The Real McCain

And so, now the election is over, and all's right with the world. There is John McCain on "Saturday Night Live," making fun of himself. There is John McCain, giving what is universally described as a wonderfully "gracious" concession speech. There is John McCain going on the "Tonight Show," making jokes at his expense, and being warm and ingratiating. There is John McCain actually traveling to Chicago to pay court to Barack Obama.

This is the "Good McCain," we see and are told. This is the "Old McCain," that we all knew and loved. This is the John McCain who, pundits tell us, if he only had showed up earlier, might have won over a nation and become president. This was the Real McCain.

Wrong.

I'm sorry, there is no "good" and "bad" McCain. That's John McCain, period. If John McCain has good sides and bad sides, fine. We all have good and bad sides. Not all are as ethereally good as his - and not all as shockingly bad. John McCain didn't have an out-of-body experience after he got the Republican nomination. John McCain didn't have an evil twin campaigning for him. That was John McCain. That - all of that - was John McCain. We got to see him in full, not just the little endearing sit-downs with Jon Stewart, not just the chummy Straight Talk Express" group hugs, where he charmed and cultivated the press, but all of it. That's what you get with a campaign, there's no shadows, just the spotlight. For all the complaints about how long the process is, at its best, when it works, it reveals character.

Without a long campaign, Barack Obama is not the next President of the United States. He's a little-known challenger. Without a long campaign, Sarah Palin is not back in Alaska. She's a mavericky, hockey mom who makes one, well-read speech that someone else wrote.

Without a long campaign, John McCain doesn't look cranky, petulant and even lost, suspending his campaign. Doesn't daily change his economic policy. Doesn't look foolish trotting out Joe the Joe.

All of it. We saw John McCain. The Real John McCain. The good, the bad and the very, very ugly.

No matter how lovely and ingratiating John McCain may come across now - now that the election is over - the damage that his campaign did to the next President of the United States, riling up his base that supposedly a Muslim anti-American terrorist will be leading the country is something that no quips with Jay Leno can undo. It was reprehensible, and he gets no post-election adorable pass. Now that the election is over, that base still ignorantly and harmfully believes that Barack Obama is a Muslim anti-American terrorist. This divides America. This harms America.

Further, John McCain's "gracious" concession speech was hardly gracious. It was absolutely fine and perfectly normal -but he looked pissed off and, worse, didn't read the room the riot act when they actually started booing the next president. He simply said, "No, no," and went right on. What he should have said is, "No!! This is not acceptable. Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States, leading us all, and he not only deserves all of our patriotic support - not just for the man, but for the honor of the office - but he earned it. "

That's what he should have said. And far more. That would have been gracious. Instead, we got merely, "No, no."

To be clear, the speech was fine. And honestly, I didn't expect anything more that that. He should have been upset. Anyone would have been. And he should have offered his warm congratulations, just as he did. Because that's what our presidential candidates always do. (The only truly nasty concession speech I've ever heard was by Neal A. Sturbish. But he was fictional. A creation by the brilliant comics Bob and Ray.) So, it was perfectly, absolutely, unquestionably fine. But just because it didn't stoop to the nastiness of the rest of the McCain campaign doesn't make it "gracious."

I wish John McCain well. I'm awed by the great that he has done. I hope he is a strong voice for conciliation and distinguished policy in the Senate.

But the damage he did to America during the campaign was incalculable - from risking the nation with the egregiously unqualified Sarah Palin to knowingly wrongly-demonizing his opponent with long-lasting affect to the nation. (And we know it was "knowingly" because we finally saw him - once, just once - save himself from going to hell by taking the microphone from a lunatic at his rally and explain that Barack Obama is a "good man"). And no amount of warm, endearing appearances on "The Tonight Show" and trips to Chicago will change that.

If John McCain wants to regain his honor, he needs to address that. And he needs to do everything in his power to convince his followers of the error of his ways. That would be gracious. That would be honorable. That would be patriotic.

Until then, we can continue to admire his greatness and be galled by how he tarnished it all.

And that - all of that - in the end, is the Real McCain.

Comments

[XME]

I agree there is not "good" or "bad" McCain. However, I do believe there was a McCain who allowed himself to be influenced by the nasty, hateful Bushies because he wanted to win the presidency so badly. Hopefully now that his shot at it is over, that McCain has died and folks will see more of the one who does what he feels is right and and decent, not the one who ignores that "inner voice" because he thinks doing so will do for him what it did for Bush. The one difference between him and Bush is that I honestly believe that Bush simply doesn't have that decent, inner voice at all.

[retrocozayshin]

This was a good read. It's nice to see people echoing my sentiments regarding John McCain, practically verbatim. Thanks.

[SOLERSO68]

What legeslation has mcain written that makes America better, safer and more proseperous (all of us, not just his father in law and contributors) ? I cant think of a policy hes championed thats worth more than a trip to the paper shredder. Balcanced budget amendmant??? . My god what a small mind, what small man, aching, dying to be a great man. His life and career have been painfull to watch. If anyone ever needed some kind of spiritual revelation its John Mcain. I think he would have been happier as a REAL maverick maybe, living out in the sonoran on his "own" terms, building choppers and writing serial, SOF adventure novels or something. sad.

[Robert J. Elisberg - Huffpost Blogger]

To clarify. When I speak of "the great" that John McCain has done, I"m referring to his heroic courage standing by his men as a prisoner, and showing what remarkable honor can be. He"s had successes in the Senate, but it"s the former I was addressing.

As for others who"ve complained about my criticism since all politicians run divisive campaigns, they grossly miss the point. The issue is not misrepresenting issues " it"s that what the McCain campaign did in painting Barack Obama as different, a scary Muslim who palls around with terrorists and puts America at risk, that was unprecedented, galling, indefensible, dangerous and lasting. It provoked cries of "kill him" and "traitor," and it is the lasting nature of that specific, crazed attitude that makes it essential to criticize.

Finally, since we see many Republicans today attempting to once again re-write reality " whether claims that we are a "center-right nation," or President Bush claiming he"s pleased by how Iraq has gone, or Donald Rumsfeld today proclaiming the brilliance of the surge"s "success" (despite failing in its goal to bring political reconciliation) " it is important to keep addressing the truthful record so that it is never mistaken. Just as we"ve seen Republicans rewrite John Kerry"s war record and Al Gore"s veracity to America"s detriment, as the nation spins out of control under the resultant Bush Years, there is no time ever to not make sure the record is corrected and stays corrected.

[Freesia2]

Thank you Mr. Elisberg. Thanks for a very spot on article and for this:

" it's that what the McCain campaign did in painting Barack Obama as different, a scary Muslim who palls around with terrorists and puts America at risk, that was unprecedented, galling, indefensible, dangerous and lasting. It provoked cries of "kill him" and "traitor," and it is the lasting nature of that specific, crazed attitude that makes it essential to criticize."

I've been angry watching the "good McCain" try to cleanse himself of this on talk shows, watching Palin attempt to ditch her reputation by playing Martha Stewart over a crockpot of moose chili and I realized that what I was angry about was how helpful many are being in helping them shrug off what they did. It's a no hard feelings attitude that I just couldn't digest.

And I don't want to. This isn't about an attitude of revenge, it's about if they aren't remembered for the choice they made in sinking to depths no one should go to - especially someone aspiring to be President of an entire country - then the dark places become regular stops on future campaign trails for other candidates.

They're rewriting history. It's dangerous. So you keep writing and others like you and don't let people forget. The decent politicians and voters deserve that. The country deserves that. And McCain deserves to know that as a politician and would-be President he's "unprecedented, galling, indefensible, dangerous and lasting."

[majorteddy]

John McCain is schizophrenic. That's all there is to it. Wouldn't that have been nice to have as president?

[Bongborg]

McCain is like my stepfather, and my father, also, for that matter... when they are in a good mood, it's a pleasure to talk with either of them, but when they are feeling the years and get cranky, look out. There's no telling what they might say. Or do. Or damage.

[ism]

Who doesn't love redemption? I would love to hear John McCain apologize for his despicable campaign. Unfortunately I think that the point of all this is that he didn't care then and he doesn't care now. Except, as has been pointed out, for his own public image and apparently he is satisfied that his round of charming TV appearances has been enough to rehabilitate that image.

[justobserve]

Very well said! Especially "he needs to do everything in his power to convince his followers of the error of his ways". What he and Palin said about Obama are unforgivable, not only about the lies but also about what is wrong with being a Muslim? Don't we have millions of good Muslim citizens some of whom even died for this country?

[lisakaz2]

Indeed. He let his "handlers" shape his "message" which was nothing more than "hate the other guy." He has to make amends. Maybe he's begun to do so. I would be very clear eyed and cyncial about it, though.

[ballewb]

This article is more of the same. Sen. McCain gets the same "How dare you?" treatment that Sen. Clinton received for actually running a campaign against the Huff Posts shosen candidate. No where is the idea of forgiving and moving on to the work at hand mentioned by many in the far left of the Dem. party. At the same time the far left decry that the Rep. party employs divisive tactics and positions. Increasingly I see the far left as a direct analog of the far right tactically with only a difference in postions. Present on both sides is the unrelenting hatred of their opposition (even within their own party), a stubborn inflexibility that belies serious shortcomings, and a smug sense of superiority mixed with condescension.

Sen. McCain ran a short sighted and poorly conceived campaign that was rife with falsehood. Have you ever followed a political campaign before? It is not uncommon and PE Obama's campaign made claims that were not factual as well. Regardless, Sen. McCains ridiculous and desperate campaign falls far short of the near fatal imaginings presented here.

[hortonhearsawho]

you can't see the hate...for the hate.

[Bongborg]

Just because it is common for lies to be told, it's OK? As far as forgiveness and getting to work go, the Democrats can get to work now, and will, and the Republicans can be forgiven for what they did in the campaign, I guess, because that turned out alright. They can wait for a while if they want to be forgiven for the last eight years and the shape the country is in now. That isn't gonna come easy.

[mommadona]

"John McCain didn't have an out-of-body experience after he got the Republican nomination. John McCain didn't have an evil twin campaigning for him. That was John McCain. That - all of that - was John McCain."

Exactly. Thank you.
He is bound by his words. Still.

[08politicaljunkie]

Forgive my ignorance, but I fail to see all the "great" McCain has done. Almost every policy he's written -- that I've read -- served him personally. To me, it appears his entire public service life was about him.

[plzchuteme]

My thoughts exactly. I was sitting, scratching my head after finishing the piece, and wondering if I was missing something. Then I saw your comment. Nope, it's not just me.

[RobDoub]

Thanks...it's about time someone said this. Under pressure of a long campaign, Obama showed who he was and also grew into a stronger wiser man. Under the same pressure McCain showed the side that we would not want as President. That allowed us to make the right choice.

And thanks to National Treasure for pointing out something I have been waiting for: the way McCain dissed Obama and those of us who voted for him, by suggesting that Obama's victory was about race. Obama is the better man, will be the better President, and it is shameful to hint that we voted for him due to his race.

[Pupadup4oBama]

Exactly!
McCain showed that he has never grown up. He showed that he has always been in it for himself, and while some of the things he did might have seemed honorable, it was only to make himself look good.
This campaign made him look horrible and he showed his true colors.

[LawrenceOfAcademia]

Amazing how Democrats continue to run against a guy who's not running.
It worked for Obama to run against Bush, since Bush had screwed things up so badly, but what's the point of bashing McCain now?
Although Republicans are thrashing around trying to find their next candidate, I know with near certainty who Democrats will be running against: George W. Bush!
The next election will be Barack Obama ("needs more time to fix things that Bush broke") and whomever the face is that will be substituted for W Bush.
It doesn't matter what his or her name is -- it will be Bush-bashing all over again.
Democrats just can't get over anything and move forward, can they?

[Pupadup4oBama]

We have just been through (and still are going through) the worst 8 years of this countries history.
We are hurt, angry and disgusted by the way the Bush administration has run this country into the ground and we feel the same way about how the McCain campaign was run.
Oh, BTW we're the ones that voted for a progressive, yet moderate 1/2 white, 1/2 black man....I'd say that's moving forward.
Get over it.

[marye13]

LawrenceOfAcademia - "Democrats just can't get over anything and move forward, can they?"

Not just Democrats - also many Republicans and Independents. What bush and his cronies did to damage this country will take longer than 4 years - longer than 8 years - to fix. It isn't just our economic turmoil, our global image, our grossly damaged environment. I'm afraid we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg of this administration's damage to our country. And he's trying to take a final swipe at whatever good is still there. So, the answer is no. It will be a long time before we are able to "get over" things and "move forward." The good news is that we have elected someone who can begin making a difference immediately, along with enough (hopefully) new congressional members to help.

[majii]

"Moving on" isn't the issue here. The irreparable damage that McCain and Palin did to this country IS the issue. They set ra.ce relations back 40 years. Is this a way to campaign for the highest political office in America, by causing dissension?
I realize that not all rhetoric used in political campaigns is 100% true. That also is NOT the issue.
Riling up a crowd to incite big.otry, hat.red, xeno.phobia, etc. IS the issue. McCain and Palin could have stopped this when it first began but chose not to. To many Americans, this is unexcusable.
President-elect Obama has received more threats than any other P-E in U.S. history. Maybe this is acceptable to you, Lawrence, but it is unacceptable to many others in America.

[BLinCincinnati]

All you needed to know about McCain is what he wrote in his own book:

"I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president. . . . In truth, I'd had the ambition for a long time."

[Pupadup4oBama]

EXACTLY!

[ballewb]

Exactly what?

[tigerakabj]

Thank you. People where asking during the campaign, "Where is the John McCain of 2000?" The McCain we saw in the heat of the moment was and is the real John McCain.

[NationalTreasure]

spot on

also the comment that was a dig and an out right attempt to marginalize President-Elect Obama was the comment that "I reconize the significance of this historic moment for African-Americans." It has been an historic moment for all Americans. People of all color, faith and socio-economic background voted for Mr. Obama.