McCain's supporters trust that he's lying
By Michael Kinsley
Baltimore Sun
May 19, 2006
All successful politicians must have at least some talent for lying about what's in their hearts and convincing people that it is the truth.
But Sen. John McCain has a unique genius for telling the truth from his heart and making people believe that he is lying. And these people are his supporters! They admire him as a straight talker and they forgive him for taking positions on big issues that they find repellent on the grounds that he doesn't really mean what he says.
"Oh, he has to say that to get the Republican nomination," explain many Democrats with a crush on the charming, funny, intelligent and heroic Republican senator from Arizona, and/or a special loathing of their party's own star, the junior senator from New York. "That" might refer to Mr. McCain's strong right-to-life stand on abortion, his strong support for the war in Iraq or his recent rapprochement with the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
These Democrats admire Mr. McCain as a straight shooter among sneaks, a truth-teller amid bull artists. They long, understandably, for some fresh air in the fetid atmosphere of politics.
Even better, he delivers the fresh air without the cloying aroma of piety. He can be pious, but he can also be devilish, and each quality, desirable in moderation, protects Mr. McCain from the danger of excess in the other.
Mr. McCain is not the only politician who makes jokes about himself. That's attractive, but sometimes it's nothing but a party trick. Like Bob Dole, Mr. McCain makes jokes - good jokes, mean jokes - about other people. That takes more wit and more guts.
(The rest is here.)
Baltimore Sun
May 19, 2006
All successful politicians must have at least some talent for lying about what's in their hearts and convincing people that it is the truth.
But Sen. John McCain has a unique genius for telling the truth from his heart and making people believe that he is lying. And these people are his supporters! They admire him as a straight talker and they forgive him for taking positions on big issues that they find repellent on the grounds that he doesn't really mean what he says.
"Oh, he has to say that to get the Republican nomination," explain many Democrats with a crush on the charming, funny, intelligent and heroic Republican senator from Arizona, and/or a special loathing of their party's own star, the junior senator from New York. "That" might refer to Mr. McCain's strong right-to-life stand on abortion, his strong support for the war in Iraq or his recent rapprochement with the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
These Democrats admire Mr. McCain as a straight shooter among sneaks, a truth-teller amid bull artists. They long, understandably, for some fresh air in the fetid atmosphere of politics.
Even better, he delivers the fresh air without the cloying aroma of piety. He can be pious, but he can also be devilish, and each quality, desirable in moderation, protects Mr. McCain from the danger of excess in the other.
Mr. McCain is not the only politician who makes jokes about himself. That's attractive, but sometimes it's nothing but a party trick. Like Bob Dole, Mr. McCain makes jokes - good jokes, mean jokes - about other people. That takes more wit and more guts.
(The rest is here.)
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