Joe Klein: 'I Used To Know A Different John McCain'

TIME:

McCain distinguished himself doubly this weekend, opposing the Dream Act and leading the opposition to "Don't Ask," despite the very public positions of his wife and daughter on the other side of the issue. I used to know a different John McCain, the guy who proposed comprehensive immigration reform with Ted Kennedy, the guy--a conservative, to be sure, but an honorable one--who refused to indulge in the hateful strictures of his party's extremists.

Read the whole story: TIME

Comments

[Joseph Van Der Putten]

12:53 PM on 12/22/2010

One reason why republicans and specially J.McCain are against the Dreambill could be their expectation that the great majority of these immigrant children will become Democrats., and that would make President Obama and the Democrats stronger, and we can't have that, because it is not "Country First", but "GOP First, Country last".

[pamelagoodenough]

12:22 PM on 12/22/2010

" to ensure his future shot at the Presidency , he rolled over for Dubya despite the horrendous hatchet job that had been done to him by Rove in SC."

Who didn't roll over for W? ugh.

[Chicagoperson]

11:52 AM on 12/22/2010

He's talking now on the Start treaty. I want to smack him. Of course he wants people to accept the amendment that was named after him. McCain's name is first on it, that's what's most important to them, whose name goes first, as opposed to the substance of the amendment. Looks like Lieberman and McCain are buddies again.

[T-Hold]

10:27 AM on 12/22/2010

It is clear why he is buddies with Joe LIEberman - say or do anything to stay in office, even pander to the worst examples of Americans.

Time to go, John.

You couldn't make Admiral, you couldn't make president. The truth ultimately shows.

[Nonamnesiac]

10:26 AM on 12/22/2010

Joe Klein didn't know a "different­­­­" McCain. McCain always was the racist, sexist, homophobic­­­­, stupid bigot who went to Annapolis because of his dad's accomplish­­­­ments and graduated well beneath the bottom 1% of his class, with a class rank of 894 out of 899 graduates. McCain was the guy who was as corrupt as an unindicted co-conspir­­­­ator as any of the indicted Keating five -- a guy who maintained his relationsh­­­­ip with the rest of the Keating crooks by callously and cynically dumping his wife and courting his current wife, who had financial relations with the Keating crowd.

It was this same John McCain who voted against making MLK Day a national holiday and voted against the 1991 amendments to the Civil Rights Act that allowed for jury trials in Civil Rights cases. When McCain, elevated by the despicable­­­­, right-wing national and cable media to be a war hero even though he starred in numerous anti-US propaganda films for the Vietnamese -- somehow seen as a seasoned legislator despite his stupid opposition to earmarks, which, for the most part guarantee that critical infrastruc­­­­ture and research needed in each of the localities of the US get proper attention and funding -- decided to run for President, he pandered to liberals a bit by apologizin­­­­g for his MLK Day vote and appearing to champion some other popular causes. McCain never was a maverick and never deserved the despicable media's admiration­­­­.

McCain is furious because he was defeated by a Black man.

[binkis1]

12:01 PM on 12/22/2010

Amen.nonamesiaic....just a short bitter old defeatist! Ugly to watch!

[binkis1]

12:03 PM on 12/22/2010

My censor must be back to work..my every comment is pending! Hmmm--they took down my 'favorites' numbers 3 times this fall!

[ChristyH]

09:56 AM on 12/22/2010

For all of those that use phrases like, "quick passage" -"bills being crammed through"-"rush job" -- PLEASE.... One thing that is the absolute truth is that NOTHING IS QUICKLY PASSED in the Senate..... Everything takes weeks, months, years..... This notion that some will say that they need more time to STUDY an issue is hogwash.... If any Senator needed more time on DADT, Dream, 9/11, or the START TREATY, I have ONE QUESTION - What have you been doing the past year? DADT, Dream, 9/11 have been rolling around the Senate FOR YEARS.... And the Start Treaty made BIG NEWS when Obama signed it - so MAN UP... If you are against these things - say so and take the political flack.... If you are for them, vote yes...

None of this is hard... The only difficult part is trying to lie about your motives and hope the public doesn't figure it out!

[MacQ]

09:25 AM on 12/22/2010

There are legitimate reasons to oppose the quick passage of some of the bills that democrats (who have been in power for 4 years now) have saved for a cram-down in the final hours.

Why do they want to escape scrutiny? Because like most of their bills, they're a front to make some special interest rich and not really benefitting the people they're supposed to. Like the Pigford Black Farmers Bill, which does little for black farmers, much for class action lawyers.

It also is designed for making republicans look like they're opposing wonderful things. They aren't opposing 9-11 responders, for example--they want some oversight to make sure the responders get their due and more. UNlike the cram-down bills we've seen lately.

[MacQ]

09:21 AM on 12/22/2010

What a disingenuous piece. Joe never like McCain anyway--awfully dishonest to NOW say he's fallen in your view. He's fallen nowhere. This is slime.

[GeoTor]

08:31 AM on 12/22/2010

I hate to say this, but it looks like the only way John McCain can salvage his former respectable reputation is to suddenly get some terminal illness and milk the media for sympathy.

[Over40]

03:46 AM on 12/22/2010

Beautifully written piece by Joe Klein - could not have said it better myself.

[Mitzy]

02:57 AM on 12/22/2010

To those who were Svengali'd by John McCain, all I can say is thank god his spell has lifted. But the many of us who were never taken in by him and his bootlicking media pals, we who always knew him as a slick gangster, we are owed an apology for all the evenings when you, our fellow liberals,berated us for shaking our heads in utter disbelief at your fawning ignorance. You wasted a lot of precious time and energy. DON'T let it happen again.

[Rosewren]

07:22 AM on 12/22/2010

You are right. He hasn't made a spectavular fall it is just that the lies that enshrined this man have finally fell so people can see the real man instead of the myth. F&F

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/26/123532/692/322/464441

[kaptaintripps]

01:54 AM on 12/22/2010

For that, you'd had have to known McCan't before he was five years old--and learned to lie.

[libluv235]

01:44 AM on 12/22/2010

You never knew John Mccain. He has always been a spoiled brat.

[listentome]

12:26 AM on 12/22/2010

"an honorable one--who refused to indulge in the hateful strictures of his party's extremists."

From the very first debate that McCain had with Obama that hateful stricture side of McCain is all that I have seen. He seethed with contempt in the mere presence of then candidate Obama and now President Obama. He chose Palin to say all the things and attack in the way he wanted to do but couldn't do while trying to portray a man of honor.

[kaptaintripps]

01:56 AM on 12/22/2010

Face it, listentome: the man is a l!@r...has always been...always will be. People don't change much in old age. McCan't has been... what McCan't has ALWAYS been.

[Rosewren]

07:24 AM on 12/22/2010

F&F

http://www.usvetdsp.com/jan07/mccain_myth.htm

[listentome]

08:20 AM on 12/22/2010

I absolutely agree with you.

[Gmoney1]

12:17 AM on 12/22/2010

some folks are just slow learners Joe -