John McCain: Suddenly just an old, bitter man?

It seems clear now that no one lost more in the 2008 campaign than John McCain. He lost not only the election; he also lost the distinctive qualities — including his sense of humor — that made him, well, made him John McCain.

Many of the Democrats who lost in the primaries landed on their feet and then some — Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, for example. As for the other party, Mitt Romney has a best-selling book, a regular perch on political talk shows and a shot at the Republican nomination. Mike Huckabee has his own TV show and an enthusiastic following. Sarah Palin is making $100,000 a speech, $12 million last year. She has her own TV show, and she is, whatever one thinks of her, a force both political and commercial. She has become a brand, a household name — Sarah!

McCain, in contrast, went from being a hero, a cowboy (in the good sense of the word), a loner, a maverick who voted his convictions, not his party’s line, to a geezer more ridiculed than revered, a politician who toes the party talking points — falling in line against the healthcare bill and the stimulus. Last month, McCain was reduced to asking Palin to campaign for him in Tucson. He needed her to help him survive the Republican primary against the more right-wing J.D. Hayworth — a younger, more vigorous former congressman/sportscaster/radio talk show host.

When Democratic congressman Barney Frank appeared last week on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” guest and host played a game of word association:

Leno: Sarah Palin

Frank: Quitter

Leno: Mitt Romney.

Frank: Flip-flopper …

Leno: John McCain

Frank: Old.

Frank is 70; McCain 73. And while Frank is fat and routinely ill-groomed and -dressed, he does look younger than McCain, who suffered five and a half years as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton. McCain actually looks pretty good for a man who, during a bombing mission, was forced to eject from his plane, breaking both his arms and his leg, the injuries untreated and exacerbated by regular beatings and torture. The scars on his face result from bouts with melanoma. (He often jokes that he has “more scars than Frankenstein.”)

If anyone but Chris Matthews pointed out that McCain should be given a pass on his appearance, I missed it. (Matthews played the “Tonight Show” clip on “Hardball” and he correctly called the McCain association a “cheap shot.”)

How fickle, how quickly people forget what made John McCain an American hero. And it’s not just those who are disappointed with McCain for tossing aside his ideals in a last-gasp grasp for the White House; not just the lefties who were never charmed by McCain or the Vietnam War in which he fought.

Public life does that. Take Barack Obama. Before healthcare passed, he went, within months, from being the best president since Lincoln and FDR to being a failed one-termer. My guess is that Obama will soon once again be walking on water.  

John McCain’s predicament is tougher. He might want to heed Harry Truman’s advice: “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”