Who is John McCain?

We've been hearing a lot of questions in the last few weeks about who Barack Obama is. Suggestions or inferences have surfaced that he may be different from the rest of us - less American, less Christian, less patriotic etc. My question during that period has not been about Barack Obama, but about John McCain.

Along with much of the "main-stream media" I have wondered what happened to the John McCain I thought I knew. I remember the candidate in 2000 who was pilloried in South Carolina by the Bush team. I think of the John McCain who stuck to his guns in advocating for immigrant populations despite the anger of crowds. I remember the John McCain who succumbed to popular sentiment about flying the confederate flag in South Carolina, but then regretted his decision publicly saying he shouldn't have done that. I remember not a perfect man, but a man of conviction and integrity.

I have heard Joe Scarborough on "Morning Joe" say a number of times that John McCain has not changed. He's always been a politician. He has always spoken like any politician, tailoring his message to the crowd in front of him. No doubt there is truth to that perspective. Yet, while it is impossible for politicians to be something other than politicians, it is also true that there are some who rise above what is expected of them. Perhaps that is what has made John McCain a real maverick in the past.

The McCain campaign in the last several weeks has gone over the top. Senator McCain has amazingly, hired many of the same team that attacked him in South Carolina. They have flooded the airways with hateful advertisements. His campaign has apparently told him that these tactics are necessary if he has any chance to win. The rallies have been the worst. Rally attendees have shouted out their feelings about Senator Obama saying everything from him being a terrorist to the need to get him or kill him.

Yesterday, we may have finally seen the old John McCain emerge. Listening to one of his supporters say that Barack Obama was an Arab he apparently couldn't take it anymore. He retrieved the microphone and said that was not true and that Obama was a decent family man, and he expected his followers to be respectful. Clearly, he has been uncomfortable with his own campaign, and finally responded like a true statesman.

What happens now? We don't know, but hopefully it will mean a genuine toning down of the over the top rhetoric at these rallies. These rallies have become not only hateful but even dangerous. It should also impact the McCain adds being run. Nothing of course can be done about the adds run by other organizations, and no doubt there will be a lot of ugly stuff going on until election day. But during the primaries McCain castigated the Republican party for attacking Obama on Jeremiah Wright. He needs to return to this more high-minded approach to his campaign, and tell his advisors to buzz-off. He especially needs to do this, because I believe this is who he truly is.

What we learned when Senator McCain retrieved that microphone is that some things are more important than winning. Tarnishing one's legacy in the midst of a final campaign does not seem to be worth the prize being sought. Senator McCain may not win this election, but if he is true to himself and runs the kind of campaign he can feel comfortable with, he can walk off the stage with his pride, dignity and integrity in place. He can hold his head high. Bravo, John McCain.