Considering that he views the press as his "base," I don't see how this is anything other than a pander to try to get the press back on his side after a long series of egregious gaffes.
While I applaud the rhetoric of transparency, I don't honestly believe the guy who voted wholeheartedly for the Patriot Act and enjoys the idea of the CIA torturing people in secret bases really wants to shine a light on accountable government.
So, in short, no. Screw him.
Well, at least he's making the noise. The more we can encourage this talk, the more obvious it will be if he goes against it.
I was pleased when he rebuked the NC party for running the Wright ad. You should have seen the response on RedState, they flipped their shit that their guy wouldn't sanction those kinds of attacks. "Traitor," "Democrat," "end of the Republican party," other delicious stuff.
You know who benefits from rigid partisanship? Party fundraisers and the 50+1% people.
The thing is, these are the things that he can do that mean nothing. The brain trusts at Redstate don't seem to get that McCain has everything to gain by condemning (weakly, I might add) these nasty unfair smears while simultaniously not being able to prevent them. He gets to look like he tried, and the smear is still out there.
"The thing is, these are the things that he can do that mean nothing."
I guess we disagree here. I don't think it means nothing.
If Sarah Palin or Lugar or Hagel said that, I'd be happy enough, but McCain? The guy sold out everything he believed in to become the Republican nominee. He can't be trusted.
I lost all faith in him the day he started accepting the advice and support of the guy who smeared his 8 year-old daughter in 2000.
I was pretty disgusted when he re-embraced Bush after the SC primary in 2000. I was hoping he's really stake out a position for himself as a thorn in the side of the administration and live up to his maverick credentials. And he did in a few, limited ways. But he knew he couldn't totally repudiate the administration if he wanted to run again in 2008. I think most politicians, including the guy I support for the Dem nomination, would make the same choice if defeated in a bruising primary.
Watch for the division on the right during this campaing. His refusal to sanction the use of "Hussein" and other dirty tricks, coupled with his drift leftward re: global warming etc, is really pissing off his base. And I wouldn't mind if he pissed them off enough to sit out, all the while talking the talk we want to hear.
I do think it significant that the Republican base sees him as a compromise candidate. I'm filled with joy that the conservative coalition is fracturing at the seams. They need to get back to classic conservatism before their message will be ready to be heard again.
