BOTTOM LINE-- WOULD A McCAIN PRESIDENCY REALLY JUST BE A THIRD GEORGE BUSH TERM?

You probably saw how cranky McCain gets when anyone suggests the obvious-- that were he to win the presidency, policy-wise it would be a third George W. Bush term. That's why people refer to him as John W. McCain or as John McBush. The lobbyists who are driving the Double Talk Express are often beside themselves denying that McCain has a spectacular record-- across the board-- of rubber stamping the entire Bush agenda. His rare disagreements are strictly made for TV tempests in teacups that usually amount to nothing, like when he made a big brouhaha about how it was disgraceful for America to torture prisoners and break the Geneva Convention... but then backed down when Bush said "Boo," and backed his fearless leader all the way.

Back in 2003-- May 22 to be exact-- McCain was on Fox News talking with GOP propagandist Neil Cavuto and bragging about his relationship with Bush: "The president and I agree on most issues. There was a recent study that showed that I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues." That 90% has grown considerably since then and McCain has voted more frequently with Bush on substantive matters than right-wing fanatics like Jon Kyle (R-AZ), Richard Shelby (R-AL) and John Thune (R-SD).

On June 19, 2005 he was on one of his many visits to Meet The Press where he told Tim Russert that he's different from Bush but also the same as Bush. "No. No. I-- the fact is that I'm different but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I've been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.


UPDATE: McCAIN COMES CLEAN

Watch the Meet The Press video and then decide for yourself whether or not McCain is planning on a third Bush term.