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Jewish World Review May 31, 2005 / 22 Iyar, 5765 John McCain sitting pretty By Peter A. Brown
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Because politics is the ultimate zero-sum game, John McCain's role in brokering the deal over President Bush's court nominees makes him the big winner from a mixed result.
The senior Republican senator from Arizona was the moving force on his side of the aisle for the compromise that angered both parties' extreme elements.
In Washington, where score is kept daily of such things, it may well go down as a significant step in his road to the presidency.
Of course, conservatives hold great sway in the GOP nomination process, but those who see this matter as a nail in McCain's coffin misunderstand the history lesson of Republican nomination fights.
In the end, competence and gravitas trump ideology with Republican primary voters as long as a candidate can convince them he shares their views and values.
There is no clear front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, unlike among Democrats, for whom Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is a heavy favorite.
Those who see McCain's role as a problem for his presidential ambitions wrongly interpret it as branding him insufficiently Republican.
But McCain did not cave on matters of ideology. He didn't reverse his opposition to abortion rights, vote for a major tax increase or undercut President Bush's foreign policy.
McCain got something important done, made sure the Senate kept functioning and got several of Bush's nominees confirmed.
He angered some far-right interest groups, many of which were never going to be with him in the 2008 primaries, but that is a far cry from saying he alienated the GOP rank and file.
McCain's maverick ways have made him journalists' favorite Republican, which is a turn-off to some conservatives who figure their enemy's friend (the media) is their enemy.
A myth abounds in media-land that the most conservative candidate wins the Republican nomination.
History says otherwise.
It may have been true about Ronald Reagan in 1980, but even then there was at least one candidate with fewer achievements but more conservative views. The right viewed the current president, his father, Richard Nixon in 1968 and Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 suspiciously, but their moderate conservatism plus electability won the day.
They were all nominated because they had something more to offer — an ability to convince mainstream voters of their competence — than just ideology.
Averting a Senate showdown while getting a pretty good deal for Bush is the type of thing that will play well in the long run.
McCain certainly has a long way to go, and there will be questions about his history of skin cancers and age — he'll be 72 in 2008. But among senators wanting to be president, he did himself the most good.
There are two big losers.
One is obviously Senate Republican leader Bill Frist, who wanted to change the rules to eliminate the filibuster Democrats have used to block 10 Bush nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Had Frist done so — and it was not clear he had the votes among the GOP Senate majority — that would have earned him points with the GOP faithful not just for toeing the conservative line but for accomplishing something important.
Frist did not fail as much as have his legs cut out from under him by McCain & Co.
Regardless, in the your-gain-is-my-loss world of Washington, it was a bad time for the senator from Tennessee.
But the other real loser is Ms. Clinton, or should she somehow not be the Democratic nominee, her party.
McCain is the Democrats' 2008 nightmare. His maverick quality that annoys some conservatives makes him more attractive than virtually every other Republican to independents and the remaining Democratic moderates.
McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani lead polls of Republican voters asked about 2008.
Those who dismiss Guiliani as too liberal for the GOP electorate are probably correct. Even with his image as a strong leader from the post 9-11 days, his support of abortion rights and gay rights may be a killer.
But McCain's 20-year Senate record does not reflect the aura of ideological moderation he enjoys with the media.
In fact, he is pretty darn conservative. His lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union is 83 out of 100, not much different than Frist's 89.
There is a long way to go until 2008, but McCain helped himself. Oh, by the way, he did the country a favor, too.
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Peter A. Brown is an editorial page columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Comment by clicking here. © 2005, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
