The Rock Upon Which St. John of Arizona Will Build His Church of Bullshit

Roger Cohen kneels at St. John of Arizona's feet this morning, washing them with the vomit coming out of his mouth. Cohen believes that everything McCain does is wonderful. Most of all, he believes McCain has is right on Iraq.

"Nobody’s been right all the time on Iraq, but Senator John McCain has been less wrong than most. He knew a bungled war when he saw one and pressed early for increased force levels. He backed the injection last year of some 30,000 troops, a surge that has produced results."

Will McCain still be right on Iraq when troop levels are lowered and when the Iraqi government collapses? Was McCain right to support this war from the beginning and position himself to the right of George W. Bush throughout? Will McCain be right when he starts new wars if he becomes president? Oh, no doubt he will.

Then Cohen shows how deeply he has drunk of the McCain kool-aid.

"But McCain does not win the wavering as policy wonk; he’s flesh and blood. The straight-talking survivor of more than five years of Vietnamese imprisonment is at home in his own skin in a way Bush will never be. McCain has a temper but no need to be macho to convince. He walks without his arms clenched."

I have come to understand that Cohen needed a few minutes alone in the bathroom after writing this paragraph.

Seriously, I think Cohen was channeling the ultra-partisan prose of 19th century American campaigning here. John McCain, a true hero of the people! Look at this masculine specimen! He is ready to tackle the nation's problems because of his unadulterated masculinity! He'll kick Iran's ass just like he did to that alligator he wrestled yesterday! Watch the women swoon as this straight-talkin' hombre from the Arizona deserts walk through town! It's like Gary Cooper has turned into a politician! And who doesn't want Gary Cooper as our president!

Cohen then goes on to say that he doesn't actually want McCain to be president, despite his fawning. But it's clear that Cohen would be very excited to have McCain be president, as would many older men with father/John Wayne fantasies.

As for Cohen's digression on liberal hypocrisy in Iraq, the arguments are too pointless for comment.