From a post I wrote in November:
Still, there are aspects of [John McCain's] personality that I like, namely his surly, unscripted side. I’m not talking about the highly cultivated “maverick” shtick, but rather the side that’s not afraid to call a college kid a “little jerk” for asking him if he’s too old to be president. I find his notorious temper oddly appealing. (If he were elected, it would concern me more, but at this point his chances seem pretty slim.)
Having won the
I wonder how much McCain’s appeal comes from being seen, however erroneously, as the anti-establishment candidate. If he’s the frontrunner, won’t he lose his outsider appeal? And surely the press will start to give him long overdue scrutiny.
There are appealing elements to John McCain, both as a person an a political persona.
However, I have to wonder if we really need another President who all too often substitutes a “gut-feeling” for what we should do for sober, humble, reasoned analysis.
Is there a national political candidate in recent memory who appears to actually think through the central questions facing our country as often, deeply, and publicly as Barack Obama? Clearly, I’m swooning.
Con Queso:
Well said.
I heartily agree that we need to have more brains and humility than instincts and bravado in the White House. Any of the candidates, Republican or Democrat, will be an improvement, though I think you’re probably right that Obama would represent the greatest shift from our current president’s approach.