In Memoriam, John McCain

Regardless of the outcome on November 4, this fall America lost one of its original, independent political voices as Senator John McCain succumbed to hardrightwingitis.

You may ask, what is hardrightwingitis? It is an insidious disorder, common to Republicans running for public office at a national level, to surrender their principles and common sense to the far right wing of the party in hopes of "solidfying the base."

What makes hardrightwingits a difficult condition to assess is that in some instances its outcome is successful for the afflicted. This happens in times of relative national prosperity and security when elemental symptoms -- such as agreement with anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-conservative Christian issues -- can position the victim as victor.

In the case of Senator McCain, his bout with hardrightwingits came as the wheels were falling off US prestige and prosperity. He accepted the diagnosis of a team of specialists trained by Karl Rove (aka The Architect) that he must pander to extreme elements of the Party in order to maintain a base of support necessary to win an election. A second opinion would have revealed to the patient that if he were to actually run on his record as one who had collaborated with Russell Feingold on campaign finance reform, Ted Kennedy on immigration and had, in 2000, energized moderate Democrats by standing up to religious extremists (Farrakhan on the left, Falwell on the right), he might win the election and, if not, lose with some measure of dignity.

Perhaps the most fatal move was the selection of untested, unknown Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. A favorite of extreme right leaning pundits from Bob Grant to Rush Limbaugh, Palin revealed herself to be, in short order, a featherweight in a tempest. If Senator McCain had followed his initial instincts -- Sen. Joe Lieberman or former Homeland Security Director and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge -- for a running mate, he would have made stronger inroads with undecided voters and have positioned himself competitively in key states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Since this posting is being written prior to election day, I do not presume the outcome to necessarily be a poor one for the Arizona Senator. But if he does miraculously effect a Trumanesque comeback and win, he will enter the White House with a reputation severely tarnished by vicious attacks on his opponent, Senator Barack Obama, and with a Vice President in tow who is considered by nearly 6 in 10 Americans to be poorly equipped to take over the Presidency and who, in the waning days of the campaign, distanced herself from Senator McCain on issues and opinions of campaign tactics.