1115.org

On July 31, John McCain’s military chest was swelling with pride at the campaign he has run:

Campaigns are tough, but I’m proud of the campaign we have run, I’m proud of the issues we have tried to address with the American people … All I can say is we are proud of that commercial.

(That would be the Obama-Paris-Hilton-Britney-Spears ad.)

According to David Broder, on August 2 he asked McCain “How do you feel about the tone and direction of the campaign so far?” and drew this response:

“I’m very sorry about it,” McCain said in a Saturday interview at his Arlington headquarters. “I think we could have avoided at least some of this if we had agreed to do the town hall meetings” together…

Somewhere in the dim recesses of what used to be McCain’s mind there may or may not be some kind of connection between Obama declining the joint-town-hall-meetings offer and McCain’s relentlessly dishonest and negative campaigning. (Most reasonable people gave up looking for any sense in what McCain says or does a long time ago.)

But what is clear and incontrovertible is how McCain is alternately proud of and very sorry for the tone of the campaign.

So on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he’s John McCain and he approves his messages? And on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, he’s John “Two-Face” McCain, and he’s very sorry for his messages?

(Maybe I owe Mike Barnicle an apology? Maybe the Obama-Paris-Hilton-Britney-Spears ad did indeed offend McCain’s sense of honor on certain days?)