The Carpetbagger Report has been kind enough to list 75 different things that McCain has reversed his position on distinctly different things. Why is this important? From the article:
So why do McCain’s flip-flops matter? Because all available evidence suggests his reversals aren’t sincere, they’re cynically calculated for political gain. This isn’t indicative of an open mind; it’s actually indicative of a character flaw. And given the premise of McCain’s presidential campaign, it’s an area in desperate need of scrutiny.
The perception people have of McCain is outdated, reflective of a man who no longer has any use for his previous persona. What’s wrong with a politician who changes his or her views? Nothing in particular, but when a politician changes his views so much that he has an entirely different worldview, is it unreasonable to wonder whether it’s entirely sincere? Especially when there’s no other apparent explanation for six dozen significant reversals?
McCain has been in Congress for more than a quarter-century; he’s bound to shift now and then on various controversies. But therein lies the point — McCain was consistent on most of these issues, right up until he started running for president, at which point he conveniently abandoned literally dozens of positions he used to hold. The problem isn’t just the incessant flip-flops — though that’s part of it — it’s more about the shameless pandering and hollow convictions behind the incessant flip-flops. That the media still perceives McCain as some kind of “straight talker” who refuses to sway with the political winds makes this all the more glaring.
The CB Report then provides us with the list that includes, but in no way, shape or form, is limited to:
- Guatanomo Bay
- Wiretapping
- Waterboarding
- Pakistan
- Cuba
- Georgia (the country-he hasn't made his mind up about the state yet)
- Syria
- Donald Rumsfeld
- The Surge
- Iraqi timetables
- Expanding the GI Bill
- Yucca Mountain
- Abortion
- Privatizing Social Security
- The NRA
- Gay Rights
- Bush's tax cuts
- Ethanol
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday as a holiday
- The Confederate flag
- Creationism
- Equal pay for women
- No Child Left Behind
- Affirmative Action
- Coastal drilling for oil
- Global climate change
- Illegal Immigrants
- Lobbyists
- John Hagee
- Rod Parsley
- Jerry Falwell
- Grover Norquist
And that's only a small part of the list, gentle reader.
Given the amazing amount of flip-flops, I feel safe to say that it will be only a matter of time, maybe even by tomorrow, that McCain once again does a major reversal:
He will endorse Barack Obama for President of the United States.
I still think that he'll have to select Hillary Rodham Clinton in order to have any credibility left at all.
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