My Cloudy Crystal Ball

So much for my predictive powers. Huh. Whodda thunk it? McCain wasn't even on my list in December. Thus is politics. Last week's darling is this week's faint memory.

I had dinner with McCain once. It was about 10 years ago or so. It was at a local Duncan Hunter event on a college campus next to the ocean. I sat next to McCain. He gave a great stump speech, even though it was well before the 2000 campaign. He had some great lines about "every Senator not under indictment or in rehab wants to be President", and "it's great to be in San Diego to see all my constituents". That latter is because the place is flooded with Zonies in the summer. Any Zonie with half a brain gets out of the Valley of the Sun in the summertime.
They flood the coastline with their RVs and 1973 Cadillac convertibles. The La Jolla grey-hairs call them "summer trash".

Throughout the dinner, I chatted with McCain. He was smart, personable and the consummate politician. I picked up a really weird sensation talking to him. It was as if there was an undercurrent of rage. It was as if any moment there was going to be a meltdown and he was going to stand up shrieking, waiving a pistol. He didn't seem to have what they call "judicial temperment". Now, I will never be a judge. Probably not smart enough, and, certainly not well connected enough, to be one. But I know judicial temperment when I see it. It is the ability to take a bite of a shit sandwich and only comment on the freshness of the bread. McCain didn't have that. He was one pissed off guy, and it was only millimeters below the surface.

Having said that, it begs the question, will I vote for him? You bet. In a heatbeat. Looking at either Hillary or Obama, it's not even a close call. Personalities, and judicial temperment, aside, their worldview and their proposed plans are light-years apart. McCain is not my second choice. Or third, or fourth, or tenth, for that matter. But I probably agree with him 50% of the time. I don't agree with Hillary Clinton or Barry Obama 1% of the time. That's the difference.

In my perfect world, Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson would run. If for no other reason than a "Hunter-Thompson" bumper sticker would be cool. But that ain't gonna happen. Oh well.