stuff," one former aide told me, referring to McCain's instinctual unwillingness to impose on others his personal views about issues such as religion, sexuality, and abortion. "But he has to pretend , and he's not a good enough actor to pull it off. He just can't fake it well enough."

http://www.vanityfair.com./politics/features/2007/02/mccain200702

[happyconfucius]

1. Mccain

I put a video of neoconservatives and those in Mccain's campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiKFobH4cVY

[blondeatlast]

2. There is no REAL John McCain. Did the wind change direction? You can bet this

so-called "maverick" did too...

That's a great piece that does a great job outlining some of McCain's most vulnerable points; I read it at an interminable wait at a doctor's office last year (It's a long read, but very worthwhile).

It is worthy of a revival. K&R

[cynatnite]

4. Hopefully, the Obama camp reads it, too

:evilgrin:

[blondeatlast]

3. Pre-bedtime kick. nt

[ColbertWatcher]

5. I didn't read the whole thing, but...

...did it mention how he tries to deflect criticism of any kind by referring to his time as a POW?

I went over to his wikip*dia page to check how long he had been married to Reverend Cindy (28 years) and I found this interesting tidbit:

"As a newcomer to the state, McCain was hit with repeated charges of being a carpetbagger. (...) McCain responded to a voter making the charge (...)

Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the First District of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi."

I know he's done it at least twice during this campaign, I just can't remember exactly when and in what context, but it seems he does it quite a bit.