Honesty

We really do have double-standards when it comes to Old Man McCain. The press thinks he is a maverick simply because he deviates from hard right troglodyte conservatism a whopping 17% of the time. They call him a "straight talker" because...well...because he wrote the words "Straight Talk" on his campaign bus.

As a result, McCain is allowed much more leeway than your typical politician. No matter which way he votes, he is still a maverick. Even if he votes with Bush 89% of the time, in his maverick heart he still wishes to break out, to be free, if only Washington would let him. Even when he tells big fat lies about vaccines causing autism, HIV prevention, Sunnis vs. Shiites, or how many lobbyists he has on his campaign -- the press gives him a pass.

And this religious dustup, which was buried by the press almost a year ago, is yet another example.

But imagine for a moment if Obama had behaved like McCain. What if, for years, Obama had claimed to be a member of Trinity United Church of Christ. That his Senate profile labeled him a follower of UCC, and that last month he even mentioned his affiliation to the denomination in interviews. But what if, a month later, when such an association turned out to be damaging to his political aspirations, Obama suddenly declared that he was a Methodist, has been a Methodist for 15 years, and how dare you question his spirituality?

Let's just say the press wouldn't give him a pass on it. And they sure wouldn't call him a Straight Talker as a result.