The imperfect hero
A code of honor guides McCain, yet he readily admits to breaking it.
By Robin Abcarian
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 4, 2008
On a humid summer morning, the Straight Talk Express is rolling along, en route from a town-hall meeting in Albuquerque to a private airstrip where a newly refurbished plane, also dubbed the Straight Talk Express, awaits.
Sen. John McCain sits stiffly in the back of the bus on a plush velvet U-shaped banquette. Eight journalists surround him, a scene reminiscent of the days when McCain would open a vein and bleed quotes to any reporter, any time.
Instead, the 20-minute ride is devoted to a dry recitation of why Sen. Barack Obama was wrong about the troop buildup in Iraq. McCain, reading from notes, says nothing new. He is tense, serious and, as a reporter later relayed to his longtime chief of staff, unwaveringly on message (buildup good, Obama bad).
"Was he?" asked a delighted Mark Salter, who is also the coauthor of McCain's five bestsellers. "Well, God bless him, 'cause it's taken a lot of work to get him there."
McCain has always been hard to predict -- witness his surprising choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Over the course of his 72 years, he has been called (and has called himself) many things: charming bad boy, wise-ass, underachiever, warrior, coward, maverick, apostate, straight talker, liar, war hero.
(Continued here.)
By Robin Abcarian
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 4, 2008
On a humid summer morning, the Straight Talk Express is rolling along, en route from a town-hall meeting in Albuquerque to a private airstrip where a newly refurbished plane, also dubbed the Straight Talk Express, awaits.
Sen. John McCain sits stiffly in the back of the bus on a plush velvet U-shaped banquette. Eight journalists surround him, a scene reminiscent of the days when McCain would open a vein and bleed quotes to any reporter, any time.
Instead, the 20-minute ride is devoted to a dry recitation of why Sen. Barack Obama was wrong about the troop buildup in Iraq. McCain, reading from notes, says nothing new. He is tense, serious and, as a reporter later relayed to his longtime chief of staff, unwaveringly on message (buildup good, Obama bad).
"Was he?" asked a delighted Mark Salter, who is also the coauthor of McCain's five bestsellers. "Well, God bless him, 'cause it's taken a lot of work to get him there."
McCain has always been hard to predict -- witness his surprising choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Over the course of his 72 years, he has been called (and has called himself) many things: charming bad boy, wise-ass, underachiever, warrior, coward, maverick, apostate, straight talker, liar, war hero.
(Continued here.)
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