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McCain: The Myth of a Maverick

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Author Matt Welch provides a warning that if John McCain becomes the next President of the United States we as a nation may well have jumped from the frying pan into the fire. In this book, he tells us where McCain has come from, what he does, what he thinks, and where he is going if he becomes the chief executive.

McCain comes from a very long military tradition in which his father and grandfather served as admirals. Reared in and near the capital where he lived most of his life (!) with a heavy dose of paternal influence, and an education at an expensive preparatory school and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, John McCain sees himself as the romantic and fatalistic warrior Robert Jordan from "For Whom the Bells Toll." He prides himself on being rebellious, yet principled.

What he does is divorce his wife who kept the family together raising three children in spite of a bad automobile accident that gave her permanent injuries, while he was in captivity. Lieutenant Commander McCain is no sooner back in D. C. when he begins several extramarital affairs, and chases after a beer heiress seventeen years his junior. He decides to jump into politics declaring that Arizona, the headquarters of the distributorship, is to be his home state. Claiming to be in the tradition of Barry Goldwater and the representative of the common man, he is neither liked by Goldwater, nor ever found amongst the working or poorer classes of his constituency preferring the company of the wealthy.

In the tradition of his alcoholic father, McCain believes that principles and honesty are the most important things even if the latter and the condition seem incompatible. Just as a twelve-stepper will do and as a military officer is trained to do, McCain will admit that he has made past mistakes and is willing to air them in public. This adds to his charm of honesty despite waffling, changing, and spinning on a number of issues throughout his career. Even though he "fesses up" in his latest book about the Keating Scandal, McCain makes it clear that he did it because of his principles and his obligation to help his constituents.

According to the author, McCain is poised to raise flip-flopping and spinning to an art form to get elected. He is now for the Bush tax cuts despite having been against them three years ago. Why? Eliminating the tax breaks would mean a raise in taxes, and he doesn't want to raise taxes, so now he favors keeping the cuts. Uh-huh. He once referred to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as evil, but has actively sought their support. McCain has also accused Americans of not supporting our troops if they did not support the war. By this logic, he stands accused of the same thing in previous military involvements.

And now, where is he going? McCain wants to emulate his heroes, Theodore Roosevelt and Robert Jordan. He believes that it is our destiny to be the strongest country in the world, and it is our right to wipe out terrorism and tyranny wherever it exists. For him, there is no returning to a Vietnam style conflict without victory. There is no negotiation. It will be our way or the highway.

This short book reveals something about the man and the politician of John McCain. It is interesting and revealing, even if not powerful or riveting. The tone is matter-of-fact, and not vociferous. I had the impression that author-journalist simply wanted to reveal the man behind the public persona. I would recommend it highly for those who are politically involved, and want to learn more about their candidates.

This book supplies plenty of evidence to the anecdotal question: "How can you tell if a politician is lying?"





244 Days and a Wake-Up until one tyrant is gone.

Matt Welch brings back a tradition in biography that was once a hallmark in American politics, but has declined in the last twenty years: the sober-minded character study. Taking a page from Garry Wills, Henry Adams and Theodore White, Welch sets out to examine something in his subject that is all too easily forgotten in today's pundit-dominated political coverage: what does McCain actually believe? Not a hatchet job by any stretch of the imagination: although writing as a libertarian critic, Welch is fair enough to his subject that he allows the reader to form his own conclusions about McCain's stances on issues like campaign bribery reform, while delineating the clear rupture between the small government, pro-privacy but anti-Civil Rights tradition of Goldwater and the activist, big government conservatism of McCain and Bush. A must-read for the 2008 campaign.

I have read a lot of biographies of political figures -Woodrow Wilson; Theodore Roosevelt; George Wallace, Walter Mondale, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon - and rank Welch's recent bio of Sen. John McCain up with the best of them. Although not a traditional biography, in that it is not a history of McCain's life but rather a deep analysis of his political philosophy, McCain, The Myth of a Maverick is valuable because it exposes the many contradictions and tensions between the public persona of presidential candidate and senator and the private individual. And, Welch asks the all important question: given what we know about McCain from his own words, what kind of president would John McCain be?
In writing about a living person, Welch faces a delicate dilemma: on one hand, the fact that his subject is alive gives the author prospect of direct and intimate access (access ultimately denied by McCain) but this is countered by the intense pressure to self-censor that does not exist when the subject is dead and one no longer has to worry about hurting the person's feelings. Welch is open about his affinity for McCain as well as his own political values, but unlike most journalists who have covered McCain, refuses to ignore the less than attractive facts about the man.
Since McCain, the Myth of a Maverick is more political analysis rather than traditional political biography, it is on the short side, yet nonetheless succinctly captures the basic narrative of McCain's life as it relates to McCain's political career and ambitions.
The underlying purpose of this book is also the goal of political journalism: to reveal that which is hidden, which, in McCain's case, is in plain sight. The most prominent theme of the book is the fact that the Emperor has no clothes and has openly been parading around Washington and the nation naked. That the political press and much of the country has chosen to ignore this fact reflects as much on the weaknesses of American political journalists and the American people as it does of McCain.
As a journalist, Welch writes in an easy, accessible manner, and manages to make his subject interesting. With biography, there is little plot; only the degree to which the subject's life is interesting determines how much of a page-turner a biography will be. This book reads quickly; it took me less than 8 hours to read it; someone with smaller chunks of time could finish it within a weekend.
Anyone considering voting for Sen. McCain as well as the dozens of journalists covering the McCain campaign should read this book. Those inclined to support the senator because of his image as a "maverick" are likely to have their assumptions seriously challenged; those who dislike McCain for various reasons will probably have their feelings confirmed. Either way, McCain, the Myth of a Maverick is a revealing yet thoughtful expose of the senior senator from Arizona.

You don't have to be a libertarian, I think, to find something disturbing in the definitiveness with which John McCain declares (as Matt Welch quotes from the Senator's autobiography Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick, and the Heroes Who Inspired Him), "I have no reluctance to subordinate my independence to a cause greater than my own self interest. But that cause is my country, first and last. ... Were I to believe otherwise, the independence I have prized all my life will have been nothing more than egotism" (p. 83). For voters or interested citizens of any political persuasion, "McCain: The Myth of a Maverick" performs a valuable service in showing just how much John McCain means what he says.

Most voters, I would imagine, have some vague idea of John McCain's biography, particularly his years as a prisoner of the brutal Vietnamese communists. But Welch excels in showing how McCain's roots influence his world view and his sense of where he wants to lead this country. The author gives us many examples of McCain disparaging those who pursue self-interest or personal gain while honoring those who place "country" (which in practice means government service) before "self" (the productive sector). But given that McCain is a lifelong federal employee, the son and grandson of lifelong federal employees, this is really little more than *nostrism*, the egoism that extravagantly praises a collective of which he is himself a part.

The greatest merit of Welch's "McCain," is his proof of how much McCain is driven by this idea of "a cause greater," and by his belief that, as again quoted from his autobiography, "the proper object of every American's citizenship" is "national greatness" (p. 94). Combine that with his stated preference that he "would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt" (p. 95), then ask not what you can do for your country because President McCain is going to tell you. (To be fair, President Obama and President Rodham possess this same urge to march at the head of a well-drilled body of citizens all subordinating their independence to "a cause greater" chosen for us by our Leader)

It's probably "nothing more than egotism" to believe that while a man can subordinate his own life to whatever he wants, it is grossly immoral for him to make that decision about anyone else's life. Other people are not your property. Though it is sadly not getting the same degree of attention as some other McCain biographies out there, "McCain: The Myth of a Maverick" raises some pretty profound questions. We had better start answering them before we find they've all been answered for us

I found the book fascinating. So often, biographies of current political stars seem like little more than a series of newspaper articles cleverly edited together. Myth of a Maverick delivers, debunking the myth and revealing the McCain the media has somehow missed.

Anyone lucky enough to read this book before 11/04/08 had McCain's playbook in hand. Everything that undid McCain's candidacy is sketched here: McCain's belief in luck versus self-determination, his recklessness, his refusal to take counsel. Only the name "Palin" is missing.

I have had a very negative opinion of McCain for years, but I hoped to gain a greater depth of understanding of the man from this book.

And indeed I did.


I think one essential contribution of the book is that it identifies the key philosophical foundation of McCain's political views. Namely, his belief that maintaining the stature of the United States requires that the American people revere their governmental institutions.

This leads to his dominant public policy thrust being the pursuit of "reform" legislation that purports to strengthen or restore the integrity of public institutions, often at the expense of societal values that many others consider important. (e.g. civil liberties)

This reformist mentality is heavily imbued with a moralistic mindset, which undoubtedly is a big part of the explanation for McCain's massive ego and arrogant demeanor.

Obvious examples are campaign finance "reform", steroids.

Although the author doesn't discuss it much, I can see "comprehensive" immigration reform fitting into this mold as well. Immigration policy cannot be based on a rational evaluation of the benefits and costs of particular policies for the people of the United States, it must be based on the infinite moral superiority the United States establishes for itself by adopting an unlimited policy of open-borders, a policy that in my view, however, ironically leads to the guaranteed destruction of the American empire that is so near and dear to Mr. McCain's heart.


Other aspects about McCain as a public figure that I was aware of, but that the book provided me more detail on, included:

1). The establishment media's love affair with the media.
2). The fact that McCain is fundamentally a hard core elitist, with little interest in the affairs of the "common folk". (related to this is his use of advocacy organizations to advance his own political career, something that is much at odds with his supposed committment to political reform)

4). McCain's incredible aility to manipulate moralism to his own advantage. He has gained a great deal of political benefit by his self-proclaimed virtue ("straight talk", etc), and yet when he has failed to live up to such standards in a myriad of ways, he has been able to leverage his own misdeeds to his political advantage. This was one of the most powerful points made in the book. I think this skill on the part of McCain is a huge factor in his political success, and is one that those of us who believe McCain is a highly negative force in American public life have good reason to fear.

5). His famous temper. This one I was pretty aware of. However, although I had heard that there were POW families that disliked McCain for having given them short shrift on their claims that there might still be POW's in Vietnam, I wasn't aware of how harsh he had been toward the POW activists until reading the book.

(by the way, it will be interesting to see whether Barack Obama can make use of McCain's temper in the general election in addressing the "who would you want answering the phone at 3AM issue. I think that could be a rather effective strategy. Do you want a guy with a tendency to fly off the handle like this guy answering a call from the head of a powerful foreign nation at 3 in the morning?)

6). His pursuit of retribution to redress grudges (in some cases, to a frightening degree). (this I was not familiar with, but it certainly is in keeping with everything else about him)


Another thing I learned is that McCain was the original political footsoldier for the neocon movement. I have seen comments by people left of center on the political spectrum that seem to have felt that McCain was not a neocon. I'm not sure where that comes from- his opposition to waterboarding is one thing that has led to that misperception.

Obviously, philosophically on the big issues McCain is right in lockstep with the neocons, but I hadn't previously been aware that he was closely interwoven with the William Kristol/Weekly Standard crowd going into the 2000 election. After 9/11, of course, George W. Bush essentially morphed into John McCain, although, as is obvious by now, a much less competent one.


Probably the most important lesson I learned from the book is that even though I consider McCain extremely misguided and downright dangerous on the issues, he is an extremely shrewd and capable politician, and anyone who underestimates him does so at their peril.


As to the composition of the book, I found it extremely well arranged in the order in which the various topics were presented, and in the seamless transition from one topic to the next.


(and by the way, although this is April 1, it should be obvious that this review is not intended as any sort of joke!)

It is incredible how someone who is so hawkish and neoconservative in his approach has been mislabeled as anti-establishment. He is pro-war, but possibly because of the acrimonious relationship with Bush, comes across as anti-Bush thus anti-war. The detailed transcript of his talk and insight to his background as well as his father's and grandfather's reveal the portrait of an unrepentent imperialist and hegemon with no an iota of self-doubt. It is especially disturbing to learn that unlike most veterans of Vietnam, he suffered for the war and yet he is ready to launch future gratuitous wars to ensure American dominance over the rest of the world. The press loves him and he will certainly get a free ride about some of these rather alarming views from them for 08.

John McCain is first, last, and always, a social and political chameleon.
Whatever John needs to look like, whatever John needs to say, whatever John needs to appear to be, John will be. According to the notes section in the back of the book, John McCain was thinking about being the President of the United States while he was a prisoner of war in Hanoi. It must have been nice to be so certain that you would make it back home, when so many prisoners of war did not. I wonder why the "Songbird" was so sure of his own future? And I will always wonder why John McCain single-handedly fought and eliminated the, "Bring the POW'S home/find the MIA'S movement", back in the 1990's?
I believe that John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate in order to draw attention away from his own past record. McCain knew that Palin would open her big mouth and the media would be focused on her instead of vetting out John McCain. (Keating-5 for instance)
Don't illusionists usually have a pretty assistant to draw the onlookers attention away while the illusion is being performed?

Being a Maverick is an illusion.

John McCain is the, "Illusionist-Chameleon".

I am a registered Republican. I should really switch to registered Libertarian. This is not because I want to but because my party has left me. Matt Welch has shown in this book that Senator McCain is every bit as willing to use the government to force you to behave how he feels you should behave, just as willing to steal the money you want to spend on your family as the party and opponents he claims to be against.

Welch documents McCain's massive anti-(L/l)ibertarian bent and behaviors. Huckabee was his last opponent and either one feels he knows what is the better way to lead your life than the course you want to take it and are PERFECTLY willing to use men with guns to force you there. Like I said, I dread the day I will switch my party registration, but Goldwater is rolling in his grave that his former seat is held by this statist abuser of personal liberty.

The gist is if you value personal liberty, vote for someone else and hold the Dems accountable while they are in the office.

I truly want to vote for the man as the lesser of evils but after reading this history I cannot. Even if you want to disagree with the author's take or slant, you cannot disagree when he is referencing occurrences, statements of public record, voting record, or documented history.

I would beg you to read this and if you like McCain, Obama, and Clinton think that the State is there to force us to behave in all areas of our life then you won't even mind the attacks Welch makes because they are only attacks if you believe in personal liberty over governmental regulation.