The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't
by Cliff Schecter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cliff SchecterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN: 0979482291
Number of pages: 200
Publisher: PoliPoint Press
Book Reviews of The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't
Book Review: Much needed mythbusting, marred by excessive partisan & personal barbs
Summary: 3 Stars
I am privileged to number among my friends, acquaintances, and relatives several people who are fairly high up in politics, government, and the military who have dealt with Senator McCain in one capacity or another in their lines of work. They represent points of view ranging from conservative to moderate to liberal to staunchly apolitical. They've all told me privately that the image of John McCain as a principled, consistent, reforming maverick is a myth based on very little truth - and that he's got a wicked temper and an "it's personal" approach to politics, too. Cliff Schecter's THE REAL MCCAIN is one of several recent books which (finally) are starting to deconstruct the McCain myth. From immigration to Iraq to taxes to the Religious Right - and even his signature issue, campaign finance reform - Schecter documents McCain's always-shifting, often unclear positions and inconsistent votes. He also notes how McCain deftly uses his (admittedly genuine) war hero status to get a free pass from the media, the public, and other politicians. All in all, Schecter portrays McCain as a skillful opportunist who holds very few genuine principles of any kind.
Unfortunately, Schecter's personal biases (leftwing/partisan Democrat) intrude upon what could have been a more objective narrative and tone; such a balanced style would have lent his revelations much greater authority and credibility among the independents, conservatives, and moderates of both parties who may be considering whether or not to vote for McCain. Instead, Schecter gratuitously fires off cheap shots at McCain and other Republicans, and also tries to pass off several extremely biased sources as objective and nonpartisan. Sometimes he criticizes McCain just for not being liberal enough, without any effort to relate this to what I thought was the focus of the book: the man's character. These types of things aren't necessary to make Schecter's point, and in fact end up detracting from it.
The nasty, partisan style of this book - reminiscent of a leftwing Anne Coulter -- is not surprising when you look at who exactly Schecter and his publisher are. Cliff Schecter is a hardcore liberal, with a resume that includes NPR, Air America, the Huffington Post, and organizations affiliated with the AFL-CIO, among other things, so he's hardly an unbiased, nonpartisan source. And Polipointpress, the publisher, also prints such objective, nonpartisan books as: WHY I'M A DEMOCRAT; JACKED: HOW CONSERVATIVES ARE PICKING YOUR POCKET; and HOUSE OF ILL REPUTE: REFLECTIONS ON WAR, LIES, AND AMERICA'S RAVAGED REPUTATION, among many others.
That doesn't necessarily mean the things written here about McCain are necessarily false, any more than the ideological bent of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity means that the things they say about the Clintons or Barack Obama are always false, either. But it does mean that moderates, independents, and even many principled conservatives who have genuine reasons to dislike McCain will be turned off by the way Mr. Schecter presents his case here. I've never remotely been a McCain fan, and even I was bothered by it.
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