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!)
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
About the author
