The media loves to talk about the possibility of John McCain "becoming" a Dummocrat. It's one of the more ridiculous notions floating around, and is being pushed by people who either 1) know little about John McCain and politics in general or 2) those with a political agenda to confuse the voters. Much like Republican Ron Paul, John McCain is one of the most fiscally conservative voters in the entire Congress. He largely embodies the true, "core" principles of the Republican party, principles that are often forgotten in today's unfortunate world of soundbites and pandering for the centrist vote.

Like Ron Paul, McCain can best be classified as a Libertarian or a South Park Republican. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, this is a great primer. An excerpt:

The name stems from the primetime cartoon "South Park" that clearly demonstrates the contrast within the party. The show is widely condemned by some moralists, including members of the Christian right. Yet in spite of its coarse language and base humor, the show persuasively communicates the Republican position on many issues, including hate crime legislation ("a savage hypocrisy"), radical environmentalism, and rampant litigation by ambitious trial lawyers.

...

South Park Republicans are true Republicans, though they do not look or act like Pat Robertson. They believe in liberty, not conformity. They can enjoy watching The Sopranos even if they are New Jersey Italians. They can appreciate the tight abs of Britney Spears or Brad Pitt without worrying about the nation's decaying moral fiber. They strongly believe in liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. However, they do not live by the edicts of political correctness.

In short, there is no way in hell that John McCain would have anything to do with a tax and spend liberal like John Kerry. Quoth McCain, November 2003: Congress spending money 'like a drunken sailor'. Let me tell you, if the body of Congress is a drunken sailor, then John Kerry is its proverbial Captain Joseph Hazelwood. Why on God's good earth would John McCain hop into bed with someone that spends like John Kerry?

He wouldn't. But the media has been using the philosophical differences between McCain and President Bush to confuse the voter. They're building on a general misconception that liberal = libertarian. It doesn't.

And it doesn't stop with the media - John Kerry is trying to do the same thing. A couple of months ago, Kerry made big news by announcing that he was considering John McCain as his vice presidential nominee. McCain lent the statement some credibility by not flat-out rejecting the notion as ridiculous, as he had always done in no uncertain terms in the past. His failure to do so that time sparked a lot of interest in the national media: "Is he considering changing parties?" they questioned.

Did they know what was really going on? Did they understand that McCain's failure to quash the notion right off the bat was a meant as a signal to the White House? McCain was saying "Hey Mr. President - you can't win this thing without me. You'd better start cutting back on your spending problem."

Soon after that incident, the White House unveiled a new plan for cutting back spending. Had the President heard McCain's message and acted on it? Certainly. Was John McCain satisfied with the result? Only John McCain can answer that question, but my guess is no. My guess is that McCain is looking for a position of influence in the Republican party. Time will tell if that happens.

In the meantime, John Kerry continues to exploit his friendship with McCain and McCain's drive for power within the party for political gain. Knowing full well that he can't continue to point to McCain as his likely VP nominee after he actually names another nominee (and why hasn't he done that yet, btw?), Kerry has taken to hinting that he would appoint McCain as Secretary of Defense. Not a bad move to hop up a few points in the polls now, since it capitalizes on the hot political issue of the day, namely the Iraq prisoner abuse issue. The move is an attempt to attract "middle of the road" voters that trust John McCain. It has the benefit of sending a message "it's not about Republican or dummocrats, it's about all of us, in a bi-partisan effort, to remove the President," which is message that the Kerry campaign has been desperately trying to send.

But make no mistake, not only would McCain never be appointed to such a position, he'd never accept it if asked. Libertarians are not Liberals. John McCain is no Liberal. John Kerry understands this all too well, but he also understands that McCain is in a battle for control of the Republican Party, and because of that, likely won't flat out reject the notion.

That the average middle of the road voter doesn't understand what's really going on is unfortunate. But, fortunately for President Bush, what that voter does understand is "straight talk," and we all know that McCain is the master of that. All McCain has to do is make the statement "I would have nothing to do with a Kerry Administration" and those voters are gone. I wonder how much of his race John Kerry will hang on the McCain assocation?

To again quote McCain: It's impossible to imagine the Democratic Party seeking a pro-life, free-trading, nonprotectionist, deficit hawk."

Indeed it is. As Senator George Allen points out: it's quite a gambit.