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On Signature Issues, McCain Has Shown Some Inconsistencies in the Senate
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| Parent(s) |
Candidate
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Mar 04, 2008 02:15pm |
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| Category | Analysis |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Monday, March 3, 2008 08:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Senator John McCain likes to present himself as the candidate of the “Straight Talk Express” who does not pander to voters or change his positions with the political breeze. But the fine print of his record in the Senate indicates that he has been a lot less consistent on some of his signature issues than he has presented himself to be so far in his presidential campaign.
Mr. McCain, who derided his onetime Republican competitor Mitt Romney for his political mutability, has himself meandered over the years from position to position on some topics, particularly as he has tried to court the conservatives who have long distrusted him. His most striking turnaround has been on the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against twice but now wants to make permanent. Mr. McCain has also expressed varying positions on immigration, torture, abortion and Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary.
Mr. McCain’s varying positions speak to the balancing act he is trying to do as he heads into the general election as his party’s likely nominee. To the degree that he is shifting to the right, he is shoring up his standing among conservatives. Yet he is also trying to retain his ability to defy neat ideological labels and hang onto the streak of unpredictability that has fueled his appeal to the moderates and independents he might need in November.
The risk, Republicans acknowledge, is that Mr. McCain may no longer be seen as above pandering and will be increasingly vulnerable to criticism from both sides. |
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