From a “Third Bush Term “to “John McCheney!”

When he first started his presidential campaign, John McCain seemed like a dutiful extension of Bush’s policies on Iraq, tax cuts, social security, offshore drilling, and most other issues.

However, with his recent turn toward exclusively negative campaigning, McCain has adopted a pattern of having his aides serve up any sort of slime they can think of; and when he’s questioned about it, replying essentially with:

I stand by what I said and I’m proud of my campaign, so go f**k yourself!

Well, the last part comes in the form of a sly smile, but as the campaign progresses, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear him just come right out and say it.

This has me thinking about the original comparisons of McCain to Bush. Really, McCain isn’t just an ignorant puppet who wants to be president so he can pretend he’s “The Decider.” McCain’s been around for a long, long time, and likely has a personal agenda, formed out of past disappointments, grudges and resentments, which he would only be able to bring to fruition if he gets into the White House.

Past comments about “hating gooks,” or wanting to kick Russia out of the G-8 for “not being a democracy,” have led to articles questioning McCain’s psychological makeup, much as other articles have questioned Dick Cheney's mental state. Some have wondered whether McCain is still living out memories of Vietnam or the Cold War.

I think an unspoken agenda is why McCain is so willing to say anything, no matter how dishonest or underhanded, in order to win. He’s been waiting for his chance for decades, having been thwarted many times before, and now he’s finally close enough to taste it. If he wins the presidency, all his secret desires for the country, perhaps even the world, will seem to him like they are “his due!”

In that sense, he’s much more like Cheney than he is like Bush, and frankly he’s beginning to act more like Cheney! Although he likes to campaign in “town hall” style meetings that trumpet his “straight talk,” he rarely ever reveals specific details of his intentions, as if he expects people to accept his judgment based on vague platitudes and the promise that “he has the details back at the office” or some such nonsense.

So the next time you hear someone comparing McCain to Mr. 27 Percent Approval Rating, keep in mind that they are probably giving him a bit more credit than he deserves. He really belongs down in the teens, because the arc of his campaign suggests he could turn out to be the second coming of Dick Cheney.

The McCain campaign wants you to view this election as being entirely about whether or not you are comfortable voting for Barack Obama. However, the real question you should be asking yourself is:

Are you comfortable voting for another sneering, dismissive, out-of-touch, leader, whose deep-rooted agenda is based on outdated perceptions of the world, and who doesn’t want to give you any details about it?