Backsliding

Yet another defector from the McCain fan club. It's Richard Cohen from the Washington Post. Money quote:

Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised.

This is an interesting and revealing tidbit. Consider first of all the lie that McCain told. He spoke in favor of something that he actually abhorred. You can't go against your core principles any more directly than that. Now ask yourself what motivated McCain to repudiate his values in this way? To win an election. It's shameful, but it's also human. McCain's confession came at the failed conclusion of his presidential bid.

Some people have a soft spot in their hearts for people who sin and then repent in a public way. But repentence is no guarantee of reformation. Think of Jimmy Swaggert, "I have sinned!" In fact, people are probably more likely to revert to form under stress than to change. It's a cycle that becomes a pattern. McCain may well one day repent of things he has said in this campaign, and if he does, he'll probably feel better, but it'll be too late to do the American people any good.
K