McCAIN AND THE GOP

Are some coming around? They may have no choice. But the religious right and pro-torture hardliners will balk. For me, McCain was my candidate in 2000, and remains easily the best of the Republican field. People also forget how conservative he actually is: on spending, on winning the war, on abortion. I know it’s now conservative heresy to believe in balancing budgets, humane, competent warfare, and civil rights, but, hey, heretics sometimes turn out to be the real guardians of a lost tradition. But here’s what McCain really does. He brings back honor to the White House and trust to government. Some things can be priced. Others cannot.