Getting Seriously Sad: McCain 9.8:'I Never Considered Myself A Maverick'

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http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/mccain-i-never-considered-myself-a-maverick.php
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/04/getting_seriously_sad_mccain_98.php?ref=fpblg

For more than a decade, famed 'Straight Talk Express' rider John McCain has had 'maverick' as his and his supporters' moniker of choice. And friends and foes alike have followed suit to such a degree that it can almost sound like an official title ('maverick Sen. John McCain'). But running in a surprisingly contested Republican primary against a former member of Congress who says McCain is too moderate may be taking its toll.

Sen. McCain (R-AZ) now tells Newsweek that he was never a maverick.(http://www.newsweek.com/id/235883)

"I never considered myself a maverick," McCain said. "I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities."

But there are those who remember the 2008 presidential campaign, when McCain, his running mate Sarah Palin and his entire campaign constantly referred to him as a "maverick."

Just one example: An ad from August 2008 declaring the senator the "original maverick."



from Newsweek
"Maverick" is a mantle McCain no longer claims; in fact, he now denies he ever was one. "I never considered myself a maverick," he told me. "I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities." Yet here was Palin, urging her fans four times in 15 minutes to send McCain the Maverick back to Washington.