TW: Will is pretty scathing in his criticism. Will's critique on the merits is standard conservative pushback against McCain's populist tacking. McCain's suggestion to fire SEC chairman Cox is a blatant attempt to distance himself from W. Bush but Cox is a poster child of the conservative wing of the Republican Party so Cox' defenders (e.g. WSJ) have rallied to his defense. I doubt this bothers McCain as it only helps to make his maverick case. The tricky part for McCain is Will and others are now attacking him not merely on the merits of his specific policies but his overall temperment and "fitness to govern".
From Will:
"Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama...Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202583.html
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