McCain's Last Stand

February 7, 2006
R. D. Kushner

The usual tirade for this week has been replaced by a tirade by John McCain. A tirade that says more about this hypocrite of Congressional proportions, than it does about Barack Obama, the accused. McCain has thrown a rock in his glass house, and as he sits in his easy chair amidst a pile of broken glass, he seems oblivious to his own cowardliness and sanctimoniousness.

Mr. McCain seems to be very particular about contradicting himself, and then blaming others for his own inadequacies. His psychological projection paints a caricature of himself that is not without irony or sadness. Mr. McCain has learned much from his experiences of war and of government, yet his forte as of late seems to be information manipulation and irresponsible attacks; which puts him in a class of his own with an administration that prides itself on such mediocrity and carelessness.

Below, McCain speaks for himself. The man of politics reeks of partisanship, hypocrisy, and self-interest; but rather than challenge those positions in his own logic and actions he attacks a weaker, less experienced politician, and accuses him of the same: Senatorial Darwinism at its best. The following is provided as "fair use" of an article originally published at CNN.com:

"I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in politics, I failed to interpret your previous assurances as typical rhetorical gloss routinely used in politics to make self-interested partisan posturing appear more noble," the Arizona Republican said in a letter to Barack Obama.

"Please be assured I won't make the same mistake again."

McCain also told Obama that "I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's efforts to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness."

"I have been around long enough to appreciate that in politics, the public interest isn't always a priority for every one of us," McCain wrote. "Good luck to you, senator."

Senator McCain is right to be embarrassed, but he's embarrassed for the wrong reasons. He thinks his embarrassment stems from his admitted failure to interpret Barack Obama's political rhetoric of self-interest; but what he should be more embarrassed about is his own political rhetoric of self-interest. Mr. McCain, like so many of his colleagues [Democrats and Republicans alike], is more interested in self-preservation and self-denial, than his own intellectual enlightenment or the public interest of the American people that he so facetiously invokes.

If Senator McCain isn't embarrassed by the tone or irony of his remarks, the American public will be embarrassed for him. The recent punch to his loins administered by President Bush, who all but dismissed McCain's anti-torture legislation with his defamatory signatory note, must still be stinging with resentment. One shouldn't be surprised to see McCain lash out in pain to cover up for his own inadequacies. And Barack Obama was his victim; but to use the term "victim" is to give McCain's hollow and misplaced criticism too much credit.

It is time for McCain to retire. First apologize. Then retire. Or he can continue to smash the face of his dignity into the ground, until it becomes a bloody, unrecognizable shadow of human conscience.