The McCain Mutiny

We can argue about John McCain's motivation for bailing on his campaign and trying to wriggle out of the debate. But no matter what his reasons, there's an implication he's making: neither the debate nor his attempts to elucidate his philosophy are important. They can easily be put aside so that he can take part in a discussion with his fellow congressmen.

If McCain doesn't have the energy to add a debate to his duties as a campaigning senator what sort of energy is he going to have when that phone rings at 2am? (Yeah--Sometimes they call an hour early.)

McCain apparently believes that debating the opposition and clarifying his position is only worth doing to get votes. He doesn't get it. The debate and the campaign are how we keep him accountable. He owes it to the voters to give them the information that this representative government requires as part of its process.

If McCain believes that a debate is only a distraction then I'm not sure his view of democracy is the same as mine.