Picking Palin is the first act in many months that suggests the ‘old McCain’ is still there somewhere.

I’ve been fairly hard on McCain and, I think, justifiably so. The Obama campaign has been right on target in painting him as ‘McBush’. Probably the worst thing he has done is sell out his own campaign and turn it over to the very people who poisoned him with lies when he ran in 2000.

No More Mr. Nice Guy
Is There a Special Place for McCain?

For me, that was the undeniable sign that he has sold his soul and made the choice between being President and being right. I’m convinced that he’ll do anything, anything at all, to be President now. And in that, he’s just like Bush. To the everlasting shame of America, the big lie worked for Bush. Twice. It has been working pretty well for McCain too. Just before the convention, a few polls actually showed him ahead.

But Obama isn’t Gore and he’s not Kerry either and I think the successful run of ‘the big lie’ campaign was just about to be over. Not being dummies, I think the McCain campaign could see that too. They could see that it might get them close this time, but it wouldn’t push them over the top. Like a football team down in the fourth quarter and too close to their own end zone, they needed the long pass to win and they knew it.

Here’s why.

There’s a wonderful scene in “The Lion in Winter” with Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn about what happens when lies get too old, too stale, and too obvious.

“I know that he knows and he knows that I know and I know that he knows that I know and he knows that I know that he knows.”

“We’re a knowledable family.”

Months ago, back when McCain was still willing to be seen with Bush, Bush was quoted as saying what he would do to get McCain elected. “If he wants me to say, ‘You know, I’m not for him,’ I will.” (Direct quote from WhiteHouse.gov.) In other words, Bush is perfectly willing to tell any lie necessary. You might think that was a joke. I don’t.

The point is that, as a culture now, we expect to be lied to every day. We expect to be sold out at the earliest opportunity. Politicians know that we’re expecting to be lied to. It forces them into ever more extreme positions as special interests who can be counted on to vote in force try to “lock them in.” Dishonesty convinces big money that there is a real return in paying for saturation advertising.

We know. They know that we know. We know that they know. They know that we know that they know.

This accounts for the appeal of people who maybe, just might be outside the web of the big lie.

Schwarzenegger
Bobby Jindal in Louisiana
Obama
.. and now Palin

It makes sense. After all, Cheney and Rumsfeld were about as “experienced” as you can get. (And, be honest, they – not Bush – ran the administration for the first six years.) Colin Powell was a hero of the first Gulf War with a full military career that went back to VietNam. George Tenet was the second longest serving director in the history of the CIA.

People can see how well that worked out. “Experience” doesn’t seem to be a great qualification anymore.

Speaking for myself, and I think for a lot of Americans, I just don’t want to be constantly lied to anymore. And for that reason, Palin is a great pick. Completely alone among the possible candidates, I think people might believe that she’s telling the truth.

It’s not really clear what she might actually stand for yet. And since the lie machines on both sides are at full throttle, it might be hard to figure that out. But to the extent that I can understand it, there are some serious problems but also some real positives.

• She appears to have bucked the political machine in her own state (one of the worst cesspools in the nation, actually) to benefit the citizens and taxpayers.
• She appears to have done her best to get rid of one crooked politician in the Oil and Gas Commission and another in the U.S. Senate.
• Even as mayor of the relatively insignificant little town of Wasilla, she appears to have lowered taxes, run a tight ship, and stimulated economic growth.

But don’t get me wrong. I read other things about her that puts her on the other side of most questions that are important to me. My point here is not that she’s a great candidate. My point is that it would be a serious mistake to count her out and conclude that McCain has fumbled the ball. In fact, I think she might be the most brilliant thing I have ever seen him do.

But Palin isn’t the candidate. McCain is. And he remains a below average, somewhat corrupt, political wannabe who basically inherited everything he has and never really succeeded at anything. (Just like Bush again!) If Palin succeeds in pulling his corroded nuts away from the fire, I will fervently hope for his early demise in office.

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Note: For all the Secret Service and FBI goons who watch everything American citizens do these days, that’s “hope”. It’s not a threat and it’s not a plot. I have no plans to do anything to bring about that beneficial outcome.