Thoughts from Kansas

We knew that the Discovery Institute was wrong about evolution. They recently set out to prove to the world how wrong they are about global warming, having also shown how poorly they grasp the difference between weather and climate, how little they understand about tsarist Russia, about Social Security and foreign affairs, advanced medical directives, fiscal policy, and indeed about human genetics. Now Bruce Chapman, former Director of the Census for Ronald Reagan and head DJ of the Disco. 'Tute, shows how little he knows about current events:

Sen. John McCain could have been Barack Obama's most effective buddy in the Senate if the new president had bothered to solicit his involvement … McCain is a patriot who would have responded to a president asking to meet him half-way.

Yes, if only he met with McCain 4 days after besting him in the election, seeking areas of cooperation. And I'm sure it would make sense for Obama and McCain to meet halfway between them, since Obama won merely by getting more votes than any previous Presidential candidate. Clearly that means that the public liked McCain's ideas on health insurance as much as they liked Obama's.

Chapman also shows that he doesn't watch TV, insisting that:

The media seem uninterested in McCain's views these days, but…

Sadly, No!:

For those keeping score at home, as of [last SUnday], there will have been 50 Sundays since President Obama's inauguration. This [guest appearance on Fox News Sunday] will be John McCain's 17th appearance on a Sunday morning talk show since then, giving him an average of one appearance every 2.9 weeks in 2009. No other official in the country has been sought out this often.

Since the president took office, McCain has been on "Meet the Press" three times (December 6, July 12, and March 29), "This Week" three times (September 27, August 23, and May 10), CNN's "State of the Union" three times (October 11, August 2, and February 15), and "Face the Nation" four times (October 25, August 30, April 26, and February 8). His appearance on "Fox News Sunday" tomorrow will be his fourth (December 20, July 2, March 8, and January 25),

And who, exactly, is John McCain? He's the one who lost last year's presidential race badly, and is now just another conservative senator in the minority. He's not in the party leadership; he has no role in any important negotiations on any issue; and he's offered no significant pieces of legislation. By all appearances, McCain isn't even especially influential among his own GOP colleagues.

And as for healthcare itself, McCain was slow even to offer a campaign plan on healthcare. It's a subject he doesn't find interesting, as evidenced by his odd choice in health care advisors and his affection for health insurance lobbyists, not to mention the inane and frankly dangerous content of the plan he ultimately released.

I don't doubt that Bruce Chapman voted for McCain, but elections have consequences, and McCain will only be relevant again by accepting that he lost, and by working to further the agenda chosen by the American people in 2008, or by informing himself on the issues and offering an alternative which actually changes people's minds (a talent he notably lacked in 2008).