What the Maverick Hath Wrought

John McCain. The man, and in many ways a Legend of Washington. I've often thought that to be this man's biographer would be a job for the ages, transcribing a story of one of the few Statesmen of the 20th century, a simple senator from an obscure state with a legacy comparable to that of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun.

A man who fought for his country, and was shot down by a comrade. He went back in the air, and was shot down by the enemy, only to be a thorn in the side of the management at the Hanoi Hilton for 5 long years, enduring more in a few months then most will endure in a life time.
A man who came back, and with the same stubborn resolve has applied his beliefs to public service in the United States Senate. Tacking his own course to the chagrin of both parties, a failed presidential candidate, a former media darling, a reformer who has been at times misguided, a defender of the defenseless, and a bulwark in the War on Terror throughout the war.

This is John McCain, this is the last man standing tall in the wake of the Republican Primary.
The Maverick Strikes Back.
In a race where Barak Obama has taken the mantle of renegade from Washington, a changer, a rebel from the beltway from John McCain, the tables have once again turned, and in one swift, masterful stroke by McCain and his campaign.

Sarah Palin has been the hinge on the doors of this change.
The only woman in the race.
The only executive in the race.
The only mother in the race.
The only one from Alaska in the race.
The only one who has charged the base of the right, and sent conservatives across the nation into a mind-blowing fit of excitement for a vice presidential nomination.

In a race where McCain was distrusted by his base because of his maverickism from the party in the past, McCain has won them back by being a maverick. It's brilliant, and the road to victory has never looked brighter for the McCain campaign.

Her speech will be telling tonight, but only moderately so. Unless she tacks strongly to center, the base has decided she is the next presidential nominee in a Post-McCain party.
What a party that might be... the changing of the guard, ushered in by a republican smashing all femist preconceptions, and a small town common sense republican who owns a gun and didn't kill her child, and is a maverick in her own right against the establishment.