To the victor go the spoils, and to the loser, well, what does go to the loser? In recent presidential elections it seems that there are two paths the loser can take -- one of public redemption and refusal to be cast as irrelevant (see: Gore, Al), and one of obsequious obscurity (see: Dukakis, Michael). Guess which path John McCain is likely to take?
Yet for McCain to stay relevant, he'll need to make some bold moves over the next four, if not more, years to reclaim much of the honor lost during this hard-fought election. As of right now, McCain has no base. Not the right-wing Evangelicals he so desperately courted, not the few remaining fiscal conservatives he sold out for his shot at the crown, not the centrist Democrats who were originally supposed to be his ticket to victory, and certainly not the media, who in recent months have shown that perhaps while hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, a press corp repeatedly treated like a gaggle of idiots and lepers is capable of some fire, too. Alas, having lost the trust of however million Americans who voted for him, and the respect of nearly every American who didn't, McCain has been left behind to rue the day he ever heard the name Barack Hussein Obama, while history marches on double time without him.
How, then, can McCain be a Gore and not a Dukakis? Well, while Obama did indeed reclaim the White House for the Democrats, the other two branches of government are not quite fully-controlled by the party (and in the case of the Judicial Branch, not even close), and could cause not only a lot of headaches for the incumbent president, but for the American people too. Make no mistake -- the air is still sour in Washington, and despite Obama's calls for change and a move beyond partisan politics, you can bet without a filibuster-proof senate majority that once his grand schemes hit the Hill, many will be cut off at the knees, if not the neck. Times like these call for, dare I say, a maverick senator who votes from his head and his heart, and not by his political allegiances. With no chance of running for higher office again, McCain doesn't need to be in lock step with a party that until very recently he hated, and who in turn hated him. In short, John McCain is in a surprisingly enviable position: he owes nothin' to nobody.
The Dems will need a few Republicans to move across the aisle and join them on those particularly tricky pieces of legislation, and McCain could be one of those brave souls. And as if the potential for a political resurrection wasn't enough of a draw, luckily for him, some of the important issues that will soon be up for debate include the scaling back of unprecedented Executive powers, opening up stem cell research, reaffirming our commitment not to torture prisoners, saving the environment, cleaning up political cronyism, and rebooting the economy, all subjects that he already has (or had before the election) decent to good records on.
Moreover, now that McCain need not keep one eye on the presidency, he'll have more time to work on pet issues, especially those that could really use a helping hand from a man who will still wield a bit of power and influence, if only behind the scenes. The care of wounded and returning military veterans will only grow in importance over the next four years as Obama (hopefully) scales back our involvement in at least one war, if not two, and McCain happens to sit in a unique position of authority on the issue. With his help, it could become the serious national concern it should be, and he could become a champion of the underdog yet again.
At the age of seventy-two, most Americans would be figuring out how to gracefully retire, if they had not already done so years before. If McCain's up for it, and his tireless campaigning seems to suggest he is, he could instead be turning the page on an entirely new stage of his life. In the end, Barack Obama's win may have handed John McCain the keys he needed, if not necessarily wanted.
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John McCain has a proud legacy and needs no redemption, no atonement to maintain his relevance. Joe Biden's the one who has been pulled away from any meaningful job. He's a tie-breaker in a Senate that will need no ties broken. As VP, he can neither introduce legislation nor vote on it. He can neither dictate executive policy nor decide how it's carried out. All he can do is make suggestions to Obama and his staff.
Biden will have a tiny staff. Any policy ideas he has will have to be approved by Obama and his staff. The VP doesn't even have walk-in privileges to the Oval Office. Biden took himself away from a powerful chairmanship and seniority in the Senate and became an irrelevant, powerless VP. He'll be here surfing the net because there will be nothing else for him to do. Well, unless a head of state dies.
The way I see it, come Jan. 20, John McCain will have more power than Joe Biden. That's as things should be. Even Sarah Palin, as a governor, will have more power and authority than Vice President Joe Biden.
This is what's called a classic win-win situation.
Yeah, like trying to get the Saxby Chambliss re-elected to the US Senate..........despicable!
See Don McNay's piece on Huffpo, 11/8/08........
Many Liberal Democrats and Progressives want so badly for candidate Jim Martin to avenge Max Cleland's 2002 defeat by beating Saxby Chambliss this year. This is the same Max Cleland who today would be treated like Joe Lieberman by the Democrats if he (Cleland) was still in the Senate. simply because of his tight affinity for supporting the policies and initiatives of George Bush.
Only the Democrats could produce such irony and maintain a straight face.
Politically, Cleland and Chambliss share more in common than would Cleland and Martin. In political experience and life experiences, Max Cleland and John McCain are virtually identical. And Martin's the man to avenge Cleland's 2002 loss? And it's bad for McCain to come stump for Chambliss?
It's comments and stories like this one that make me smile when I come here to Huffington Post.
I used to live in Boston. One day I saw an impossibly little man walking along...still something jumped out about him...it was Dukakis. I don't think he cared about staying in the spotlight"he just wanted to serve, and when The People said they didn't want him to do so, so much, he became something of a private citizen. Same, seemingly, with Kerry"he hasn't receded into the shadows, of course"but for a man who came awfully close (read: Ohio) to the Presidency, he's a helluva lot less high-profile than Gore, Carter, the elder Bush.
I look forward to McCain becoming a real Maverick again"somehow I bet he looks forward to just being himself again.
Let's see if McCain will step up to the plate.
I will believe it when I see it.
That one vote might also be the one that puts the Democratic Agenda over the top.
Hopefully, he will read David Weiner's article and follow its advice. Every man has an ego and,
I believe, John McCain's is big enough to want to have people love him once again. The only way that will happen is if he becomes a maverick - for real - against his own party's disasterous polices.
He had better start soon, since he has voted against most bills to help veterans...including the last
GI bill. that Sen Webb worked on. I would love to see him really help veterans..not just talk about it .
Obama has a grade of B from veterans groups...McCain has a D ! Enough said ?
come to mind.
My first bit of advice: send some really nice Christmas baskets to those in the press you "uninvited" during the campaign.
Dukakis is a smart honorable man and could take a cabinet job. Al Gore will be happy making a lot of money like Clinton does./ Not all old rans need to jump back. There are newer better people around
My personal favorability rating of McCain dropped from the positive to the negative during the months following the convention. If he decides to do what's right for the country even if it means helping his former opponent get things done thus hurting the republicans, he has a chance to redeem himself.
I'm not sure I buy that.