Ever since his loss in the 2000 presidential primaries to George W. Bush, McCain has been getting more and more bitter and pandering more and more to the worst, right-wing elements of his own party. McCain was hit by rumors in pivotal South Carolina, whispering that the Bangladeshi girl McCain and his wife adopted was actually his illegitimate daughter. In a state as, shall we say, progressively-challenged as South Carolina, that rumor was more than enough to sink McCain's chances.
In 2008, McCain got his chance as the candidate of the Republican Party and went head-to-head against Barack Obama. We all know how that went. Despite the occasional moment in which he almost redeemed himself, McCain conducted a poorly-run campaign marked by several lurching changes in direction and outright disastrous decisions -- Sarah Palin, anyone? McCain suffered a humiliating defeat.
Since then, McCain has seemed to devolve into a metaphorical old man yelling "Get off my lawn!" at neighborhood kids. Once a champion of immigration reform, he ran as the "Build the dang wall!" candidate in his Senate re-election campaign. Now, after the big Republican losses in the 2012 election due in no small part to the overwhelming preference of Hispanic voters for Democrats, he's back urging immigration reform again. Why? He says bluntly it's because of the election. Way to stick with your principles, Johnny.
His bitterness at having been rejected nationally twice, coupled with being left behind by younger leaders, including the President, is evident in his recent actions.
Two recent examples offer graphic evidence of his descent into irrelevance. He questioned former Senator and Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel -- an old friend, by the way -- as if Hagel was a murder suspect and McCain was Perry Mason. Never mind the fact that McCain himself had recommended Hagel as an excellent choice to head the Defense Department just a few years ago.
Then there's Iran. McCain's burning desire to go to war with Iran is so out there it's scary. What is it with these guys who want America to be in a state of constant war? Is it their ties to defense industries and the ample campaign contributions they produce? Is it some testosterone-induced warrior fantasy? Most of them are chicken hawks who've never served a day in the military, but McCain is a veteran who should know better than to casually postulate sending young Americans to war zones.
Whatever the reason, war with Iran seems to be McCain's primary policy objective. From his ludicrous campaign ditty -- remember "Bomb, bomb, bomb... bomb, bomb Iran"? -- to now comparing Iran's President Ahmadinejad to a monkey, McCain seems to want to dehumanize the citizens of that country so the American public can be more easily convinced to kill them.
We are so fortunate this man never got access to the executive branch of government. The notion that someone so angry, so bitter, so lustful for the blood of others could be in charge of the most powerful military the world has ever known is more than scary. It's downright terrifying.
