McCain: It’s not my fault! They made me vote for it!

Senator John McCain, just now realizing that conservatives consider his vote for the TARP financial industry bailout to be a political liability, offers this defense (Arizona Republic, February 22):

Under growing pressure from conservatives and "tea party" activists, Sen. John McCain of Arizona is having to defend his record of supporting the government's massive bailout of the financial system.

In response to criticism from opponents seeking to defeat him in the Aug. 24 Republican primary, the four-term senator says he was misled by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. McCain said the pair assured him that the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program would focus on what was seen as the cause of the financial crisis, the housing meltdown.

So.  Bush administration officials assured you that the money would be used in a particular way.  Then, you and your staff combed through the proposed legislation and found that yes, safeguards were in place to ensure that the money would indeed be used in the way specified by the officials.  Thus, with confidence you cast your vote in favor of the TARP legislation.

Wait.  What’s that?  You didn’t read the legislation before voting on it?  You simply relied on administration assurances that the the money would be spent to combat the housing crisis?

And now it’s their fault that you cast your vote for a bill that had no such restrictions on the money?

You think this defense is going to mollify your critics?

Again and again, you remind us that if Sarah Palin hadn’t been on the ticket, your loss to Barack Obama in 2008 would have been epic.

John McCain, unwitting propagandist for the Obama administration

It looks like Sen. John McCain has provided President Obama with a soundbite to use in his 2012 reelection campaign.  AP, June 22:

Sen. John McCain says his opponent in last year's presidential campaign, Barack Obama, has "done well" in his first five months in the White House.

The Arizona Republican says that using a legislative scorecard to judge the presidency so far, Obama has achieved all his legislative goals.

McCain appears to have based his assessment on the technical fact that Obama has accomplished his major legislative goals.  He does not appear to be endorsing those legislative accomplishments.

If that is the case, the senator would have “done well” to have chosen his words a little more carefully.   The Obama administration and its state-run media will downplay the context of his remark, and will play it as an endorsement of Obama’s policies.

How could they pass up a gift like this?

Mac is back, alas and alack

John McCain didn't take long to remind us of why he would have lost the election by an even greater margin if Sarah Palin hadn't been on the ticket. Washington Post, January 23:

A joke made its way around the Capitol yesterday: How do you know the 2008 election is really over? Because John McCain is causing trouble for Republicans again.

Two and a half months removed from his defeat in the race for the presidency, colleagues say, McCain bears more resemblance to the unpredictable and frequently bipartisan lawmaker they have served with for decades than the man who ran an often scathing campaign against Barack Obama. In some instances, he's even carrying water for his former rival.

"Mac is back!" one of his devoted friends in the Senate declared as McCain walked into the chamber Wednesday to deliver his first speech of the 111th Congress: a blunt admonishment of Republicans delaying Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state.

"I remind all my colleagues: We had an election," McCain noted. "I think the message the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together, and get to work."

Ah, that's the maverick we all know and love: the one who spends more time publicly criticizing members of his own party than he does the people and policies of the other party.

Jim Geraghty at NRO remarks:

Mac is back—back to his moral preening about how bipartisan he is, back to his reflexive demonization of his own party, back to his refusal to recognize any legitimate concerns raised by those who disagree with him. If we're going to have Democratic agenda enacted, better it be by a Democrat than a Republican obsessed with avoiding the "partisan" label in the White House.

Back in the primaries, McCain benefited from the fact that the conservative vote was divided among several candidates. I could come up with pros and cons for each of the GOP candidates... except McCain. I decided that there was no way I could in good conscience vote for him. By the time the Texas primary rolled around, McCain already had the nomination secured, so my vote for Fred Thompson (who had already withdrawn) was purely symbolic (albeit sincere).

In the summer of 2008 I got one of those window stickers that helped me to express my wholehearted support for the party's nominee:

JOHN McCAIN
If I have to...
I guess...

I was actually going to vote for him in November, but only because the Democrats' choice made him look good. I never got around to putting the sticker in my car window, because in late August McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. I still didn't trust him, but I gave him credit for a little bit of sense. A little. Choosing Palin did nothing to change who he is at his core.

This "real McCain" has finally reemerged, and conservatives have gone back to wondering out loud: Why does he continue to call himself Republican?

Not that "conservative" and "Republican" are synonymous, but still...