In some ways you have to admire the political performance skills of someone like a John McCain. On the one hand he recognizes that the Republicans have a problem attracting Hispanic voters, one that will make it difficult if not impossible for Republicans to win the presidency in the not too distant future. And on the other hand he will likely vote with his wingnut conscience against Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as he did in 1999 for the U.S. Appeals Court.
MCCAIN: On the issue of the Hispanic voter, we have to do a lot more. We Republicans have to recruit and elect Hispanics to office. And I don't mean just because they're Hispanics, but they represent a big part of the growing population in America. And we have a lot of work to do there. And I am of the belief that unless we reverse the trend of Hispanic voter registration, we have a very, very deep hole that we've got to come out of.
And no doubt when McCain makes his usual political calculations and votes against Sotomayor for the Supreme Court he will dress up the decision as a matter of high principle, disavowing the "politically expedient route" of voting for Sotomayor simply because she's a woman and a Latina, glossing over her many years of experience or her record. And a certain percentage of Wingnuttia will swallow his malarkey, as they always do, while another part will remain skeptical of this faux moderate. In the end, John McCain will do what's best for John McCain.
