The Media's New Rock Star

"And it continues to pay off. Even though '08 GOP candidate McCain continues to curry favor with the religious conservatives leaders whom he once condemned as 'the forces of evil,' he is still widely described as a 'maverick.' Even though McCain was ranked in 2005 (by voteview.com) as the third most conservative U.S. senator, he is he is still widely described as 'independent.' Even though he has flip-flopped lately on a number of issues (he voted against the Bush tax cuts in 2001, but voted to extend them last winter), he is still widely described as a 'straight-talker.'

"One of his effective selling points, during his failed '00 presidential bid, was his image as a boat rocker, an insurgent in full cry against the Republican establishment. But now, today, we have further factual evidence that the old labels should not apply. Reports indicate that he has hired, as his 2008 campaign manager, one of the most notorious hardball specialists of the Republican establishment."

He's talking about Terry Nelson, the man who made the bimbo ad against Harold Ford.

Time's Karen Tumulty sees a different issue for McCain: being judged by his lofty standards:

"McCain insists that he has always been more conservative than many of his fans believe him to be. But the most important perception people have about McCain is not about ideology; it's about integrity. After staking his reputation on the moral high ground by speaking truth to power on issues ranging from deficits to torture, McCain is uniquely vulnerable to anything that hints of hypocrisy--even on questions that ordinary politicians would get a pass on. To have a shot at winning a presidential election these days, for instance, it is nearly a requirement that candidates opt out of the federal finance system, forgoing its matching funds because it's too difficult to mount a credible campaign within the law's spending caps. But that move, however pragmatic, would look bad coming from an author of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance-reform law."

I think voters would give McCain a pass if others were busting the limits, in that no one believes in unilateral disarmament.

Has America become a nation of cut-and-runners?

"As President Bush weighs changing course in Iraq, Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war and want most U.S. troops withdrawn within a year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday says. Three of four support the major recommendations unveiled by the Iraq Study Group last week.

"Most predict the administration won't implement the bipartisan commission's proposals, however. And fewer than 1 in 5 have 'a great deal' of trust in Bush to 'recommend the right thing' for the United States to do in Iraq.

"Confidence in Democratic congressional leaders to chart the proper course is even lower, at 14%."

In case you missed the election results from Louisiana over the weekend, Power Line's Paul Mirengoff is appalled:

"One of the fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats usually becomes evident when there's a scandal. When Republicans are caught misbehaving, they normally resign. Recall Rep. Livingston who immediately called it quits over a sex scandal. By contrast, Bill Clinton, with the solid support of his party, was clinging to power even though he had committed perjury in connection with a sex scandal. If such Republicans aren't inclined to resign, the odds are good that either their caucus or their constituents will promptly toss them overboard.