Being John McCain
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Senator McCain hasn’t been himself, lately. Not because he’s been acting funny (though he has been). And not because he’s been a bit down on his luck (though he has been that as well). No, the senator’s problem is a stickier one: John McCain is not the “John McCain” of the 2008 race.
That’s to say, he doesn’t fit into the campaign’s storyline the way he used to. And since his appeal has always been built on his story — former POW war-hero turned maverick hell-raiser, here to save the Republic from corruption — the problem could prove fatal.
Mr. McCain, of course, was quite thoroughly himself back in 1999 and 2000, when his media star reached its peak. On the campaign trail, he compared himself to Luke Skywalker, executing daring raids on the Death Star that was the Republican establishment, commanded by George “Darth” Bush and Karl “Palpatine” Rove.
Now, however, some are suggesting that Mr. McCain bears a closer resemblance to Luke Skywalker’s father — once a rebel, but now co-opted and corrupted by his lust for power.
Read the whole story at NYSunPolitics.com.
