The apparent downfall of John McCain

I understand that politicians of the two large parties must usually "pander" (for lack of a better word) to the interests of their party base in order to win a primary. This is especially true for national primaries, where in order to win the vote of the Nation (where one thinks a moderate would win), the candidate must appear further to his or her party "side" (I should mention the notion of left and right is complete and utter bullshit to me).

That is why John McCain pandering to the right in order to win the Republican nomination didn't bother me too much. It's just part of the national course of politics, and supposedly he would moderate his views once getting past that point.

Needless to say, this has yet to happen. But that is not why I am concerned.

I'm not really sure he is a man who runs his own campaign anymore. He seems to be a shell for the party mold, much like George Bush before him. George Bush is a different topic though. When he selected Palin as veep, I became concerned. It seemed uncharacteristic. Sure, she seems like a maverick, but it's easy to make enemies in a state in which it is virtually impossible to run a deficit. Regardless, in a strict sense, it eliminated his whole experience argument.

Alas, I digress.

Flipping opinions over the course of years happens in politicians. It's just a simple matter of fact that events and circumstances change, thus the politics surrounding them change as well. In recent weeks, McCain has flipped in the matter of hours, on reasons that are not relating at all to how one thinks a government should operate.

The fundamentals of the economy are sound
what i meant was the fundamentals are the workers, which are strong

-said the fundamentals were strong over and over and over, without any mention that these could be workers. Plus, to say the workers of America are strong is like saying the people of America are patriots. It's a statement that doesn't really say anything.

AIG should not be bailed out
Bailing out AIG was the only right choice

-Make up your fuggin mind.

The fact is the last few days leave me wondering who exactly this John McCain character is. I'm left more to the impression that the republican party is hiding behind an old maverick. I hate to see him used like this. I used to respect the man. Perhaps the republican party really does want to change, but winning more elections usually doesn't support the idea that change needs to happen.

--Knuttel