A Weathervane, Not a Leader

The national press corps no longer lies down for John McCain with the promiscuous eagerness that used to be so habitual, which is of course why the McCain camp rages and pouts about "the media" these days. But he still gets away with incredible reversals and acts of hypocrisy.

Didn't everybody covering the campaign listen to his remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York yesterday morning? Didn't everybody hear him outline the five things he required in order to support bailout legislation, and his stirring call for bipartisanship?

He dropped all that as soon as he got to Washington and wanted to pretend to lead the House Republicans -- a tableau of fraudulence that I examine here today. He abandoned a set of clearly stated positions within a few hours.

The press now feebly protests that his behavior raises questions. But the question is whether he truly put his country first. And the answer is obvious.