Conservative Donnybrook

Stephen F. Hayes wrote an interesting piece for The Weekly Standard about how McCain came to choose Palin as his running mate. It would seem we narrowly dodged a bullet. The McCain campaign appears to have been seriously considering tapping Joe Lieberman and many of his advisers were pushing that option. Had McCain chosen him, it is virtually certain that he would have succeeded in turning Lieberman into the answer to a trivia question: “Who is the only person to lose on both the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets?” After receiving feedback from conservatives that the base would revolt if Lieberman were the pick, McCain sought out other alternatives, resolving to pick a running mate who did not represent business as usual.

In that respect, both Pawlenty and Romney (who appears to have never really been in contention), left the Senator cold. Such a selection would have correctly been regarded as more of the same. In an earlier interview with The Weekly Standard, he had praised Palin, calling her a “remarkable woman” whom he planned to speak to as he reconsidered his position on drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge.

That one sentence in Hayes’ article highlights a trait of McCain which simultaneously should give conservatives hope, and also dread about a McCain administration. As many Democrats have pointed out over the years, John McCain is a man you can work with. The reason for this is simple: he is not an ideologue. A strong, well-reasoned argument can change McCain’s thinking on an issue. If we are to believe the campaign rhetoric, (and if John McCain is known for anything, it is his integrity – witness his steadfast opposition to earmarks), he has already reconsidered his former position on amnesty for illegal immigrants, now pledging to secure the border first. It would appear he is also reconsidering his position on drilling in ANWR. Of course, on the negative side, since he is not an ideologue, he could as easily abandon conservative positions if someone were to present him with case which he regarded as compelling (i.e. McCain-Feingold; McCain-Kennedy, etc.).

I was speaking to some conservative friends as we enjoyed the warm Indiana summer night on my front porch last night and someone mentioned that, when you think of it, Bill Clinton was not as big a disaster as he could have been. I posited that that was mainly because, unlike his wife, he was not driven by ideology. His administration was almost entirely poll-driven. In that sense, if conservatives could capture a poll during his administration, it was a virtual certainty that Clinton would move closer to the conservative position, if not adopt it altogether. In the end, Clinton managed to pull off a centrist administration for the most part.

John McCain is, in one respect, similar to Clinton in that he is not tied to an ideology. Indeed, it is this very fact which infuriates the party base. Of course, comparing McCain to Clinton is fairly rude so let me distinguish the two. Unlike Clinton, McCain has honor and principles which he will not compromise – not every decision will be left to polling results. McCain will almost certainly hold the line on spending having devoted his entire career in Washington to fighting against earmarks. Unlike Clinton, McCain will not conduct foreign policy according to the polls and will always put America’s interest first. In the end, McCain’s administration would likely be a fairly moderate one that generally skews to the right.

However, on the important issues, he seems to have committed himself solidly to core, unchangable values. He will hold the line on government spending. His choice of Governor Palin indicates that he is committed to Life. He will engage in a muscular foreign policy which places the interests of the American people first. It could be worse.