His rhetoric about Iran--which inevitably will be a factor in any solution--has been belligerent. He calls it a "rogue state" and has spoken often of "rogue-state rollback," deliberately invoking a word favored by the hardest-line cold warriors; he recently said he never meant by the phrase "that we should go around and declare war." On the Middle East, he said in late April that "people should understand that I will be Hamas's worst ... Full Story »
Posted by Jane Wylen
This is good journalism because it tells a consistent story about McCain and provides substantial background and sources for this story. Like all good journalism, the story has a hook, which is dangled before the reader from the beginning. It begins with the wonderful phrase "a career thoroughly laundered in mythology" and then goes on to inform the reader that this premise will be backed by facts: "[his career] began with the the help of several fortuities. " After detailing these fortuities, the author explains how McCain has made use of every one of them, particularly by skillfully manipulating the press. The author goes on to detail specific instances in which McCain has dramatically changed his position on important issues to appeal to the voters he needs in the coming election. This is an important article that anyone who wants to understand where McCain is coming from should read.
