In 2000, I voted in the Michigan primary for John McCain. I liked the man, respected his views even when I didn't agree, and perceived him to be honest, grounded, sensible, and if glib, sometimes wise.
But I will not be voting for him this year. It's unlikely that I would have voted for any Republican from that field, of course – the country needs a Democrat in office. However, if the John McCain of 2000 still existed, I'd be tempted.
Sadly, he does not. Perhaps he never did.
I can point to the moment when he lost my vote. Oddly, political junkie that I am, it was not a policy issue, but one of those "character" things we always talk about. At the 2004 Republican convention, Senator McCain introduced the president. Fine. He was trying to posttion himself for this current run. I understand.
But then John McCain hugged George W. Bush, and I began shouting at the screen. Because that, to me, was the end of any respect I had for McCain.
Why? Because in the summer of 2000, Bush's campaign smeared John McCain by using his adopted daughter, spreading lies about her parentage and race.
I wasn't a father in 2004, but even then I was agahst. Today I feel even more strongly. If someone attacks my kids, we're done. That's a game-ender. If I can resist punching you in the nose, call it a good day.
Now, politicians seem to look at election as a sport, where there's nothing personal in the mud-slinging. Mostly, I'm okay with that. But children are off limits.
Of course, I should have remembered that McCain himself had gone after Chelsea Clinton, so maybe to him it wasn't a big deal. Certainly a majority of the people who were involved in that smear of his daughter are now working for him.
But if he was the man he claims to be, he could possibly forgive such a gross violation of common decency, but he'd never forget it – let alone embrace it.
That hug has come to symbolize the end of the man we all believed McCain to be. By embracing Bush, McCain embraced all the low, dishonest, vengeful, and pandering aspects that have characterized the Bush years. All in his quest to be president. After all, what is his daughter, compared with his eternal glory?
