You already knew he had the best anti-earmark position.
It says here he outscores H. Clinton or Obama on free trade issues.
Virginia Postrel is still skeptical about him as a person.
If we've learned anything from the current administration, it's that "stubbornness, and loyalty" can produce some bad results, and might be antithetical to democracy. Honor and honesty, however, are nonpareil (if you prefer, "second to none").
You might say McCain lacks a coherent ideological platform (oh, weird conspiracy theory of the week: that McCain will purposefully nominate Supreme Court justices who would pretend that McCain-Feingold isn't unconstitutional; see Kausfiles, et al, where the evidence -- ironically -- is that he goes out of his way not to promise ideological purity among his nominees). I think he has just enough of one. It's more "national greatness" and less libertarianism than I'd prefer, but it works for me.
If he wants to have a bully pulpit, he has it. But unlike some of the nanny state people out there, he doesn't strike me as a president who'd take office with an ambitious legislative agenda. He can't sign bills that Congress didn't already pass, and is relatively unlikely to abuse executive orders.
Posted by Matt Bruce at February 8, 2008 01:22 PM