Good article on McCain:
nytimes.com
McCain Joins Campaign Fray, Displaying Independent Streak
By TODD S. PURDUM
Published: March 19, 2004
WASHINGTON, March 18 — From television advertisements to vice-presidential oratory, the Republican attack against Senator John Kerry this week has been sharp, unsparing and unified: The Democratic candidate is "wrong on defense." On Thursday, one Republican senator's response was just as sharp and unsparing, but much less unified: "No, I do not believe that he is, quote, weak on defense."
What kind of Republican would say that? The John McCain kind, of course.
Last week, the polite but impolitic admission by Mr. McCain that he would "entertain" an offer to be Mr. Kerry's running mate provided a good day's entertainment for the capital's chattering classes (until he ruled it out).
Now, his defense of Mr. Kerry, a friend and fellow Vietnam veteran, shows once again how Mr. McCain's incorrigible independent streak and ill-disguised distance from President Bush make him one of Washington's most unpredictable — and unavoidable — men.
<more in article> |
