McCain Shoots From the Hip and Hits His Foot

He likes to call himself a "straight talker."

It's a quality most Americans admire.

It's not the first quality that would pop into someone's mind when the word "politician" comes up in conversation.

So John McCain, out of nowhere, makes a speech last week wherein he promises that if he is elected president, he will regularly (weekly?) submit himself to questioning by members of Congress, in the manner of the British Prime Minister.

Sounds nice, especially after the Bush regime's notorious tight-lipped approach to Congress and the media. But do dangers lurk underneath this seemingly innocuous proposal of openness?

No president in the history of the nation thought it prudent to voluntarily submit himself to public questioning by another--separate but equal--branch of the federal government. In fact, presidents of both parties have sought to maintain, within the boundaries set by the Constitution, the independence of the Executive Branch from the other two branches of government.

Now here comes someone who has not even officially secured the nomination of his party blurting out proposals whose possible effects on the Constitutional System under which the country has thrived have clearly not been thought through.

Readers can fill in the blanks for themselves as to how this off-the-cuff blurt by Sen. McCain could change the character of the Office of the President.

My point is that this type of shooting-from-the-hip that McCain evinced by making such a radical proposal may be indicative of his approach to policy making specifically, and life, in general.

If it is, it's a scary thought.