McCain may be a meanspirited s.o.b., and he may be as evil as the rest of
the lot. But at least he’s an opponent I can respect. I’d vote for
him because I’d rather he was the alternative. I might even be
convinced that he’s changed in the last four(+) years and that I
should cross over to vote for him over a Democrat.

The New York Times’ editorial today (24May2004) is titled “The Greening
of John McCain“.
[url –
mirror]
Some of the choice quotes:

What’s important is that over the last few years, Mr. McCain has morphed
into a different kind of Republican—one who’s true to the party’s most
basic values, but with an appeal that transcends the current
red-state-blue-state national standoff… Once a reliable oil-and-gas man,
he seemed genuinely shaken by evidence of the effects of global warming,
and has since teamed up… to fight for
greater fuel efficiency, cleaner power plants and other environmentally
useful objectives… Environmentalism was, of course, a Republican issue
first. Mr. McCain has simply rediscovered an old party value. The same
thing is true of his longstanding fiscal conservatism… Mr. McCain’s
voice is more than a voice of bipartisan good sense. In time, it could
lead the Republican Party back to where it once was and where it ought to
be now.”

The NYT is decided: John McCain is heir to the
Republican Party. I can’t say that I’m disappointed.