Will the Real John McCain Please Stand Up?

In the world of politics, candidates who "flip-flop," "waffle," or simply "change their mind" are hardly a rarity. This can be a legitimate change in personal philosophy, but more often it is in response to the latest political poll.

In the case of John McCain, the cause of his many "changes" is more complex. Because of McCain's reputation as something of a maverick within his own party, Republicans have been slow to embrace his candidacy. Many still don't, other than as the only alternative to a worse fate: a Democrat in the White House. But to get the nod from the Republican National Committee he's had to make a lot of changes. The list is lengthy, but to include just a few:

• McCain was vocal in his opposition to the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, but now says he will support extending these when they expire in 2010.
• His initial opposition to Bush's policy on interrogation of military detainees (which he is uniquely qualified to offer) has now changed to fall in line with the President's view.
• He was initially opposed to Bush's plan to privatize Social Security, he now says he supports this as an alternative.

The list goes on and on, and can be found on numerous websites. One site that includes links to source documents is "The Carpetbagger Report" at:

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15227.html

So, McCain's made more than his fair share of "changes," but that's not my real objection.

As an independent, I'll vote based on my view of what each candidate believes. My dilemma is that I'm more inclined to agree with his positions on most of these issues before he changed them to fit conservative party dogma. I'm almost tempted to support McCain on the premise that, if elected, he would govern based on what he truly believes. But I shouldn't have to make this choice, and I have to take what he says today at face value (at least until he says something different).

Unfortunately, all this makes McCain look like a clone of the current administration and diminishes his image as a person of strong character and personal integrity (which I believe he truly is). This may play well with the Republican Party, but it won't get him elected.

And it's the last thing we need.

[Originally posted on 4/26/08 at desmoinesregister.com]