John McCain and the "Agents of Intolerance"

It was eight years ago -- February 28, 2008, precisely -- when then Presidential candidate John McCain delivered a searing speech before a crowd of Virginia voters critical of some in the Republican establishment, and he named names. Then-candidate McCain faced a governor from Texas and son of a previous President, George W. Bush. The Republican nomination had not been decided and many in the religious right had decided their candidate was Bush.

McCain had been embroiled in public attacks on his voting record, labeled as a closet liberal, or at best a renegade. His politics and voting record were contorted. He didn't fall in line with all of the talking points of the influential Republican stalwarts. He was the target of a determined and powerful machine of rhetoric and cronyism that would eventually land George W. Bush the party's nomination.

In the now-famous "Agents of Intolerance" speech, McCain drew a line in the sand and made a compelling argument for why he should be the candidate of the Republican party. He responded without apology to a smear campaign orchestrated by party supporters who backed Bush and held significant sway. Among these was Pat Robertson.

Robertson had joined a cacophony of religious leaders critical of McCain's choice as campaign chair a man who had warned of the party embracing closed-minded people who hold their personal values at the exclusion of others' liberties. Specifically, he pointed to those who took a stand against abortion, gay marriage, and indecent content in the media.

McCain fired back, pointing fingers and naming names of those who would buy a place at the table for their views and push their values on Americans. He identified Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Bob Jones University in particular. These were the stalwarts of "Family values" and represented a significant group of Republican voters.

McCain's speech further ostracized him as an outsider and out of touch with values voters. However, his speech was an omen of the then-disregarded trend in American politics away from an hyper-partisan race for money and influence and toward consensus of different-minded representatives. McCain called to the forefront the issues that made many Americans lose heart with the Republican party. A party that had been established upon particular principles of liberty and fairness had been identified with a particular block that did not represent a growing number of Americans in general.

Recently the now-favored McCain found it difficult to live up to his own speech. In a media malestorm he found himself seen as pandering to some of these, the newer breed of leaders in the Evangelical right. McCain recanted the support of John Hagee and Rod Parsley, both of whom had made comments associated with their interpretation of Scripture and culture that were construed as offensive and intolerant.

As the candidate of the party he has taken to mending bridges and developing camaraderie. These actions could be seen as laudable leadership or desperate pandering. A maverick finds it difficult to carry the weight of his fight as leader. He has made compromises and taken criticism. John McCain of 2008 is not running as he did in 2000, but he may surprise many in the general campaign if he returns to some of his old values and stands:

• protecting the sanctity of life
• providing for veterans' care
• preserving Social Security and Medicare
• inspiring public involvement in government
• instituting campaign finance reform
• rejecting empire building