A Soft Spot For A Hard Charger

Not surprisingly, the same bipartisanship and unpredictability that irritate his Senate colleagues delight reporters, especially since they haven't yet seen the temper that supposedly accompanies it. "What we all like about McCain is that he might actually govern on principle, and what a strange sight that would be," says Bruce Morton of CNN. Even if he loses, McCain could have an important impact on the Republicans. It's been 75 years since the GOP boasted any major figure who described himself as a reformer.

That reformist impulse, however atrophied from the original muckrakers of a century ago, also animates many journalists, thus further explaining their affinity for McCain. Liberal reporters may disagree with him on abortion, guns and opposition to the test-ban treaty (stands that he softens when talking to them). They know that his voting record would probably appall them if they looked too closely. But they are increasingly comfortable with his hawkish foreign policy and almost unanimously supportive of his core issue, campaign-finance reform.

McCain is learning to make that case in more human terms as a "gateway" to solving other problems. "How do you reform the Pentagon when lobbyists are insisting on C-130s [transports] that the military doesn't want?" he asked in New Hampshire last week. "How do you reform the tax code when special interests keep getting personal favors?" The answer is, you probably don't. There's a quixotic quality to the McCain campaign that reporters adore.

These swoons are proof that idealism and journalism aren't total strangers; that's nice to know. But if McCain starts to win, the romance is bound to end badly for both sides. Reporters are lousy lovers--easily disillusioned and inevitably treacherous. Candidates routinely use journalists when they need a boost, then dump them down the road. Even accounting for sincere mutual regard, each would do well to share some updated Renaissance advice: put not your faith in princes--or pundits.

© 1999