Was this guy ever an actual liberal? I mean, he gets to write for the Washington Post, a very prestigious job----something that all the Villagers would like to have someday and he's supposed to be a liberal. What does that even mean to him? Steve wrote about him earlier today. Anyway, he actually gets honest about the press and their crush on John McCain. He spells it out for you plain as day and if you get all excited about some of the new polls coming out, well I wouldn't just yet. McCain's Media hasn't begun to fire their engines yet. They are now.

Richard Cohen:

In some recent magazine articles, I and certain of my colleagues have been accused of being soft on McCain, forgiving him his flips, his flops and his mostly conservative ideology. I do not plead guilty to this charge, because, over the years, the man's imperfections have not escaped my keen eye. But, for the record...

Cohen then lists all of McCain's flip flops to prove he's actually been awake during the process, but then leaves this very scary "warning sign" on the sign post up ahead.

But here is the difference between McCain and Obama - and Obama had better pay attention. McCain is a known commodity. It's not just that he's been around a long time and staked out positions antithetical to those of his Republican base. It's also - and more important - that we know his bottom line. As his North Vietnamese captors found out, there is only so far he will go, and then his pride or his sense of honor takes over. This - not just his candor and nonstop verbosity on the Straight Talk Express - is what commends him to so many journalists.

Gavin writes: "But guess what? McCain’s flip-flops demonstrate that he has more character than Obama does!"

Aren't the candidates running on a platform of issues and ideas that we then use to decide who we will vote for? Then we can take on the task of (If Obama wins) starting to repair the damage that Bush and the Conservative movement have done to our country. It will take a long time to clean up the wreckage they have created and John McCain has been a big part of the problem. Not Richard. He's all into personalities instead of principles. This is what they want. A clash between Titans. The war hero maverick against the elite country club fruitcake drinking a martini and smoking a cigarette. Get used to it people. It's all they could ask for

And if you need any more evidence of Richard's wankery---here's a reminder of Cohen-2000. What liberal would ever write something like this? via Digby:

For instance, the liberal Richard Cohen, who saw where the wind was blowing back in November 2000 and wrote:

Given the present bitterness, given the angry irresponsible charges being hurled by both camps, the nation will be in dire need of a conciliator, a likable guy who will make things better and not worse. That man is not Al Gore. That man is George W. Bush."

Please email Cohen and tell him to write about principles---not---personalities. Our country is at stake.

cohenr@washpost.com