MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

“Watching the Sunday morning’s talk shows provided possible answers to some political riddles,”
regular correspondent Alan Edelson writes. He continues:

There was target='new"'>John McCain on Meet the Press,
talking on and on about how proud he had felt supporting George W. Bush in 2004, when we
knew how much he detested Bush for the slimy way he defeated McCain in the South Carolina
primary in 2000. It seemed obvious that some sort of inducement had been offered the proud
senator from Arizona, but what exactly was it and why was it offered?

align=left border=0>McCain admitted that he had his eye on the 2008 presidential race, even
though he would then be 72 and the oldest man ever to be elected to the presidency. But there is
the unfortunate melanoma that recurred on his face a while ago, requiring more surgery. He
pronounced himself completely cured, even though a recurrence of melanoma usually has a poor
prognosis. So said an oncologist I know.

On another of the programs someone mentioned a rumor that the Republican leadership
wanted to run McCain in 2008. And here’s the killer: They plan to put Jeb Bush in second place
on the ticket. (Poor Jeb can’t succeed himself as governor of Florida when his current term
expires.) If McCain manages to complete one term, it’s unlikely he’d run for a second at age 76,
putting Jeb on track to run himself in 2012. And if McCain should die in office … well, the Bush
tears will just flow and flow and flow. Either way, the Bush dynasty would carry on.

On the Democratic side, Senator Joe Biden shyly admitted that he was beginning to explore
making another run for his party’s nomination in 2008. I’d vote for him over Hillary any day. He
has the experience and the smarts to be a fine president. And he doesn’t carry the Clinton baggage
that would likely make Hillary easy to defeat.