It is apparent Sen. John McCain’s presidential aspirations have never gone away. I was somewhat surprised he campaigned for President Bush because of his reluctance to say a bad word about John Kerry, and after his frequent criticism of the administration – something he is again pursuing indirectly by attacking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the war effort in Iraq. In 2008, McCain will be 72 years old. He has said that while this is a hurdle in a run for the Oval Office, it is not insurmountable.
John Kerry romanced McCain to be his running mate in the last election. Why didn’t McCain do this? If elected, Kerry would then run for re-election and McCain would not be able to run until 2012 when he would be 76.
If a Kerry/McCain ticket lost, McCain would have alienated the vast majority of the Republican base and would not be able to win the Republican 2008 primary nomination. Also, he would probably not be able to become a Democrat after all his posturing that he was a long-time conservative Republican. As an independent third-party candidate, he would stand no chance.
Hence the reason for McCain’s lukewarm campaigning for President Bush’s re-election. He can now say he is a loyal Republican and run in 2008. He will work to set himself apart from President Bush and his policies to the extent he can.
McCain is a narcissistic, power-hungry politician whose desire to be president directs all of his actions. He does not care if he hurts the war effort against terrorism, the troops’ morale or our military command structure if it will help him achieve his ambitions. In this respect he is much like Kerry. He has mastered the art of becoming the liberal media darling, which accepts all he says without question as gospel.
It would be well advised that everyone listen with caution and skepticism to what McCain has to say.
Robert Johnston
Camano Island
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