The McCain Doctrine: Political Cowardice and Opportunism

Today's New York Times has a fawning portrayal of John McCain and what they call the "McCain Doctrine" for his response to the terrorist attacks of 9-11.

Senator John McCain arrived late at his Senate office on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. “This is war,” he murmured to his aides. The sound of scrambling fighter planes rattled the windows, sending a tremor of panic through the room.

Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria.

What's telling about McCain's list is that none of the countries with the clearest ties to Al Queda are included on that list: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and The United States.

The McCain doctrine is simply another example of John McCain's political opportunism and cowardice. Rather than taking America's problems head on, be they selling our soul to the devil in order to defeat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, or ending our terrorist funding addiction to crude oil, the "McCain Doctrine" is all about finding scape goats and avoiding the hard choices. In this regards McCain is truly a leader, and we can comfortably say that the biggest problems of the Bush presidency are a result of their championing the "McCain Doctrine."