Repeated post: Is McCain fit to be president?

46 comments

September 4, 6:00 PM

by Jay McDonough, Progressive Politics Examiner

 

 

A couple posts today raised some discussion about Barack Obama's accomplishments or, some have argued, lack thereof.  It seemed appropriate to post this piece from August 10th; a less conventional perspective on Senator McCain's record by Dow Jones Marketwatch.

Huh?  Is it possible someone would ask that question?  That's just preposterous, right?  No one can ask that question about McCain.  It's just presumed he's ready.  Heck, he's been in a war and in Congress for almost 30 years.  "Is he fit" is the question we're supposed to be asking about Barack Obama.  The media spends countless hours debating Obama's record, but no one asks if John McCain is qualified to be president.  Rex Nutting of Dow Jones Marketwatch may be the first to ask.

Like the current occupant of the White House, McCain got his first career breaks from the connections and money of his family, not from hard work.  The son and grandson of Navy admirals, he attended Annapolis where he did poorly. Nevertheless, he was commissioned as a pilot, where he performed poorly, crashing three planes before he failed to evade a North Vietnamese missile that destroyed his plane.

After his release, McCain knew his weak military record meant he'd never make admiral, so he turned his sights to a career in politics. With the help of his new wife's wealth, his new father-in-law's business connections and some powerful friends had made as a lobbyist for the Navy, he was elected in 1982 to a Congress in a district that he didn't reside in until the day the seat opened up. A few years later, he succeeded Barry Goldwater as a senator.

Nutting doesn't mention another factor that contributed to McCain's election success.  It seems especially ironic now, given McCain's current advertising campaign to portray Barack Obama as all celebrity and no substance, that McCain's early electoral success was certainly due to his celebrity as an ex prisoner of war.

McCain hasn't accomplished much in the Senate. Even his own campaign doesn't trumpet his successes, probably because the few victories he's had still rankle Republicans. His campaign finance law failed to significantly reduce the role of money in politics. He failed to get a big tobacco bill through the Senate. He's failed to change the way Congress spends money; his bill to give the president a line-item veto was declared unconstitutional, and the system of pork and earmarks continues unabated. He failed to reform the immigration system.

McCain has done one thing well -- self promotion. Instead of working on legislation or boning up on the issues, he's been on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" more than any other guest. He's been on the Sunday talk shows more than any other guest in the past 10 years. He's hosted "Saturday Night Live" and even announced his candidacy in 2007 on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

McCain has frequently taken on near-impossible missions that go against the grain of his party. It's the basis of his reputation as a maverick. But McCain has never been able to bring more than a handful of Republicans along with him on issues such as campaign finance reform or immigration. Democrats on the Hill have accepted McCain's help on some issues, but except for a few exceptions (John Kerry and Joe Lieberman), they've never warmed to him.  To achieve anything as president, McCain would have to win over two hostile parties: The Democrats and the Republicans.

The bottom line
Successful presidents come from two molds: visionaries, or mechanics. The visionaries -- think Reagan or FDR -- see what others can't and say 'Why not?" to inspire the country. The mechanics -- think LBJ or Eisenhower -- know the ins and outs of government and are able to harness the power of millions of humans to accomplish great things, or at least keep the wheels from coming off.

McCain fits neither style. He's neither a dreamer, nor a detail guy. His major accomplishment, in Vietnam and in the Senate, has been merely to survive.  Just surviving doesn't make you're a hero, or a decent president. America needs to do more than survive the next four years.

That answers the question about whether McCain is fit to be president.  Here's the next question: How much of this Barack Obama will use in the his campaign against John McCain?  I argued a week ago that Obama needs to more assertively point out the inconsistencies in Senator McCain's positions.  While John McCain now feels no compulsion to be decent and no reticence about attacking Obama's character, my sense is Obama will hold back and not want to destroy McCain's reputation and status.

I hope it doesn't cost him the presidency.

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