Reply #37: Give up on him. Really. [View All]

[Lexingtonian]

I lost respect for him when he 'forgave' Bush at their convention in 2000 and when he put on that Barbara Streisand hating bit- it wasn't an act- on SNL two years ago (or whenever that was).

He's not Modern. He can't put up with strong women and is queasy about gay people and just doesn't 'get' black or Latino people fully. He's back from those days when the country was de facto ethnically segregated- among whites. There's a lot about his character and tastes and view of the world that simply is 19th century conservative/traditional Irish- tolerant of much, but uncomfortable with it and only capable of it for limited amounts of time. He is certainly no liberal on social matters, though he's not mean enough to be a real reactionary. He's a conservative, but moderate about it in general.

Still, being Irish he is sensitive about the corruptions and abuses of the heavily Anglosaxon Establishment of his Party, especially when used against him. But he can be charmed and assuaged, in a sense bribed or seduced. (That was how he got lured into the dealings that ended up being the S&L scandal.)

To be blunt about moderate Republicans: their defining characteristic is a lack of moral courage. When they find and accept it, they realize their participation in the corruption and become Democrats. That is John McCain's central failing to me: a lack of moral courage. McCain is the most prominent example of a pretty large class of people, certainly not alone. He certainly has physical courage. And he has a bit of moral courage, which we all admire when it appears. But, $%#@ it, he never has quite enough of it to make a difference.