McCain Humiliates Himself at CPAC

It is conventional wisdom that any Republican hoping to become President must obtain the backing of the most discredited and extremist elements within the Republican Party. And so we saw Mitt Romney and John McCain dutifully humiliate themselves in front of those whose catastrophic policies as implemented by the Bush/Cheney regime have earned the contempt of a large majority of Americans and the hatred of much of the world. Why would anyone do this?

Romney's pandering exodus statement could not have been more insulting to the American people. He essentially argued that if he did not withdraw and leave a clear field to McCain, the American people would elect a Democrat and thus give the terrorists a victory over the United States. Never mind that nearly 80 percent of the country believes the conservatives have set the country on the wrong course, and a large majority believe the country would be better led by Democrats on virtually every issue including war and terrorism. Is the man really that delusional, or is this just more pandering?

Even more astonishing was the weeping and chorus of "No! No!" that greeted the chameleon Romney's withdrawal. It was as though the CPAC delegates had no clue that the man who had pandered to them for months and laid claim to Reagan's legacy had conveniently acquired his conservative views only yesterday, it having been inconvenient to espouse such notions in his prior habitat.

But the award for delusion must go to McCain's appearance. McCain was greeted first with enforced manners as he promised to consult with these faux conservatives, but that devolved into boos as soon as he spoke the words "illegal immigration."

What must John McCain have been thinking, as he stood there, smiling, waiting for the booing to end? The man is and always has been one of the most extreme and pure "conservatives" in the Senate, yet there he was being booed by people who claimed to be extreme conservatives but who were in truth only extremely radical.