Or does he?  His statements surrounding the recent South Dakota abortion ban leave plenty to wiggle room that is pleasing neither his rabid activist base nor the moderate pro-choice general election voters.  Alternet reports:

McCain had a spokesman issue a statement saying he “would have signed the [South Dakota] legislation, but would also take the appropriate steps under state law — in whatever state — to ensure that the exceptions of rape, incest or life of the mother were included.” Of course, there were no exceptions for rape and incest in the South Dakota law, making McCain’s position essentially that he would favor banning nearly all abortions as long as it didn’t involve banning nearly all abortions. That’s the waffling of a man caught between fervently anti-choice Republican primary voters and a pro-choice general election majority.

Nothing like ‘ole straight talk himself running in circles trying to hide behind tortured rhetoric.  What does John McCain truly believe?  Anything that will get him elected.  He is quite willing to sell his soul for a vote.

According to Newsweek, Senator John McCain is pursuing the services of President Bush’s campaign operatives and advisers:

Known as an outsider and maverick, McCain in 2008 has chosen a different route—and probably had no choice, given his prominence and experience. He and his aides are making the best they can of it, and one aspect of doing so involves trying to reel in Bush’s top operatives and supporters.Here in Memphis, McCainanites worked closely on straw poll strategy with Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, a Bush loyalist widely regarded as one of the sharpest strategic and organizational minds in the party. They are wooing him to come aboard officially, which would be a major coup for McCain.

This act of political expediency speaks volumes about McCain’s character and what he is willing to sacrifice to win in 2008. How many of these Bush advisers were involved in the South Carolina push poll in 2000 which questioned the ethnicity of his daughter? How many?

If Senator John McCain can’t defend his own daughter, how can we expect him to defend America?

Paul Krugman isn’t buying the maverick myth of John McCain:

So here’s what you need to know about John McCain.

He isn’t a straight talker. His flip-flopping on tax cuts, his call to send troops we don’t have to Iraq and his endorsement of the South Dakota anti-abortion legislation even while claiming that he would find a way around that legislation’s central provision show that he’s a politician as slippery and evasive as, well, George W. Bush.

He isn’t a moderate. Mr. McCain’s policy positions and Senate votes don’t just place him at the right end of America’s political spectrum; they place him in the right wing of the Republican Party.

And he isn’t a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration’s ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line.

It’s worth recalling that during the 2000 election campaign George W. Bush was widely portrayed by the news media both as a moderate and as a straight-shooter. As Mr. Bush has said, “Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”

Ouch. Thanks to MyDD for the tip.

Cornered GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff is facing some jail time, and it looks like he’s determined to bring some of his cronies down with him:

“Any important Republican who comes out and says they didn’t know me is almost certainly lying.”

Apparently this includes Mr. Maverick Reformer John McCain. McCain denies it, though:

“Mr. Abramoff flatters himself,” Mark Salter, McCain’s administrative assistant, tells Margolick. “Senator McCain was unaware of his existence until he read initial press accounts of Abramoff’s abuses, and had never laid eyes on him until he appeared before the committee.”

Abramoff’s response?

Abramoff says, “As best I can remember, when I met with him, he didn’t have his eyes shut. I’m surprised that Senator McCain has joined the chorus of amnesiacs.”

I’m not. McCain has a media halo as a champion of government reform. When it comes out that he met with the super-corrupt Abramoff, just like the rest of his GOP cronies, it will destroy his image. Not only is McCain corrupt, but he has lied.

Well, gosh, I almost teared up watching McCain drool all over Rick Santorum. Seems McCain thinks that Senator Man-on-Dog is a “good and decent person” who “represents family values.”

Well, I know my family has always valued our sham charity. Yes, it would appear that Mr. GOP Ethics is using a fake charity to funnel money to his political operation. And the more we learn, the dirtier this story gets. A new development emerged today:

The largest known giver to a controversial charity founded by U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum made its $25,000 donation as the senator was working to win as much as $8.5 million in federal aid for the donor’s project in Delaware County.

In other words, Santorum set up his charity so that business interests could write unlimited checks to his campaign, then deduct them from their taxes. As McCain said, Santorum definitely represents “the next generation of leadership of the Republican Party.” Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

John McCain isn’t serious about reforming the political process. Like every other Republican in Congress, McCain wants to maintain the status quo. Rick Santorum is for sale, and he’s ripping off American taxpayers. Instead of taking a principled stand, John McCain is playing politics. I, for one, am not surprised.

McCain’s latest cause is all over the news. He’s traveling the country talking up his immigration reform proposal. Doesn’t seem like a bad idea, to be honest. Ted Kennedy’s on board, which is enough for me. It’s a brilliant political move by McCain because it shores up his “moderate” image.

Examining some of McCain’s actions, however, leaves us with some question marks. For example, McCain has been a diehard supporter of Arnold Schwarzenegger in California. Last year, he helped campaign for the Governator’s idiotic ballot initiatives, and now he’s helping Arnold’s re-election campaign. In fact, McCain even said that Schwarzenegger is a “marvelous governor.”

Keep in mind, this is the same Schwarzenegger who endorsed the vigilante “Minutemen.” Arnold even extended an informal invitation for the Minutemen to come to California. Even George Bush saw the writing on the wall (”GOP needs Latinos”) and condemned the group. Interestingly, McCain hasn’t gone public with his position on the group. You’d think a “straight-talking” champion of immigration reform would oppose vigilantism, instead of endorsing one of its most famous proponents.

McCain is trying to have it both ways on immigration. He wants to appease the hard-line racists that will decide the GOP nomination, but he also wants to appeal to moderate voters and Latinos. Instead of playing politics with immigration, maybe McCain should consistently work for reform.

This is kind of an old story, but anyone still up in the air on McCain ought to know about it. Seems McCain is raising money for George Wallace’s son (yes, that George Wallace). Well, Junior Wallace hasn’t exactly atoned for the sins of the father. Turns out he’s a close friend of the Council of Conservative Citizens. Here’s some info for the uninitiated. Basically, the CCC is the Klan without the bedsheets. So, why would McCain endorse and raise money for a white supremacist? Sounds like a good question for the next tour of the “Straight Talk Express”.

For some reason, many Democrats and progressives are suffering from the delusion that John McCain is a “moderate” or a “maverick”. They think that because McCain puts on a moderate mask when he’s in front of the cameras, that he must not be as bad as the Bush cabal. Wrong. McCain’s voting record consistently places him in the right wing of his party, and far outside of mainstream America. For example, the Traditional Values Coalition put out a scorecard for the 2004 session of Congress, and John McCain’s voting record is right up their alley:

The “Partial-Birth Abortion” Ban: For

Upholding Roe v. Wade: Against

Ending debate on extremist judges: For

Adequate sex education for Global HIV/AIDS prevention: Against

Extending the right to choose to our servicewomen: Against

Giving a fetus rights in the event of a violent crime: For

Hate crimes legislation: Against

There’s nothing moderate about John McCain. He’s a hard-right conservative who’s cozy with the Religious Right. On 8 out of 9 votes, he voted with the Traditional Values Coalition, a group devoted to exposing “the homosexual agenda” , especially as it pertains to “Brokeback Mountain.” This guy is Pat Robertson and James Dobson’s dream candidate.

Some people actually believe that McCain is some kind of “Moderate Maverick” who takes on his own party and fights for what he believes. Well, anyone who looks closely at McCain’s actual voting record can tell you this is a bunch of hooey. For example, take a look at the Christian Coalition’s 2004 Congressional Scorecard. They grade Senators based on their votes on six issues. McCain voted with the Christian Coalition on five of the six votes.

The reality is, McCain is no more a maverick than Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, or Karl Rove. McCain’s made his choice: he has sided with those who claim that God gave Ariel Sharon a stroke.

McCain’s “fight” with President Bush over the use of torture by the military was a classic case of McCain’s fake maverick personality.  Sure, he pushed for the law.  But what happened at the law’s signing?

The significance of Judge Alito’s view of signing statements is clear in President Bush’s recent signing statement on a bill that contained Senator McCain’s ban on torture. In that statement, the President reserved the right to ignore the McCain requirements, and even asserted that in certain circumstances his actions are beyond the reach of the courts.

A true maverick would have hit the airwaves with at least as much vigor as before.  If he truly believed in the anti-toruture law, he would have protested loudly at Bush’s pronouncement that he did not consider it valid.  McCain’s bill means nothing, the extreme conservatives got just what they wanted, and he comes out of it looking like a swell guy.

We know the truth.