Maverick No More

After a year of cowtowing to special interests, military industrial lobbyists, radical religious zelots, and, of course, the worst president in American history the word that now comes to mind for most Americans when they think of John McCain is simply this:  

"old".

John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.

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Voters have notoriously short memories, but it could be argued that McCain cheapened his own brand.

He embraced President Bush and attempted to become, like Bush, the choice of the Republican establishment. In the process, he helped obliterate recollections of his first run for president, when he became the first Republican in a long time with strong crossover appeal to independents and Democrats.

Losing his reputation for independence could prove particularly costly this year.

The current campaign environment is among "the worst in modern history for Republicans," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said recently.

Simply driving up turnout by the Republican base - a strategy good enough to win the past two presidential elections - won't work as long as Democrats continue to hold a double-digit advantage in party identification. Instead, McCain's chances of becoming president will depend largely on his ability to persuade independents and disaffected Democrats to back him over Barack Obama.

As America sees through the big lie about McCain, bad news for the hard-line, anti-choice, Bush-following, gaffe-machine keeps on coming.  McCain's manager is right about the state of the current electorate.  Historians are lining up behind the conclusion that this year McCain has "little chance" of winning the White House.  Indeed, as more polls come in and better historical models are constructed, the best statisticians are now projecting unprecedented landslide against a third Bush term under John McSame.

McCain isn't just seen as personally "old", he is seen as the living embodiment of all of the old politics that America will no longer identify itself with.

America is waking up to the need to turn the page on the old politics.  It's great to know that  even this lapdog media can't dupe the American public when they're this hungry for change.

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