Maverick Takes a Gamble
In the television series “Maverick” James Garner played a classic American anti-hero – a cowboy who bucked the system to go his own way - a double dealer who in a high-stakes game gambled with a smile knowing he could out-fox his opponent.
Americans have always been attracted to the scoff-law movie hero. From Bogart’s Rick in Casablanca to Eastwood’s Dirty Harry; from Tom Cruise in Top Gun to Harrison Ford in Star Wars, audiences have cheered for the renegade who achieves victory by breaking the rules that circumscribe us.
At first glance, John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate in the 08 presidential contest, would appear to be either a brilliant and bold strategic calculation or the most foolhardy political stunt in modern history. Yet, in truth it is more than either of these. In selecting a one-term Alaskan governor with no international experience, McCain is getting more than a die-hard conservative, more than a possible magnet for undecided women voters, more than a dutiful cheerleader from Wasilla, Alaska. By launching what amounts to a frontal assault on conventional political thinking right before the Republican convention, the senior senator from Arizona is getting a youthful booster shot and cementing his manufactured image as a maverick.
The problem, of course, is that John McCain is really no maverick. He has been an enduring supporter of the war in Iraq, has failed to criticize a wide array of political and ethical misdeeds by the administration and has voted along party lines 90% of the time. Could John McCain actually believe that Sarah Palin has the equipment to step into the presidency should the need arise? If so, the country may be about to re-think his own fitness for office. It may become abundantly clear that in trying once again to deal from the bottom of the deck, Maverick has over-played his hand.
In the television series “Maverick” James Garner played a classic American anti-hero – a cowboy who bucked the system to go his own way - a double dealer who in a high-stakes game gambled with a smile knowing he could out-fox his opponent.
Americans have always been attracted to the scoff-law movie hero. From Bogart’s Rick in Casablanca to Eastwood’s Dirty Harry; from Tom Cruise in Top Gun to Harrison Ford in Star Wars, audiences have cheered for the renegade who achieves victory by breaking the rules that circumscribe us.
At first glance, John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate in the 08 presidential contest, would appear to be either a brilliant and bold strategic calculation or the most foolhardy political stunt in modern history. Yet, in truth it is more than either of these. In selecting a one-term Alaskan governor with no international experience, McCain is getting more than a die-hard conservative, more than a possible magnet for undecided women voters, more than a dutiful cheerleader from Wasilla, Alaska. By launching what amounts to a frontal assault on conventional political thinking right before the Republican convention, the senior senator from Arizona is getting a youthful booster shot and cementing his manufactured image as a maverick.
The problem, of course, is that John McCain is really no maverick. He has been an enduring supporter of the war in Iraq, has failed to criticize a wide array of political and ethical misdeeds by the administration and has voted along party lines 90% of the time. Could John McCain actually believe that Sarah Palin has the equipment to step into the presidency should the need arise? If so, the country may be about to re-think his own fitness for office. It may become abundantly clear that in trying once again to deal from the bottom of the deck, Maverick has over-played his hand.
Comments