Editorials

On Thursday, a saddled maverick spoke, often in inspiring tones, about the country's future, as all presidential nominees must.

Yet, a date in the near past hung over the St. Paul, Minn., Xcel Energy Center like a ghost.

On March 27, 2002, President Bush signed a law ramping up campaign finance regulation. It was a shining moment for John McCain, the Arizona senator who had worked for years to bring greater regulation on the potentially corrupting influence of campaign cash.

Yet, McCain was denied his moment in the spotlight. The president signed the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 behind closed doors with no fanfare or TV cameras. (It would have made perfect imagery for Thursday night's documentary that preceded his acceptance speech to the Republican convention.)

Adding insult to McCain's injury, later on that March 2002 day the president defiantly jetted across the country to rake in $4 million in campaign contributions.

Such is the plight of Republican presidential nominee McCain.

To get to this point in the pursuit of the presidency, the man who is clearly proud of a reputation of a maverick has shouldered a tiring burden, one littered with ugly compromise. Worse still, McCain appears to be the one who has done the bulk of the compromising. The campaign-finance signing slight is but one example. In the 2008 presidential primary campaign, McCain's point of pride — independent thinking — was scorned by red-meat conservatives who prefer adherence to GOP orthodoxy.

McCain's imprudent pick of a vice presidential running mate was a cynical selection aimed at appeasing the Republican's religious right base, a group with leaders McCain labeled "agents of intolerance" in 2000.

Not that Sarah Palin's Wednesday night speech was a problem for conventioneers; it was confirmation of a scorched-earth strategy to come. She peeled the paint off the walls with a sort of Rush Limbaugh shorthand that won't play well among undecideds.

Then came McCain's turn. He spoke of his bipartisan work in the Senate, and in tones much gentler than his running mate. But Maverick McCain's words are betrayed by the actions of Candidate McCain, who has kowtowed to the far right of his party.

Not that McCain is perfect in his judgment. He too quickly aligned himself with war in Iraq, sticking with that imprudent stance and even expanding it to saber-rattling against Iran.

It appears McCain's brand of maverick doesn't have a place in today's Republican Party. Instead, McCain has turned his campaign over to disciples of Karl Rove, who would rather divide a nation than lose an honest presidential campaign about the issues facing the United States.

Much has happened between March 27, 2002 and Sept. 4, 2008. None of it is all that praiseworthy for the senator or his party. Not withstanding McCain's stab at inspiring rather than inflaming, if this week's convention is any indicator, voters will have a hard time avoiding culture warring, obscuring tactics that blame the media and belittling slander of Democrats.