WHY IS THIS GUY DANCING?

It’s kind of funny to me how during the Republican primary elections John McCain had to fight to woo conservative voters (you remember them – the ones who gave us 8 years of the Bush presidency). Since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, he’s looking more and more like George Bush every day. I’m sure that as soon as the hard right figures this out, they’ll follow him like they do our soon-to-be former President.

Just last week The Politico, a Washington DC newspaper, listed the number of Bush minions who are now teaming up with John McCain. Reading it brings into question McCain’s oft-repeated claims to be for clean, issue based campaigning. If that’s his plan, why is he bringing Bush’s pack of attack dogs aboard?

Here’s the roster of the McCain Team:

• Ken Mehlman – Ran Bush’s 2004 campaign; Former chair of the RNC; Resigned for reasons never fully explained.
• Steve Schmidt -- Chief strategist of the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito; Counselor and spokesman for Dick Cheney; part of Bush’s 2004 re-election inner circle.
• Mark McKinnon – Former media advisor for George Bush; Half of the top 50 Bush 2004 reelection campaign expenditures went to McKinnon's firm Maverick Media, totaling $170 million.
• And, of course, Karl Rove. You remember him – mousey little guy who put George Bush in the White House, ignored Congress when they disagreed with him and resigned just as the word “subpoena” was used with greater frequency. (For a look at Rove’s other talents, click here to watch a video)

And just in case these guys get lonely, Dan Bartlett and Sara Taylor – two more former members of the Bush Dream Team – have said they are “eager to provide any assistance and advice possible to McCain.” [The Politico, March 8, 2008]

So if McCain is going to be a “candidate of change,” why is he bringing back all these familiar faces?

The answer is simple. John McCain is not the candidate of change. He’s the candidate of a third Bush term.

• 19 comments