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Not all of us believe that McCain is the "great American hero"; but most will agree that he manages to speak in a decidedly non-politician (not non-political) manner. Sometimes this translates into appearing like a genuine, independent-minded political maverick; other times he just looks like a buffoon - "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" comes to mind all too often. Yet, there is about him which resonates with voters who are tired of the starched, messaged and massaged suits which seem cut from the same country-club, pricey-lunch GOP lobbyist crowd. He comes across as authentic, even when his demeanor is like someone's old uncle who had to put on a suit for a niece's wedding, but otherwise spends his time fixing his boat engine in the backyard. It's that look, feel, taste and smell which has made him far less offensive to the general populace, even when his positions are as reactionary as Trent Lott or the late Strom Thurmond, or as warlike as Gammal Abdul Nasser. Yet, he is now being called upon to pronounce his fealty to the supposed ghosts of Reagan, and proclaim allegiance to the orthodoxy of the "conservative" or radical-right agenda on issues from guns to RU-486, from Iran to Alito, and from Roe v. Wade to the beauty and righteousness of waterboarding. All would be understandable if McCain were standing at the gates of heaven and confessing his sins in anticipation of some post-death redemption. He could then renounce the Satans of bipartisanship and independence of thought and be accepted to the Pantheons of the righteously anointed. But he is doing this at a time when he is being sent out to battle in a fight for the minds and souls of sinners and non-believers. Do these lunatics of the right expect him to carry on this war of thought while standing naked on the battlefield, stripped forever of the one quality - independence - that has kept him in the fight. Harry and Nancy, Hillary and Barak, and the Lord Howard of Dean will be watching every gesture, memorizing every word, and dissecting every phrase that is delivered for CPAC. And then they'll put together the TV ads. The flip-flop on immigration; the inconsistent positions on stem-cells; the backsliding on the environment; tax cuts; waterboarding; etc., etc, ad nauseum. They won't need talking points; they won't need slick campaign demographics; all they need is one debate, one Dukakis moment: "Senator McCain, if your granddaughter were raped by a gang of escaped convicts and became pregnant, would you criminalize and incarcerate the medical professionals who terminated her pregnancy"? And then he'll be just another Bob Dole. Truly, this is no country for old men.