The John McCain of 2000 stood up to the George W. Bush faction of the GOP, expressing and fighting for his different beliefs. Sadly, the John McCain of 2008 shamelessly panders to that Bush base, attempting to gain the support of the establishment that he previously railed against. Radical figures that McCain wouldn’t have touched in 2000 are sought after for their endorsements. Let’s be real: Would the John McCain of 2000 ever solicit the support of someone like the Revs. John Hagee or Rod Parsley? Members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group McCain vehemently decried in 2004, currently serve as top surrogates to bash fellow veterans who support Obama. Lobbyists and Bush fundraisers he denounced eight years ago are now valued donors.
McCain’s shifting of his stances isn’t just the process of evolution or changing with the times; it is a wholesale pandering, making substantive changes in a transparent effort to garner votes. McCain’s statements on any given issue are shaped by who happens to be sitting in the audience. In front of conservatives, McCain pledges to appoint radical judges like Justice Samuel Alito to the courts. But according to Politico reporter Ben Smith, while wooing former Clinton supporters, McCain suggested he would appoint more moderate judges, emphasizing his votes to confirm Clinton nominees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. At town halls, McCain emphasizes enforcement to deal with illegal immigration, while in closed-door meetings with Hispanic leaders he promises if elected president to overhaul federal immigration laws. This kind of blatant pandering led conservative Hispanic leader Rosanna Pulido to complain, “He’s one John McCain in front of white Republicans. And he’s a different John McCain in front of Hispanics.”
http://thehill.com/op-eds/will-the-r...008-07-09.html
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