The McCain Mutiny

Last night I looked in vain for a full transcript of John McCain's speech at Liberty University. This morning, Michael Reynolds on Donklephant and Mighty Middle quotes a big chunk of it from Newsweek, with Jon Meacham's commentary. There's much more here, at Dyre Portents. And here's the full text. Read it.

McCain's marvelous words should calm the fears of anyone who thinks he's pandered irrevocably rightward. On the contrary, it's a brilliant stroke to deliver this same speech both at Liberty University and at the New School. I daresay it's . . . presidential.

Many centrists who once had high hopes in McCain have been bitterly disappointed at his mending fences with Bush and the Christian Right, with whom he brawled during the 2000 primaries. McCain is a shrewd politician who has a strategy for securing the Republican nomination. They need him, because he can win. He's also a leader of principle with the capacity to unite, on display like a flying flag in this speech. If that seems hopelessly contradictory to the purists among us, it is also, like it or not, the combination required to get a good-enough, strong-enough leader into office.

I'm with Michael, Jon Meacham, and Dyre42: my hopes are up this morning, along with the chances that there will be at least one presidential candidate I can gladly vote for in 2008 -- regardless of some of his bedfellows along the way. Whom McCain reminds me to respect, even as I take issue with them.

Comments

[Soen Joon Sn]

That speech *was* good. This next presidential election will be, in my opinion, more important than the last, not the least reason being the fact that no incumbent will be running. I'll have to start paying some early attention...

[wj]

And isn't it interesting that so many of those who were screaming "pandering" about his content _before_ the speach have somehow now decided that merely going to give the speach constituted pandering. Guess the content couldn't be spun to be as bigotted as they had assumed/hoped -- which, given their track record says something, doesn't it?