LEADERSHIP? YOU BE THE JUDGE

From John McCain's website:

Enforcing Fiscal Discipline

As president, John McCain will work to ensure that money spent by Congress, and contributed by hardworking American taxpayers, is used wisely and prudently on legitimate national priorities, not squandered on wasteful pet projects and special interest earmarks.

American families rightly expect the government to wisely manage the dollars they send to Washington. As responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, the federal government must respect the bottom line, just as families do when balancing their own checkbooks.

As president, John McCain will not just talk about fiscal discipline, he will exercise it. The practice of excessive borrowing and deficit spending in Washington must stop. To do otherwise robs the American people of their right to responsible government, and places on future generations of Americans the burden of paying the bill for today's waste and indiscipline. (emphasis mine)

Michelle Malkin posted about the defeat of the bloated stimulus package. For the package to move forward, it needed 60 votes. The final tally was 58-41. Only one democrat voted "no" with the republicans (for "technical" reasons)--Harry Reid. Out of the 100 senators, only one didn't vote--John McCain.

McCain was in Washington in plenty of time for the vote, however, he failed to show. The voting came down in such a way that politics got in his way. Leadership? I think not. Read the Malkin piece for his reasons for not showing.

Now, from what I read at McCain's website--printed above--McCain says he will "not just talk about fiscal discipline, he will exercise it". That all sounds well and good, but you have to be there to vote, to lead by example, otherwise you're just full of crap. After all, spending is one of his core issues. I'm pretty sure McCain's mentioned his leadership skills at least a thousand times. I'm just not seeing it here.

Should be fun to watch how he explains this at CPAC today. That is, if he shows up.

And speaking of CPAC, Ronald Reagan said the following in 1975:

“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers.

I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view. And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way."

Those of you thinking of voting for McCain simply because he's the republican candidate should be required to read the entire Reagan speech, lest you do something stupid.