DEAR JOHN

In my column in today's YDN, I ask why so many liberals are getting taken for a ride on the 'Straight Talk Express":

But even if John McCain had never taken dirty money from Keating, even if he weren't touring the country endorsing segregationists for state legislature, even if his committee weren't letting GOP activist extraordinaire Grover Norquist off the hook for colluding with Abramoff, the idea of progressives voting McCain in '08 would be a sick joke. Ethics in politics isn't just about fidelity to the law; it's about the daily choices lawmakers face that affirm or subvert the values we want realized in this country. No amount of personal heroism or integrity could outweigh the political reality that John McCain is on the wrong side of almost every major issue facing the nation. Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum doesn't give out 100 percent ratings just for good looks.

From the LWB archives: John McCain is definitely a Republican; he's also a crafty politician; he's better than Bush on torture; what does he know we don't about Al-Qaeda?