The Moment McCain Officially Lost Me...

Let me start by saying that I never planned on voting for John McCain in 2008.

I saw McCain as a reasonable Republican and a good guy, but was never in touch with most of his positions. He seemed like a decent guy.

I could deal with him being on the Sunday morning shows every other week and speaking his brand of "straight talk", even when it seemed like a more direct and affable recitation of the Republican party line. I could even deal with the media fawning all over him at every stop because they assume he's the only straight-shooter in Congress, even though he's certainly not.

No longer.

John McCain wants so badly to be the sole arbiter of reform on Capitol Hill that anyone who dares stray from his "bipartisan" script for lobbying reform immediately becomes part of the problem, in his eyes.

Sen. Barack Obama decided to pass on joining McCain's bipartisan task force on lobbying reform, favoring an approach that is more open and accessible to the public. We are, after all, the ones that this process truly affects.

McCain would have none of this. He quickly fired back a snarky rebuttal to Obama's thoughtful decision. This thing sounds like it might have been ghostwritten by Karl Rove himself.

Here's one particularly troubling excerpt:

I would like to apologize to you for assuming that your private assurances to me regarding your desire to cooperate in our efforts to negotiate bipartisan lobbying reform legislation were sincere. When you approached me and insisted that despite your leadership's preference to use the issue to gain a political advantage in the 2006 elections, you were personally committed to achieving a result that would reflect credit on the entire Senate and offer the country a better example of political leadership, I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable. Thank you for disabusing me of such notions with your letter to me dated February 2, 2006, which explained your decision to withdraw from our bipartisan discussions.

You can read the full exchange of letters between McCain and Obama here.

After reading them, honestly tell me who comes off as a partisan opportunist in this situation.

In his first 13 months as a Senator, Barack Obama has been a credit to the Senate, honoring the institution itself, and proudly serving the people that overwhelmingly elected him.

He's been fair, he's been reasonable, he's called "shenanigans" when he saw fit, and he's crossed party lines when he saw fit.

That's all any constituent can ask of a representative.

None of this matters to John McCain. He wants to be the anointed savior of the Republican party and the US Congress so badly, that no other voices can be tolerated.

That's a damn shame...
- posted by Brian @ 8:41 AM