Infinite Monkeys

McCain's temper

I'll certainly support John McCain if he's the Republican nominee, as seems increasingly likely today. But one of the many problems I have with McCain -- and why I will still vote for Mitt Romney on Super Duper Tuesday -- is the maverick's temperament.

I don't want to go on and on about my time covering Congress, but I can say from personal experience that McCain was among the few senators who were not unfailingly congenial when answering questions in the hallway outside the well of the Senate. His gruff manner made for good quotes -- one of the biggest reasons the Hill press corps loves him. But you got the sense sometimes that McCain was burning with anger that anyone would dare question his politics or policy positions. It was obviously just under the surface.

Investors Business Daily, Ben's old haunt, posted a long-needed editorial from the right questioning whether McCain's temperment is a disqualifying trait. It's hardly news that McCain has a hot temper. But it certainly will become a bigger topic of discussion, and a potentially crippling liability, should McCain grab the nomination. IBD warns Republicans of the coming conversation by recounting this story:

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ... said in a recent interview that he was so upset by a McCain tirade that he didn't speak to him "for a couple of years." McCain got in his face and shouted an obscenity at him.

Egad! Getting cross with the placid, professorial Grassley is like berating Santa Claus.

And Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., another congenial fellow, says McCain's erratic temperament is the reason why he's endorsing Mitt Romney. Cochran's choice of words is arresting:

"The thought of him being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Cochran said. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

Then there's what NRO's The Corner dug up while trying to track down details of former Republican senator Rick Santorum allusions to McCain's temper when dealing with his supposed fellow conservatives:

McCain stood in the middle of the GOP cloakroom and yelled at several of his Senate colleagues because they deigned to have a vote — to have a vote — on Inhofe's "English As the National Language" amendment to the 2006 immigration bill. He accused conservatives of being "divisive" and "insulting" Latinos for suggesting that immigrants ought to learn this language. He was nasty and unhinged. About 10 staffers witnessed this. He delighted in telling the conservative senators there that they were destroying the party with these efforts. This is what Santorum is talking about. He had antipathy for social and cultural conservatives' efforts.

Now, as IBD notes, there is an upside to anger. Our enemies should fear the commander-in-chief. And I quite like McCain's pledge to chase our enemies "to the gates of hell." But the accumulating stories of McCain's hot flashes, especially in their context, are troubling. Becoming enraged at your political enemies, to say nothing of those in your own party, is poison -- especially in a divided Washington.

An effective president -- like McCain's professed political hero, Ronald Reagan -- must be tough and principled, yet still make more friends than enemies. McCain's record strongly suggests that he would not be up to that task.

[cross posted at RedBlueAmerica.com]

Posted by Dr. Zaius at January 30, 2008 07:55 AM | TrackBack