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The Daily OrangeMcCain exposes 'dark side' of the GOP
By Kevin Eggleston
Posted: 3/31/08, 11:45 PM EST Section: Opinion
"I do think, like any wise politician moving toward a presidential election, he is trying to build alliances," he said.
Unfortunately, McCain chose to build an alliance with a man who has stated that gays and feminists were to blame for 9/11. It was an awkward alliance to say the least, as McCain still voted against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that same year. But by reaching out to the homophobic wing of the Republican Party instead of rejecting it, McCain was essentially tolerating the intolerant.
It's now clear, had McCain spoken out against Bush from the start, he would be in an even better position in what has become the anti-Bush election. Instead, he chose ever-visible support, even visiting the White House to accept the president's endorsement. With his political pandering, as well as his fervent support of the Iraq War and self-proclaimed ignorance on economic issues, McCain has morphed from the Republican anti-Bush to the next-in-line in the Bush Dynasty.
Sen. McCain is fond of the phrase, "Presidential ambition is a disease, which can only be cured by embalming fluid." As the soon-to-be 72-year-old seeks to be the oldest person to enter the Oval Office, one hopes McCain's "disease" doesn't further cloud his conscience. It was in the spirit of ambition he tried to re-court Bush and make nice with the religious right, and it is unbridled ambition now that causes him to seek the highest office in the land despite being at an age in which 1/3 of Americans begin to lose cognitive skills, according to The Boston Globe.
McCain is a man with a more than honorable past and a proud career as an upstanding and influential senator. But before the media and the voters cast him as their maverick hero, it should be remembered that McCain's "Straight Talk Express" ran out of gas long ago. These days, he has found himself a different mode of transportation - the Bush/Cheney "Death Star."
Four more years? I didn't think so.
Kevin Eggleston is a sophomore political science and television, radio and film major. His columns appear every Tuesday. He can be reached at kmeggles@syr.edu.
Unfortunately, McCain chose to build an alliance with a man who has stated that gays and feminists were to blame for 9/11. It was an awkward alliance to say the least, as McCain still voted against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that same year. But by reaching out to the homophobic wing of the Republican Party instead of rejecting it, McCain was essentially tolerating the intolerant.
It's now clear, had McCain spoken out against Bush from the start, he would be in an even better position in what has become the anti-Bush election. Instead, he chose ever-visible support, even visiting the White House to accept the president's endorsement. With his political pandering, as well as his fervent support of the Iraq War and self-proclaimed ignorance on economic issues, McCain has morphed from the Republican anti-Bush to the next-in-line in the Bush Dynasty.
Sen. McCain is fond of the phrase, "Presidential ambition is a disease, which can only be cured by embalming fluid." As the soon-to-be 72-year-old seeks to be the oldest person to enter the Oval Office, one hopes McCain's "disease" doesn't further cloud his conscience. It was in the spirit of ambition he tried to re-court Bush and make nice with the religious right, and it is unbridled ambition now that causes him to seek the highest office in the land despite being at an age in which 1/3 of Americans begin to lose cognitive skills, according to The Boston Globe.
McCain is a man with a more than honorable past and a proud career as an upstanding and influential senator. But before the media and the voters cast him as their maverick hero, it should be remembered that McCain's "Straight Talk Express" ran out of gas long ago. These days, he has found himself a different mode of transportation - the Bush/Cheney "Death Star."
Four more years? I didn't think so.
Kevin Eggleston is a sophomore political science and television, radio and film major. His columns appear every Tuesday. He can be reached at kmeggles@syr.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
S. Grzelak
posted 4/01/08 @ 8:27 AM EST
WOW. It is amazing how it is PC to lift portions of sentences from a lifetime, insert the "reasons why things were done" (although you cannot possibly know) and conclude, after a ref. (Continued…)
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