John McCain: A Scarred Legacy?

War hero. Maverick. Political watchdog. Proven reformer. This is how John McCain should be remembered, but is that really the case?

Presidential campaigns are tough; political advertisements get personal, character debates can dominate debates, and feelings can get hurt. But, it is also a time that defines who the candidates really are. True colors come out, as do biases, limitations, emotions, weaknesses, and character flaws. It is not a campaign for meek or the faint of heart. It is a gauntlet.

On the one hand, there is Barack Obama. The main concerns surrounding his campaign are his lack of experience, his relative unknownness, and his questionable connections to shady associates. However, during speeches and campaign stops, Obama looks clearly confident, has sound policies that are geared toward relieving the middle class from stringent and unfair economic policies, and preaches about hope and vision for the American population. And, more important, his campaign has been run exclusively from the grassroots level. He has accepted zero funds from special interests, and refuses to pander to the influential and large segments of the population that have historically determined elections. Obama offers, in a word, change.

John McCain, on the other hand, has been a typical Republican candidate. While his record shows that he had pioneered several initiatives that required reaching across the aisle and working with the Democratic leadership, his more recent message has been decisively different. McCain has become a Bush-esque fear-mongerer, seeking to destroy the credibility of Barack Obama using weak connections and highly-charged and virulent political rallies. As is custom when down in the polls, a candidate will try to make character attacks, but McCain's strategy has been to appeal to the dormant racial instability that rests in many Republican circles. This has caused great turmoil in both parties, and attacks have been made from both sides to quell the hateful remarks, and fast track a new message.

Now, John McCain has become the stuff of legends as his career grew in the US Senate. He is a former Prisoner of War in Vietnam, he is a staunch supporter of American progress, and he continues to be a favorite of the Republican Party. However, in recent months and weeks, it seems that McCain has compromised some of his core values and initiatives--like immigration reform, for one--in order to curry favor from the Republican base. He has mustered up his God-given right to attack the very principles for which he once fought. In short, he has tainted his record by becoming a pawn for the base and for spreading hate and hateful rhetoric among his supporters.

It's no surprise that Obama has taken a commanding lead--John McCain has lost his focus, and in the process, has lost his ideals.