Useful …

I just want to make a small point about John McCain. While I too find his support for Bush somewhat vomitous, I don’t see any reason to throw the baby out with the bath water.

John McCain is useful to us. He may be campaigning for Bush but he is much more of a pain in his ass than an asset. He represents a certain independent constituency that is just as likely to break our way as Bush’s, even with McCain’s tepid endorsement of Junior — particularly if the Bush people refuse to condemn things like that Farah article yesterday. I think we should wrap our arms around John McCain for the duration of this election even as he throws his arms around Bush. Sowing mistrust between the two camps is good politics and it accrues to our favor.

I’ve never been a big fan of McCain. He’s much too conservative for me and I’d never vote for him even though he has a certain fearless quality that is unique in the Republican party these days. But, he’s not the Republican Zell Miller. His supporting Bush doesn’t surprise me in the least. I’m sure he considers it his duty to his party. But, he’s enough of a thorn in Bush’s side — like calling for him to condemn the Scumbags ad — that he actually helps Kerry more than Bush. Hate him if you will, he’s a conservative Republican, after all — but he’s our conservative Republican.