McCain Far Better Than His Idea-Free Campaign: Brooks

It’s a shame the kind of campaign John McCain is running, writes longtime admirer David Brooks in the New York Times. No, not because of dishonest ads (Obama has them, too) or a shift in politics, but because it “has no central argument." McCain has a wonderful record of "judgment, honor, and courage," as a senator, but “without a groundbreaking argument about why he is different, he’s had to rely on tactical gimmicks to stay afloat" as a presidential candidate.

“When people try to tell me that the McCain on the campaign trail is the real McCain and the one who came before was fake, I just say, baloney. I saw him. A half-century of evidence is there.” McCain, moreover, would run “the least partisan administration in recent times.” It’s too bad that the senator’s campaign hasn’t lived up to the senator.