McCain: Veto The Bill I Voted For, Mr. President

This is some kind of flip-flop record:

SCARBOROUGH: Why did these (pork-barrel) items have to be in this critical bill?

MCCAIN: Well that’s just the way the system is working in Washington and the reason why it’s got to be fixed, and it’s got to be changed. And no matter what the stakes are, you’ve got to stop this by starting to veto bills that come across the president’s desk. … It’s insanity and it’s obscenity, because it’s a waste of taxpayers’ dollars and it goes on, and until we stop it, until we get frankly a president who will say, I’m gonna veto these bills, I’m gonna make the people famous that put them on there, uh, famous.

I want to clear up a misconception that these "sweeteners" were somehow picked specifically to appeal to individual legislators in the House. That's not true. This was a tax package that the Senate passed weeks ago. They picked it up and added it, maybe to appeal to a couple tax-cutting Republicans, but really to jam the House and force them to vote for it, after they demurred earlier. For crying out loud, the bill increases taxes on Big Oil. Do you really think they would have constructed it that way to appeal to Republicans? It's the only part of this or ANY bill passed this year, really, that would help reindustrialize America (due to the renewable energy production tax credits), and as a standalone I would have voted for it happily.

But let's get back to the main point. McCain flew to Washington yesterday and voted for the bailout bill. He hasn't been on the Senate floor to vote in six months. So this was obviously very important. And now, he turns right around and says that the President has to show some courage and veto the bill which he just voted to pass.

The disconnect is staggering. It's the same feeling you get when you see McCain's reinvention as a master regulator despite his consistent opposition for 26 years. More than anything, this is why he's losing. People don't trust him.