In recent Republican debates, McCain designated the pharmaceutical companies as "the bad guys"... even though their research has saved millions of lives. He also said that he didn't go into Vietnam for profits. The profit motive underlies prosperity. Why would he gratuitously denigrate it? This denotes either a shallow understanding of economics, or sheer demagoguery.

 

McCain's populism on economic issues matches that of the leading Democrats. In this context, what is truly unbelievable is for some people to claim that he is the heir to the Reagan legacy. His strong stance on defense and his heroic personal history, while admirable, are not sufficient.

 

Let's take a closer look at McCain's major political "achievements".
- His campaign finance reforms, while probably well-intentioned, in practice ensured that only the rich and the incumbents can run for public office.
- His immigration reform, while probably well-intentioned, was fraught with perverse incentives, rewarded breaking the law, and did nothing to credibly address future inflows of illegal immigrants.
- He led the charge against "torture", or in this case advanced interrogation techniques intended to get some vital information out of terrorists. Apparently not mistreating terrorists always trumps saving thousands of innocent lives.