John McCain Not A Maverick: Proven With Math!

[N.B. I inadvertently bollixed some of the attributions below. Corrections have been made, errors struck through. Apologies to all for my mistake.]

Hey, everybody? Is it just me, or has Senator John McCain been feeling a lot less mavericky these days? I know, I know, it wasn't too long ago that McCain himself disowned the label, telling Newsweek's David Margolick, "I never considered myself a maverick" -- a claim which defied credulity, based upon the available visual evidence. But even with that in mind, it seems like McCain's old "maverick" flavor has started to wear off.

Well, guess what! A Princeton Ph.D. candidate by the name of Benjamin Lauderdale has actually proven that John McCain isn't a maverick anymore, using the maths!

It's all part of a recent paper entitled "Unpredictable Voters In Ideal Point Estimation". If you like political theory, statistical analysis, complicated equations that look like the set dressing on "Good Will Hunting", and the facile utilization of words like "homoskedasticity," then this paper is basically your "Eat Pray Love". For the rest of us, we'll just skip to the part where he's, using Lauderdale's methodology, John Sides of The Monkey Cage has made charts and graphs that will finally make it clear. (With a hit tip to The Washington Independent):

You know, I had this weird feeling that as a candidate in 2008, John McCain had mainly gone from an independent-minded politician to a dead-average party-hack type! Thanks for bearing this out, mathematics!

The Windy's Aaron Wiener gets Lauderdale's Sides also offers takes on the "true mavericks" in Congress, which he identifies as Representative Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.). You can check out the top ten by clicking here.

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to [e-mail] -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Comments

[planetmondo]

12:19 PM on 05/08/2010

deported to -sorry no wonder I only have ! fan

[planetmondo]

12:17 PM on 05/08/2010

Since Mc Cain has lost his Idenity and is in Arizona, he should produce his papers or be deporteto the 16th century.- or the country of his birth-Panama.

[Drawmark]

03:32 PM on 05/07/2010

Jon McCain is No Longer a Maverick. Now He's The Rockford Files.

[BUSTERtheCAT]

01:57 PM on 05/07/2010

he lost to the do pe and then to the homeboy, they gonna have to drag ol johnny out by his collar

[BUSTERtheCAT]

01:47 PM on 05/07/2010

thats how they have to dress him now, when he goes outside ......helmet,goggles?

[txrunner]

11:54 AM on 05/07/2010

McCain's a democrat - always has been, always will be.

[jeremyfive]

01:48 PM on 05/07/2010

Then where does the vile hostility and bigotry come from?

[tenndemo]

11:26 AM on 05/07/2010

Looks like his fall started about the time he got swift-boated by w's boys.

[jeremyfive]

11:00 AM on 05/07/2010

McCain called himself a "maverick", but he forgot. It's the Alzheimers.

[AddyGmom]

10:21 AM on 05/07/2010

John McCain will always , and forever, be known for unleashing the Plague of Palin on a country decimated by the Debacle Decade of Dick and Dubya.

Talk about insult to injury!!

[jeremyfive]

11:02 AM on 05/07/2010

Well put! Couldn't agree more.

[TheSupremeOne]

10:04 AM on 05/07/2010

The Songbird of Saigon looks really silly with that hat on..

[Denemator]

10:17 AM on 05/07/2010

"song bird of saigon" and " nails on the chalkboard voice" Such a splendid team they made in 2008. NOT!!!!! lol

Yes it does look rather silly on that opportunist. Fanned.

[Christian McMorna]

10:32 AM on 05/07/2010

McCain's a disaster, but the "Songbird of Saigon" label is unfair.

[camdog13]

12:51 PM on 05/07/2010

It is absolutly fair. he started spilling the beans as soon as he was fished out of the water after being shot down. he's a lying opportunist that will say anything as long as it will benifit his political position.

[TheSupremeOne]

09:33 PM on 05/07/2010

That's what the VC called him while he was a POW..

[carpdd]

09:38 AM on 05/07/2010

If it walks like a short term memory patient and talks like a short term memory patient,........................This guy really needs to sit back and relax! He has done enough to the country with his Maverick y, non Maverick y ways! We owe Senator McCain so much! Afterall it was he who introduced Simple Sarah to the national stage and completely decimated what little real dialogue was going on between party's.

[Denemator]

10:26 AM on 05/07/2010

That is the core of it, well said.

[repuglycon]

09:31 AM on 05/07/2010

Good News. After 28 years in the senate John McCain (and his side kick) have come up with a 10 point plan to secure Arizona's Southern border.

[dennissinned]

08:34 AM on 05/07/2010

Joe the Plumber was his role model. He said so himself during one of the debates with Obama.

[BUSTERtheCAT]

01:51 PM on 05/07/2010

haaaaaaaaaa

[hagagaga]

08:18 AM on 05/07/2010

This is news?

[djekizian]

09:05 AM on 05/07/2010

It's satire. Get a sense of humor.

[aonemandog]

08:12 AM on 05/07/2010

McCain was never a "maverick." He went from being a faux war hero to a thief of Arizona people's money to an angry old goat. He needs to be put out to pasture if anyone can get him to stop flip-flopping on issues long enough to lassoo him and lead him to the safely fenced enclosure.

[gumbo1049]

08:25 AM on 05/07/2010

CORRECT!!!!!!!!!

[TomInJax]

08:36 AM on 05/07/2010

While I have lost all respect for the politician and even the man, my respect for his service to our country will never wain. After 13 years in the Navy (DADT victim), I knew one too many pilots with his frat boy attitude, but that did not lessen their love for their job, their country, or their service to their country. To say that McCain is a faux hero is reprehensible. Those that say he ditched his plane or got shot down on purpose are just as nutty as the birthers. McCain has become an angry, grumpy old man, but what he did in the service of our country deserves nothing but respect. I'm as liberal as the rest of you, but I also believe you have to fight for, and be willing to give your life for, what you believe in.

[CanComment]

09:22 AM on 05/07/2010

I agree-- especially with your last comment-- but great heroes, from George Washington on, know when to retire. Senator McCain is in danger of damaging his heroic legacy by not recognizing that this time has come for him.

[aonemandog]

10:05 AM on 05/07/2010

Every man and woman who serves in our military deserves our respect and support. But, McCain is no more a heroe than the thousands of military men and women who were killed, wounded or captured during the many wars our country has been embroiled in. McCain just had the money to turn his service and wartime experiences into a tool for political exploitation.