Michael, row your boat ashore. . .

. . .hallelujah!

Mr. Medved preaches the gospel today, putting the lie to several myths that the establishment conservative media persist in foisting upon conservative Republican voters. Notably, Ramesh Ponnuru lauds him for his effort, while chiding him for glossing over a few inconvenient truths.

Ramesh has a very valid point, and it would be dishonest to pretend that John McCain has been pure as the driven snow throughout his career. It's true that McCain has employed some troubling rhetoric in the past in going after his opponents. His opposition to the Bush tax cuts wasn't solely based on a lack of spending curbs. I can distinctly remember him using language about the disproportionate effects with regard to the wealthiest taxpayers as opposed to the middle class. I found it troubling then, and I find it troubling today.

However, as Medved clearly demonstrates in his response to McCain's critics, taken in context with his whole political career, much of the opposition to his candidacy appears to be propped up by a good measure of the kind of bluster that usually accompanies feigned indignation. If McCain's rhetoric is so out of place, what must his critics think of Mitt Romney's attacks on Steve Forbes's flat tax plan as a "tax cut for fat cats"?