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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Is John McCain Back to Being a Maverick Now?

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  February 3rd, 2011 at 02:31 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

In Donald Rumsfeld’s new book, he characterizes John McCain as having a “hair-trigger temper” with “a propensity to shift his positions to appeal to the media.”

McCain has struck back saying how happy he is that Rumsfeld was ultimately forced out.

Of course this does not change Rumsfeld’s characterization. McCain is, after all, the man who claimed for years to be a straight talking maverick who rode the “Straight Talk Express” to defeat in 2008. Until, that is, McCain met the tea party, at which point he proclaimed that he’d never been a maverick.

Suddenly he is again. McCain blows with the wind and times. Donald Rumsfeld stays pretty consistently awesome.

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  • Spiral

    I need to go out and buy a copy of Rumsfeld’s book. It already sounds like a great read. McCain is always on my least 5 favorite Republicans list.

    Too bad J.D. didn’t kick McCain out in the primary.

  • bk

    They gave him unlimited airtime whenever he wanted to badmouth Bush, but they ignored him whenever he was on Bush’s side.

    Then they completely trashed him during the election and have ignored him completely since he got knocked out of the way by Obama.

    Maybe they’ll resurrect him now if it means hearing him say bad things about the Bush administration. Certainly they’d rather have that on the Sunday shows than the Obama/Biden/Clinton handling of Egypt, which shifts directions about every 10 minutes.

  • fpete13527

    John McCain is a political opportunist TOOL who bends like a reed at the first prospect of empowering a leftist narrative, negotiation, or Bill.

    Many forgot or didn’t realize that McCain, in addition to being responsible for the worst initiatives possible (IE MCCAIN/Feingold, MCCAIN/Kennedy, and MCCAIN/Lieberman) was also responsible for SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYING FUNDING and thus delaying ACTION at the beginning of OIF.

    I will leave the comments at that for now before breaking the rules of posting. Suffice it to say that I am doing deep breathing right now to resist writing more.

  • Spiral

    …..should be suspended when the subject of discussion is John McCain. At least that’s my opinion.

  • Academic Elephant

    But the thing that amazed me about the GMA interview was the speed with which McCain went from bashing Rumsfeld to praising Obama.

  • fpete13527
  • Lori Jeffries

    I have always liked Redstate and think you are always pretty much on target, however, I don’t get your admiration of Rumsfeld. Could you please explain. I will give him that his assessment of McCain is right on, but pretty much every conservative with a brain feels that way.

    Rumsfeld is a beauracrat, plain and simple. He doesn’t make principled decisions. He cost lives in Iraq. He was a HORRIBLE Secretary of Defense. Pretty much the ONLY thing I like about the guy is that he told the press to sit and spin and made no bones about it.

  • chamberD

    What are the recall procedures for Senators?

    I will walk my nearby neighborhoods and beyond to get signatures to put McCain out to pasture.

    Let it not be forgotten that something’s afoot with the Phoenix mayoral race: “And is it just a coincidence that McCain confidant and political strategist, Wes Gullett is running for Phoenix Mayor, hoping to succeed Gordon? Could the fact that Gullett?s wife served as Gordon?s chief of staff just be happenstance, also?

    Read more here: http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/the-return-of-mcamnesty-connect-the-dots/

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    Do you want to end up like these people? Do you even want to take the RISK of ending up like these people? :)

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    Such a recall would be an unconstitutional power grab in the mold of Hugo Chavez.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    You’ve asserted Rumsfeld did poorly, but your comment is short on facts and logic.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    Personally, I have grown to trust referendum and initiative about as much as I trust virtually every other plank of the old Progressive movement; i.e., not much at all.

  • msctex

    . . .for the farce we currently endure every day as any man alive. It was his choice not to confront the Media’s absurd canonization of Obama, paving the way for an utterly unqualified fraud to occupy the highest office in the land.

    The damage the man has done is hard to quantify.

  • victrola

    As far as I’m concerned, Rumsfield nearly lost the War in Iraq. I believe Rumsfield is a good man, and his characterization of McCain is dead on, but I can’t excuse incompetence.

    Rumsfield’s “light footprint” was the wrong strategy, and it could have cost us not only Iraq but the entire Middle East for a generation. Clearly, the “surge” worked, when you go to war, you go big or you go home.

    In addition, there were many blunders that destroyed morale; from the looting that took place in Iraq, to Abu Ghraib to non-armored Hum-vees costing American lives needlessly. The buck stops at his office, and Bush’s personal loyalty to the man until AFTER the midterms was the wrong decision.

    I sincerely believe had Secretary Gates been in charge from the beginning instead of Rumsfield, Iraq would have been looked back on more like Desert Storm and wouldn’t have nearly destroyed the Republican Party for a generation, destroyed Bush’s standing with the American people, and propelled a left-wing liberal like Obama into the White House.

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    are you PC?

    Thanks,
    CW

  • Common_Cents

    I’m tired of the whining of who is a betrayer du jour. With the exception of a rare handful, politicians by nature and the DC environment are opportunist tools. Political wh*r*s if you will.

    We need to quit hoping that they will somehow find it in themselves to do the right thing by America. We have already seen how far “hope” gets us. Let’s take action to create our own destiny.

    The vast majority of “elected elite” are not leaders at all. They are reactionary and take orders from the most powerful voice. Right now those voices are lobbyists and the propaganda media.

    How we tame these squishes is we just need to be a louder stronger influence than K Street and the draw of propaganda media celebrity and they will switch allegiance and react to our agenda.

    We can make politicians be our b*****s if we keep the grass roots pressure on at all times and get involved in the party. ColdWarrior knows all about how people can get involved in taking over the party.

  • spainishirish

    I think “maverick” simply is code for the oldest profession. In the case of McCain, his johns are folks with microphones and keyboards. The clawback, Victoria, actually started with the State of the Union hugfest. Predictably, McCain sat with Kerry. I have to wonder if the two of them considered the irony of two losers sharing space. As I typed that, it dawned on me both seemingly don’t even grasp the concept of irony.

    It isn’t difficult to choose whether it would be McCain or Rumsfeld you would want beside you in a foxhole.

    Oh, and congrats, AE.

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    others dislike him….his management style, suffered fools lightly, his managerial vision trying to re-organize DoD before and during a war (trust me, I can speak to this with a wealth of background both academic and on-the ground for the kind of person who will even attempt such a feat), and even for you Monday morning quarterbacks who so courageously decided after things began going south that his decisions were wrong..he did a damned fine job. His correct estimation of John McCain was mere icing to a pretty tasty cake, to m mind.(see below about McCain)

  • http://www.dirkworld.com dirkbelig

    McCain had ground his teeth to bloody stumps with rage for eight long years after being beaten by Dubya. His one and only priority in 2008 was to secure the GOP Presidential nomination that he felt he’d been denied in 2000. Once that was in the bag, he was satisfied and frankly didn’t have the heart to sack up against a beloved member from across the aisle.

    His refusal to go after the fawning media treatment – you’d think that someone who called the MSM “my base” would be crabby about them jilting him for a new beau – combined with his terror (justified) of being called a RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACIST if he went after Obama (or especially Rev. Wright) pretty much made him a happy eunuch.

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    and Poindexter. I think it was the SC primary that he told me about McCain’s vaunted ill temper. “Well, it’s not like yours or mine. We get angry when we see a man kick a dog, or some great injustice. Johnny gets mad when he doesn’t get his way.”

    Nuff said

  • Flagstaff

    Could never figure out what beef conservatives had with him.

  • romeg

    Wannabe Presidents but who just NEVER actually measure up. We need to turn control of who gets to the Senate back to the State Legislatures and put an end to the Term Limits debate and, forever, eliminate the perpetual campaign mode in which the denizens of this Chamber find themselves.

  • Flagstaff

    still not very clear.

    It sounds like you don’t like him because he made decisions you have decided were wrong, and undoubtedly some of them were. Making mistakes is part of the job, if you’re doing a job.

    You do realize that Gates is now doing approximately what you seem to hate Rumsfeld for–deciding that our military can do the job with fewer resources, don’t you?

    Blaming Abu Ghraib on Rumsfeld destroys YOUR credibility.

  • Flagstaff

    I’ve ever seen. Worse than Dole, worse than GHW Bush second term, worse than Dukakis, worse than McGovern.

    And he still COULD HAVE WON had he decided to change almost anything he was doing, which was almost nothing at all.

  • Flagstaff

    Had he gotten started in a different environment, he would have been a Democrat.

  • Bobcat51
  • victrola

    I really don’t think criticizing Rumsfield’s handling of Iraq is out of bounds. There was very distinct difference AFTER Rumsfield resigned (fired) and a new Secretary and plan were put in place. There were all sorts of reputable conservative voices (like William Kristol) demanding that Rumsfield abandon his “light footprint” strategy and put more boots on the ground, but Rumsfild dug his heels in. I really don’t see this as a Left vs Right battle, but a question of strategy and competence.

    The absolute number one reason why Republicans lost Congress in 2006 and Bush had some of the lowest approval ratings in history were because Americans felt we had lost Iraq and the leadership was incompetent. Bush seemed to think so too, because he finally tossed Rumsfield out after the election result.

    That doesn’t mean Rumsfield is not an honorable man (I’ve heard plenty of stories about his character and they’re all good). Or that because McCain was right he’s the better conservative or person (he’s not) but I feel Rumsfield deserves at least some blame for the near loss in Iraq just like McNamara deserves some blame for Vietnam.

    If it was a question of who I would rather have as my Senator, Rumsfield or McCain, I would choose Rumsfield in a heartbeat. I would not, however, want Rumsfield to ever return as Secretary of Defense.

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    to change the current conduct of our elected public servants is to demonstrate that we have the power to change the outcome of their next primary election.

    I guarantee you that if later this month I could send to the Arizona Republic newspaper political editors a press release showing them that at our February legislative district committee meeting we had a great enough turnout to sign up, on the spot, 165 or so conservative Republicans as appointed precinct committeeman, which would take us from about 40 per cent strength of about 112 precinct committeemen to full strength of about 277, filling up all the allotted slots, that a prominent article about that would be on the front page of their local news section and one of the political commentators of the paper would write an analysis about what it means.

    If we did that all across the state, in all 29 other legislative districts, I think we’d see our Arizona house members, both Democrat and Republican, listen much more carefully to their constituents. As would Sen. Jon Kyl, who stands for reelection in 2012. McCain? I don’t think anything will change John McCain.

    We’ve got to stop blaming our elected officials — “we the people” elected them. They will now act in their own self-interest as long as they think they will still win that all-important next primary election. So, we must set about on the task of getting involved in party politics like never before (and, in case of most Americans, it literally is “never before” — and I’m guilty as charged; I did not get involved inside the Party until 2007) to demonstrate that we can and will change the outcome of the current servants’ next primary elections — and not in their favor.

    We can demonstrate that resolve right now by, this month, flocking into the Republican Party. Registering as a Republican doesn’t make you a voting member of the Party. You have to take the next step and become a precinct committeeman. The requirements are not onerous. The mandatory duties, if any, are few. The monetary dues, if any, are nominal. (Every state has its own set of rules.) It takes each one of us doing a little. If each one of us does a little inside the Party, we can achieve a lot. I know this to be true because I’ve seen it play out now in Arizona. And we need to recruit every other conservative we know to join us.

    Thank you, Common_Cents!

    ColdWarrior

  • chamberD

    I thought you knew, as I mentioned it in a thread several months ago. Additionally, I am a state committeeman; are you one also? If I remember, you are in Maricopa County.

    LD30

  • chamberD

    I thought you knew, as I mentioned it in a thread several months ago. Additionally, I am a state committeeman; are you one also? If I remember, you are in Maricopa County.

    LD30

  • victrola

    Gates has been implementing the “surge” strategy in Afghanistan, shifting more resources and troops in.

    What Gates is doing is downsizing the military as a whole because we’re wasting hundreds of billions into parts of the military by focusing on a Cold War type mentality instead of the present conflicts. How are those billion dollar nuclear subs helping us in Kabul right now, etc.? Rumsfield was doing the same thing before 9/11, and it was the right move then also. What wasn’t the right strategy was “doing more with less” when you’re in an actual war and it’s costing American lives.

    I don’t think by criticizing Rumsfield it means we throw our lot in with crazy liberals who wanted him tried as a War Criminal. All I know is, things got a lot better when Rumsfield was out and the strategy in Iraq was completely changed from Rumsfield’s original plan.

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    You have the advantage of hindsight, little else. Read Flagstaff’s comments below..the mistakes we can quibble about, the being-there-and the-guy on the spot, we can’t. He did well. Sorry it didn’t satisfy. It will satisfy history. I’d have to dig deeper than that to malign Jimmy Carter.

  • earlgrey

    sabotage whoever our R nominee is. I just see him as having too big an ego to let some other guy beat the guy he couldn’t beat.

  • uselogic

    every time I see the guy, now. He adds nothing to the national discussion. He undermines conservatism. To paraphrase what someone said on this board at least once… Thank you for your service, Captain McCain. Now please fade away.

  • uselogic

    every time I see the guy, now. He adds nothing to the national discussion. He undermines conservatism. To paraphrase what someone said on this board at least once… Thank you for your service, Captain McCain. Now please fade away.

  • uselogic

    Snark intended.

  • uselogic

    Snark intended.

  • msctex

    . . .before we can acknowledge in conventional wisdom/accepted fact that the man threw the election?

    Realistically, it will probably involve less the passing of time and more the passing of McCain. The Media know damned good and well they owe him for allowing BHO to be elected, and won’t allow this fact to be debated until after he is gone.

  • Flagstaff

    “he still COULD HAVE WON”

    Given the media’s cheering section for Obama, it would have been very hard for anybody to beat Obama. McCain just made it easy for him.

  • http://pocketchangeproductions.net/ anotherindyfilmguy

    McCain is, in a microcosm, everything that has been wrong with the R side of things for the past forever…
    Fools *playing nice* with their “brothers across the aisle” and compromising at every opportunity led us straight into one civil war over federal powers… now we’re looking a the collapse of the nation from essentially a fifth column of statists/socialists trying to choke the country in red tape aided and abetted by people afraid of being called names in the press.

    A brain dead slug with Palin as her running mate could have won, McCain just made it easier for the O to win at every step.

    Just my opinion. I voted for the hot chick…