david brooks, while not as obvious about it as bill kristol, is a movement propagandist occupying an op-ed job.

if he wants to expose his fantasy life to us, i supposed there's no avoiding it, but "baloney" doesn't begin to respond to his assertion (i'd say "argument," but he isn't making one).

another "b" word does fit, though....

I think he's seriously, mentally unstable. There is something wrong, and there seems to be nothing anyone can do or is willing to do to address it. Not a single Republican with some credibility or authority, who has the balls to openly question McCain's mental condition and fitness, is stepping forward for the sake of the country. You know, one who'll put 'Country First.' What does a nation do when one of the Presidential candidates has some kind of mental condition? I mean seriously? Are there any guidelines for such a scenario?

John McCain would rather help destroy our economy than lose this election. He is a traitor.

Brooks' argument that what we're seeing a prodigal McCain really doesn't help McCain's campaign at all. If McCain will fall to the machinations of every Rasputin wannabe that comes down the pike, we're no better off than if we're just seeing that McCain is really only a plain old mendacious hack.

The have mores will accumulate more money if the bail out succeeds. Hasn't McCain read the memo or is he trying to stab the ultrarich for not supporting him more enthusiastically?

Amen, Steve.

The GOP is perfectly happy with people like McCain and Palin.

They are not interested in governing, just in maintaining a hold on power.

I know we overdo bold quite often...

McCain doesn't know a thing about finance and is no position to help work out an agreement.

But still, isn't this the salient point that every talking head from East Port, Maine to San Diego is failing to mention?

I think this is all just Kabuki Theatre. The balking Republican congressmen will all get in line by this afternoon so that it will appear that Johnny Mac saved the day.

Even the most died-in-wool Republican should grasp that without a functioning economy - even one plagued by trial lawyers and Hollywood elitists - there is no way - none, that the United States can field the large standing military they love so much.

All the yellow ribbons and flag lapels in the world cannot change this. Aircraft carriers and F-22's will be left to rust; while Israel will be left to its own devices in the MidEast.

As for "the troops" returning home with honor, the problem rather will be getting them home intact under any circumstances at all.

The real McCain is a courageous Maverick. The only reason we don't see that now is because he is afraid to challenge his party.

Go read the piece Karen Tumulty did on Gingrich during impeachment. Then, too, Gingrich was a victim of an unruly base. A good guy, really, forced to do his best to moderate things.

david brooks, while not as obvious about it as bill kristol, is a movement propagandist occupying an op-ed job.

At the so-called "liberal" New York Times and NPR, I might add.

You are all wrong. The answer is clear to me. McCain has gone senile. I am watching the same thing happen to my own elderly father, who was a brilliant man many years ago.

We don't try to analyse what brilliant idea made my Dad systematically turn on every light in the middle of the day, or why he is stacking all the shoes in a heap on the bed, we keep an eye on him so he dosn't hurt himself or anyone else, while treating him with dignity.

If McCain becomes President, we are all doomed.

I wonder why Brooks thinks these goons picked straight-talking McCain of all people to turn into a buffonish liar. Surely he doesn't think his man of honor would have picked them,or Palin for that matter. And why does he think McCain will revert back after the election.

Too bad I saw this Yglesias post just after my comment above:

McCain: “I’m Not an Expert on This Stuff

Nothing like a little video to boldly nail McStupid to the wall...

The good news is that this particular fantasy is losing supporters.

Several columnists that used to support John McCain have recently stated that selecting Sarah Palin, or playing politics with the bailout or just one to many dishonest attacks ads was the last straw for them and they no longer believe the the essential decency, honor or maverickness of John McCain.

When you scan the world newspapers, it's clear that many people are scratching their heads over the antics of McCain.

America's prowess as a financial juggernaut is being severely tested right now.

The world sees a man so bent on being the next president that he's completely incomprehensible to reasonable folks.

In his quest to put Country First while wanting to BE president, he is very transparently showing he hasn't a clue what this country used to be about.

The world is fast becoming fed up with his shenanigans and I'm afraid we will all pay a heavy price.

Simply put, in his efforts to BE president, he is actually destroying our reputation on a global scale. His latest stunt with Wealthcare is actually making world financial institutions cringe and rethink investments in anything American.

"The GOP is perfectly happy with people like McCain and Palin.

They are not interested in governing, just in maintaining a hold on power."

Posted by: Monkey

Maybe I'm naive, but surely there are still a few moderates with some true principles and integrity who won't stand for this insanity any longer.
Somewhere.

I think it is obvious that Judas, ahem, Judis is in the tank.

This has to be killing GOP business types. To the extent that there has been a shift in the media away from McCain, I've been thinking that the business wing is preparing to throw McCain under the bus. I would expect (hope?) that to get underway in earnest. Business usually prefers a predictable environment. McCain should give any rational business person the pee-willies.

McCain had serious lapses before the current campaign, but in some cases he was able to turn them to his advantage, as in the South Carolina flag episode - "I'm so honest I admit it when I make a mistake".

Simply put, in his efforts to BE president, he is actually destroying our reputation on a global scale.

With that, throw in Palin's assertion that the US should not "second guess" Israel.

The real McCain question is a fool's errand. We're judged by our actions and not our intent. Even Osama Bin Laden believes in his heart that he's doing good killing godless evil doers - that belief doesn't make Osama less of a mass murdering criminal mastermind.

After yesterday, I can only see McCain voters as either hugely ignorant or selfish traitors.

Ohioan,

Why choose? Seems to me they can be both.

I think others have just been fooled by him, and so rather than say he's always been like this, it's easier to say "He's not the man I used to know" or "He's really changed".

It could be that he has been always had these ingredients, but they were kept at bay, they were not nearly as prominent and now it's like damn the torpedoes....

If you read his bio, it's clear he's been a
'REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE'--who in turn needs to be the 'Rebel who saves/is at center of the cause'--dating back to his youth.

It's just now the stakes are unbelievably high and so folks just can't cut him slack for being "a trouble maker anymore. Maybe they've all been seduced, or even empathized with the man.

So they denied he's always been a temperamantal angry mysoginist who thinks women enjoy rape, who flies off the handle and who calls the President's daughter ugly and gets away with it.

A man whose only sense of who he is is a martyr-like, entitled victim (which makes it okay to lie and lie again)--a POW who suffered from evil incarnate and who because of this feels he has every right to stomp over everyone else.

A man who continues to divide the world and everyone in it simplistically into evil versus good.

A man who has never had a solid sense of who he is outside this worldview. Fight makes right personified. We all have this to some extent--it's why he's been so appealing. The victim becomes the victor--we all love that story. But not now, not to this insane, incoherent level--where it's so clear he is making the state of our very lives worse, when it's clear he is out of control with his reckless and dangerous worldview.

He's always exhibited a lack of inner stability/continuity/anchoring. I say it's gotten worse with time.

He's always demonstrated this instability, this impulsiveness, poor judgment, inability to thoughtfully pause and
defer for the greater good--
all things critical for a world leader.

Rather, he exhibits a persistent and pervasive need to cause trouble, pushing the envelope, creating drama--an overblown sense of entitlement and need to be in the limelight as hero, as the one to come in as the
"Rebel who saved the Cause".

Underneath it all, IMO--he's been utterly anchor-less--
as I've said before--a true REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE--
who needs causes like this one (even ones he doesn't understand one iota, even ones he's helped create) in order to keep his 'Rebel who saved the Cause' status alive.

And when a person over-identifies with this persona to the extreme, as he has again and again, he will look for causes to throw himself in the middle of--look for ways he can exert his 'Rebel' status. It's like an addict who is needs his reckless fix. He'll lie and cheat his way to re-achieve that high called:
"Rebel who saved the cause"

No matter he's clueless, incoherent, hasn't even got a plan, admits he doesn't understand economics!

He's a principled man who puts Country First, by God--and that's all that matters. Er...or is it?

A true Narcissist, I tell you. Yep, a textbook case.

The only role that McCain might have played in these critical negotiations is to have brought on board recalcitrant House Republicans. That he not only failed to achieve that but further exacerbated the situation by appearing to give credence to their doctrinaire opposition is beyond reprehensible.

He is an entirely selfish, deluded, incompetent little imp of a fellow who, far from being anywhere near administrative office, should be quietly retired into one of his homes with a nurse in attendance.

The only possible silver lining that this debacle may offer is the thoroughness with which he may be obliterated in the coming election, and take his miscreant gang of Republican criminals with him.

Paragraph paragraph POW,
'nuff said about Mr. Brooks,

Paragraph paragraph POW,
'nuff said about Mr. Brooks,

The have mores will accumulate more money if the bail out succeeds. Hasn't McCain read the memo or is he trying to stab the ultrarich for not supporting him more enthusiastically?

Other way around -- he's trying to protect the ultrarich from having those nosy parkers in Congress from finding out what they do with their free government money. The ultrarich want those strings taken off, or they'll tank the economy. What do they care? They all have Swiss bank accounts and houses in Bermuda, so they can get out if things go bad.

It is worth considering, if Hon. Sen. McCain were president during this current crisis (or any other you care to cite, or invent) what other unfriendly powers would do to provoke him, or otherwise see what they could get away with. The argument that his abandoning the debates shows his inability to focus on multiple issues, should be put into sharp relief in any discussion about foreign policy, since every other leader in the world gets CNN too, and they are getting the measure of these candidates right know. This is even more urgent as even if Congress finds a way to avert calamity now, financial markets will remain weak and vulnerable to manipulation from several governments with ability to turn the screws on US markets.

It is worth considering, if Hon. Sen. McCain were president during this current crisis (or any other you care to cite, or invent) what other unfriendly powers would do to provoke him, or otherwise see what they could get away with. The argument that his abandoning the debates shows his inability to focus on multiple issues, should be put into sharp relief in any discussion about foreign policy, since every other leader in the world gets CNN too, and they are getting the measure of these candidates right know. This is even more urgent as even if Congress finds a way to avert calamity now, financial markets will remain weak and vulnerable to manipulation from several governments with ability to turn the screws on US markets.

Judis should have a talk with his colleague Jonathan Chait, who claims that McCain's unprincipled campaign is, oddly, the product of his "sense of honor." Chait argues (facetiously, I hope, but it's hard to be sure) that McCain is so convinced of his own honor, and the fact that no one else is as worthy as he is to lead, that anything he does to win is justified. Okay -- if you define "honor" to mean megalomania and overweening arrogance!

In a saner world - clearly not the embarrassing circus of a so-called presidential campaign - McCain's multiple personalities and repeated policy flailings would have done him in long ago. That there is a slight push back by the pundits is actually surprising. Don't expect Brooks to join that still small chorus, however, he is, as has been pointed out, a movement propagandist nicely situated, along with Kristol, on the "liberal" NYT op-ed page.

McCain, not to mention Palin, is obviously so unqualified for the top job by virtue of age, health, and temperament, but no one has the balls to say so. Bush was similarly unqualified - for different reasons - and no one would say so out loud either. Eight years of the Decider guiding the ship of state and we're on the rocks. Where would four years of McCain take us?

There is no reality based community (it's liberal, afterall). There are no adults. Idiocracy has come to pass. The Barbarians are at the gate.

Watching John McCain flounder around is like watching a wounded deer try to get up.

Watching Sarah Palin try to turn a thought into a complete sentence is like watching a wounded moose try to get up.

In this 2006 Daily Show, Jon Stewart said, "Has John McCain's Straight Talk Express been rerouted through Bullshit Town?" and asked McCain if he was going into crazy base world. McCain said, "I’m afraid so."

I think the "Real" McCain is in the mind of whoever he's trying to impress. My theory is that he's really just a people-pleaser who feels compelled to tell whoever he's talking to what they want to hear. And currently, he's mainly talking to Steve Schmidt and his people, who want McCain to run a nasty campaign; and McCain agrees to do it because he lacks the ability to say no to people.

People who are like that usually have latent anger issues, because they have little real control over their lives and it frustrates them greatly. They'll often lash out erratically when the pressure is on, but it rarely achieves anything because they lack the ability to channel that anger into positive results. This also makes them very unpredictable and they'll show random moments of true stubborness on certain issues, because that's the only way they're capable of taking any control over their lives. If they don't stubbornly dig their heels in, they find it very difficult to say no to people. And you can bet that this makes for real fun times with Cindy, who seems like a controlling person who would enjoy manipulating her husband.

But overall, I don't think there is a "real" John McCain.

The Media have no excuses. It should have been obvious to them immediately upon learning that McCain hired Rove proteges and Bush operatives to run his campaign. It should have been obvious to them when they saw the list of lobbyists running things, while he relentlessly bashed Obama for far less.

The lies and the hypocrisy mounted quickly. I think it wasn't until McCain started snubbing his base (the Media) that they finally said something was wrong.

If McCain had played this better, if he had continued to schmooze the Media, I think he could have had his cake and eaten it too. I think he could have continued with the lies and the hypocrisy, easily.

Again, first clue should have been when he let Rove/Bush operatives run everything. How can a person be a "maverick" when he lets the establishment pull his strings? And a disgraced and discredited establishment at that.

And what about all the folks who have testified to his very scary temper? As discussed on Olbermann the other day, this kind of angry, mean-spirited impulsive style has been evident many a year, and it does trickle down to others--if he is elected (and I don't think he will be) his entire team will be affected and forced to operate at this lowest common denominator.

It's obvious that the man writing his op-ed is not really David Brooks. This old white haired guy is not really John McCain, I'm not even sure if the black guy is really Barack Obama. The only thing certain in the news this morning is that the guy who said this: "If money isn't loosened, this sucker could go down!" is most definitely the real George W. Bush, still showing us his amazing way with words. Take a look out your window at your country, if we don't get a real president soon, this sucker could go down!

And you can bet that this makes for real fun times with Cindy, who seems like a controlling person who would enjoy manipulating her husband.

Why do you say that? I don't get that vibe off her at all; she strikes me as emotionally very submissive and probably spends a lot of time taking verbal abuse from him (at least not fighting back in public).

However, she continues to hold the purse strings, which would be tough on most men and particularly on a strutting peacock like McCain, so that goes back to your good point about his frustration over his lack of control. It may be that she constantly reminds him about whose money it is, but I think he'd be highly resentful of that state of affairs even if she never mentioned it.

And once Brooks and others realize the "McCain of 2000" is gone, they then need to work on realizing the McCain of 2000 never was, he's always been this selfish and politically craven. Now if Napolitano would just run against him in 2010...

Just more of Babbling brooks inane lying bull. The john McCain we see now is the one who has always existed. read his biography, check his voting record . The myth of his personal integrity or honor is that, a myth.
he is the same amoral unethical unprincipaled liar and cheat that he has always been, He has no honor nor integrity,and is for sale to the highest bidder.A womanizer, cheater, user of people for his own gain. LIke bush, he is an egotistical, self serving, hypocrite and congenital liar.

apm wrote: The real McCain is a courageous Maverick. The only reason we don't see that now is because he is afraid to challenge his party.

A real maverick wouldn't be afraid to challenge his party.

People like Judis have never been wrong in their judgments of character. It's one of our key journalistic rules. It's impossible. It never has happened.