Kerry-McCain 2004?

This is one getting more and more play in the last couple of weeks - more and more play in my thoughts, too. But there are so many complexities, too many points good and bad... and I'm afraid the end result of such a play would ultimately be less than stellar.

First and foremost, the idea of an atypical alliance such as Kerry and McCain would represent is appealing on a number of different levels.

Of course, I'm not somebody who sees the immediate world around me as "GOP vs. Democrat", although it's seemed more like that for years. All Republican's aren't bad to me, nor are all Democrats good. As humans - like the rest of us - they have miserable failings mixed with a few great goods (at best).

But beyond that take - that you don't have to just see the whole of America in just two flavors - is the appeal of two men who know what war means (as opposed to Bush who once watched it in a movie and thought, "cool!") being in charge. Those who've seen war - and not totally lost their souls - are probably a little less sanguine about sending lives off to combat without distinct planning and consideration.

And McCain to some degree (not entirely) fits the bill of the Republican of maybe 30 years ago, the more sane one who wasn't totally devoted to screwing everyone else so they could have it better themselves. You know, the Republicans who could see that Nixon had made a deal with the devil and lost as opposed to the Republicans who thought that Nixon's only crime was that he got caught.

Also, as liberal and progressive as I tend to me (I believe), I suspect the road to this country's salvation from the misery inflicted upon in from the Bush Administration (and the right wing lynching of Bill Clinton - who had far more serious faults than getting a blowjob, thank you very much - that distracted everyone while the plan for 9/11 was being made) is an approach that's probably far more centrist. Kerry isn't a left winger. Nor was Howard Dean. Of course, in George Bush's Republican Party, John McCain is considered dangerously left wing, while McCain himself runs on the staunchly conservative side of centrist. This is a long winded way of saying that Kerry and McCain aren't an unnaturally bad match.

So yeah, McCain could bring some votes (though probably not as many as some might conjecture), some states, and some real saber rattling and "suddenly extreme orange alerts everywhere" manuevers out of Karl Rove and his puppet, George. Swing voters might go for that ticket because they think that McCain will be a balancing weight for Kerry or vice versa.

However, let me point out that McCain's maverick status runs hot and cold. One minute, he's taking a brave stand out and away from the Frist/DeLay/Hastert/Rove/Chambliss/Pat Roberts bullshit on a point that truly matters. And the next, he seems to be kissing George's well-preserved-from-no-labor-ever cushy little tushie. Then there are times when the stands he takes seem patently like he's taking a stand just to take a stand and get airplay.

If John McCain turned around and bit the Democrats' ass on a valid point, fine. I don't like malfeasance and smarminess any better when a Democrat does it. But what about those times when McCain just bites the GOP ass now for his own grandeur? Think he won't do that with Kerry and Company?

Thus, while I admit I'm still having problems getting warm and toasty about the prospect of President Kerry, my concerns are not aided by the possibility of a VP McCain. I think there are better Democratic or Independent choices. If we can't take Bush out in Election 2004 with all the crap he's committed on the entire world, maybe America deserves what it gets with another 4 years of Bush just like we deserve rotten TV programming like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor."