so far. This photo* taken by Damon Winter of The New York Times - is of Sen. McCain, Cardinal Egan and Sen. Obama at the Al Smith Memorial Dinner in NY the other night.
Clips of the "comedy" by both Senators are available on YouTube. The "dinner" is actually a "roast." I strongly recommend you spend 15-20 minutes and watch them.
You will see the "real" John McCain - the person who I would have liked to be President. Not the man you hear on the "stump" out on the campaign trail. Not the man who seems so uncomfortable during the debates. But the "real" (his old self) John McCain. Sen. Obama is good too, but then you expect him to be. It's Obama being Obama. But, that's not the story here. For me, it's all about Sen. McCain and what could have and should have been. Before Sara Palin. Before putting a "bookmark" in his campaign and going to Washington to "deal" with the economic crisis, and well before, "Joe" the plumber.
In these YouTube clips you see the Sen. McCain who, at least for the next 4 years, could have been President. And who, as the Commander-In-Chief, could have done a great job rescuing this country. It was the POW, the hero from Vietnam, the seasoned "maverick" and Senator from Arizona. What I saw again was the man I respected.
But his campaign has greatly diminished all that for me. And watching those YouTube clips made me feel good that the real John McCain is still there, but quite sad that he disappeared again - overnight - when he resumed his campaign the next morning. All the nonsense, fear talk, and rhetoric returned. And the handlers wound Sara Palin up again to talk about Acorn, Bill Ayers and unfortunately, "Joe" the plumber.
*I ran the photo through PhotoShop and cropped it to better fit in the post.
