What made me insane about the 2004 election was that the Democrats lost based on how one question was poorly answered. "You supported the war, and then you didn't. Can you explain that, Senator Kerry?" I was dying for him to say, "Well, we were given faulty information and the country as a whole was suffering from shock. Now we're more rational and we have better information. Just like most of our citizens, I've changed my mind. It has become clear this is a bad war." He could have even gotten in some good digs about how the Bush administration lied to us, leading to the earlier misguided stance. Inexplicably, Kerry instead said, "Well, uh, I, uh...." and the Republicans effectively painted a picture that ended an election.
Fast forward to 2008 and the presidential campaign of John McCain. Here is a guy who, in 2000, was touted as the "maverick Republican" and rode "The Straight Talk Express". Now that he needs the support of his Republican base, his own platform falls very much in line with the hard core conservatives, he voted with President Bush 95% of the time last year and 100% this year, and even changed his stance on wiretapping from just six months ago!
Who is John McCain? The just right of center guy we all remember or the traditional status quo Republican he is now portraying himself to be to his base? Should we take him at his current word and actions (as he would like the conservatives to think) or at his past word and actions (as he'd like the centrists and liberals to believe)? What a shocker. A politician trying to be everything to everyone. Is it just me, or do the Republicans have the biggest Flip Flopper EVER on their hands? I know we're Democrats, and we normally leave this sort of thing to our friends across the aisle, but can't we, I don't know, perhaps, make USE OF THIS???
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