Don't mind John McCain

I know that a lot Republicans were upset when Sen. John McCain defended Kerry's record on defense and criticized the those who used "negativism" to go after Kerry.

(Actually, he criticized both sides but he was obviously reacting to the attacks against his friend John Kerry.)

I know that many republicans want to lash out at McCain for being disloyal to the party and his president, but going after McCain is not only counterproductive -- it will make things worse for Bush and the Republicans.

Don't know if some here agree with me or not, but I do sense that "mainstream media" is active in it's efforts to strengthen the Democrats by helping the DNC recruit McCain to be Kerry's veep. They want to drive a wedge between Bush and McCain to help Kerry.

They're doing this because deep inside, they know that Kerry doesn't have a chance against Bush come November and they need someone STRONG to back Kerry up.

It's interesting that whenever a Republican ad score damaging hits against Kerry's weak record on defense, the "mainstream media" immediately tries to get mccain's reaction on the GOP's "smear attack".

They do this because they expect McCain to come to Kerry's defense. And I'm not surprised by it because McCain and Kerry are friends and both are former vietnam veterans.

And I won't be surprised either if another Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel, comes to Kerry's defense ala McCain because he too is a friend and a veteran.

So what to do with John McCain if you're a Republican?

Well, lashing out against him won't work. This guy has a history of going against his party's stand on some issues and is not afraid of any criticisms from fellow republicans. Attacking him will only backfire and might drive him towards Kerry's open arms.

Sending Karl Rove or Ed Gillespie to talk him out of defending Kerry won't work either. McCain's a maverick and an independent and will not like being told what and what not to do and who and who not to see. He'll only get insulted and cause more mischief for Bush.

Best way to deal with him is to leave McCain alone (to do his own thing). Don't get too worried with what he may or may not do. Unless he says something that is really unreasonable or outrageous (which he hasn't so far), then it's best to respond to mccain's comment by respectfully disagreeing with him.

It used to drive Democrats nuts when Sen. Zell Miller would say something negative against his own party. Remember the "Heads must roll" comment after the discovery of the Rockefeller memo urging democrats to politicize the Intelligence probe? But they didn't react harshly to Sen. Miller, did they?

Now, it's our turn to get the same treatment from Sen. McCain. But it's okay, as long as his comments doesn't go out of bounds.

And i really wouldn't worry at this point whether McCain will jump ship to become Kerry's VP or not. Republicans should by now be prepared for that possibility. If he really wants to be a democrat to avenge his defeat in the primaries last 2000, there's nothing any republican can do or offer to McCain to change his mind.

UPDATE: It's interesting to note that while McCain claimed Kerry is not weak on defense, he gave no proof of his assertions. He was given a chance to defend Kerry's voting record but McCain avoided it completely.

Smart guy... cuz nobody is dumb enough to defend the indefensible.