David Brooks writes a powerful column (free subscription required) on the character of John McCain. Here's just the intro:
About six months ago, I was having lunch with a political consultant and we were having a smart-alecky conversation about the presidential race. All of sudden, my friend interrupted the flow of gossip and said: “You know, there’s really only one great man running for president this year, and that’s McCain.”
The comment cut through the way we pundits normally talk about presidential candidates. We tend to view them like products and base our verdicts on their market share at the moment. We don’t so much evaluate their character; we analyze how effectively they are manipulating their image to appeal to voters, and in this way we buy into the artificiality of modern campaigning.
Read the whole thing for more on McCain's character. One illness our democracy has is, as Brooks indicates, the equation of politics with a game. In this game, politics is simply my team versus your team, and we keep score through public opinion polls and election results. We do not work for the public good, but to win a game. What else do we mean by "going Washington" than someone who has bought into the power game? This includes the irrational hatred of our opponents (much like my irrational hatred of the Green Bay Packers, for no other reason than they are not the Minnesota Vikings, and yes, I did see Sunday's game).
Brooks notes how those involved in the game, whether as participants or reporters, are incestuously linked and have a difficult distancing themselves from the game. Thus our coverage of politics is mostly about who is winning the game, not about character or policy. As someone noted recently (can't remember who or where), it says something about the Valarie Plame case that central figures are a Time magazine reporter (Matt Cooper) married to a Clinton operative (Mandy Grunwald), and a CIA official (Valarie Plame) married to a Democratic operative (Joe Wilson). You have people like Tim Russert, George Stephanopoulos, Chris Matthews, Pete Williams and Tony Snow who have moved seamlessly between political work and news work. It's all part of the game.
One thing one can say about McCain is that he is as divorced from the game as one can get as a US Senator. He seems not to have been totally seduced. McCain is willing to say things that we don't want to hear. Brooks points out that McCain gave full support to the Iraq war and was advocating the surge when the war was at its least popular. McCain has questioned ethanol subsidies even when it will cost him votes in Iowa. I have my share of differences with Sen. McCain, mostly over the regulation of political speech (I am against it), but I cannot deny he is a man with a sense of honor. I once had a conversation with him about this issue when he and Russ Feingold were in Chicago stumping for their bill. McCain strangely admitted that his bill would not solve the "problem" of money in politics. And his solution to that was to suggest that we'd someday have to pass even more regulations. This proves that the adage "hope dies last" is still relevant. Still, he was affable and friendly to me after I had challenged him strongly.
McCain may not advocate all the policies I'd have him advocate, but I do think he is a man of honor, and the country needs that. He has the capacity to call people to something higher than self-interest. Aristotle tells us that deficient government is a government where the rulers (one, few or many) rule for their own interests rather than for the public good. Thus a government based on rule by the people can be as tyrannical as government by one man. McCain has the ability to call people beyond themselves and to be real citizens, not just passive or self-interested subjects. McCain is willing to tell the people "no," something a democratic citizenry needs from time to time.
A few weeks ago I wrote, "But throughout the coming campaign, let's look at who appeals to the best in us, mollifying rather than antagonizing our worst instincts. That, more than what position candidates take on this or that issue, will indicate each one's capacity for high office." John McCain is that man. McCain for President!
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