The filibuster deal brokered by Republican Senator John McCain is a gift to the Democrats about equal to the US giving the French a security council seat at the UN. McCain's gift however is much less damaging to the country's interests than that one was. The central question remains why? If the Republicans had remained unified the rules would have been changed and the filibustering of appeals court judges would have come to an end. Did that mean that objectionable judges from the extreme wings of either party were going to appointed now or in a Democratic administration? No, because the same thing would happen in the appointment process that happened in the filibuster deal. Centrist elements in both parties would break ranks and vote against the more objectionable, controversial or just plain bad appointments.
The whole controversy played out over to long a period of time and ultimately will result in President Bush getting three of his choices to the bench appointed with little problem and it most certainly will result in John Bolton getting the nod to become U.S. Ambassador to the UN. Minority leader Senator Harry Reid gets a win because he keeps what little power the Democrats have in the senate to bargain over a supreme court nominee.
The collegial fourteen were all smiles and chatty about the win for the senate and the American people but in reality it was probably more about national presidential ambitions than it was about anything else. The senate majority leader Bill Frist took on this mantle of confrontation to win the affection of the more conservative elements of his party. If Frist hopes to win the primaries for the 2008 race then this is a group he must ingratiate himself with. Promising that he had the votes and then having the rug pulled out from under him at the last minute by McCain does not make Frist look like he can count never mind run the country.
This conservative wing of the party is a group McCain has no use for because they don't like or trust him and he can blame them for his failed presidential ambitions in the past. With the road to the nomination likely to be decided by this part of the Republican Party then why would McCain go out of his way to rub their nose in defeat over an issue that had been deemed so important? Was it conscience or a sense of duty to the senate or the protection of minority rights? Some how I doubt it. More likely McCain recognized an opportunity to get mucho national media face time and gain the reputation as the great healer and centrist deal maker. He most likely will be making the rounds on the national media programs this weekend with the mainstream media bigwigs fawning all over him. Maintaining that kind of reputation going forward should not be all that difficult. He has himself firmly planted in the national steroid scandal and certainly a supreme court nominee would again give him an opportunity to infuriate the conservatives. How could this political capital be leveraged in his quest for national office?
For a man with stated presidential ambitions but getting a bit long in the tooth (69 this August) perhaps the second position might not look that bad to him. If he is not likely to get the VP nod in the Republican Party then perhaps the same type of deal that was allegedly offered by John Kerry might now be offered by Hillary Clinton if she were to get the Democratic nomination. McCain offers a variety of things not found in Hillary or the Democrats in general. A solid block of moderate Republican (20% in a Marist poll) support, a resume that could offset Hillary's complete lack of military credentials and a perfect geographic fit. Couple that with an increasing national leadership image and perhaps a national unity ticket of Clinton and McCain is not all that preposterous.
