Maverick - mav·er·ick /ˈmævərɪk, ˈmævrɪk/ Pronunciation - [mav-er-ik, mav-rik]
noun - A person who lurches from idea to idea with no rational or logical explanation or progression in order to appear to be challenging the status quo.
In 2004, the phrase "flip-flop" was completely ruined for me. Not that I used it that much to begin with, but after the Republicans got through with it, it was mangled beyond on all further use. It should never be uttered again so far as I'm concerned.
This election cycle, it's "maverick" that's been taken to new extremes. The McCain campaign trots it out every few sentences or so. In a bizarre, self-absorbed act, McCain himself calls himself by his nickname in such a way that you get the feeling that he nicknamed himself and then got a trademark on it.
But, to quote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride: Senator, you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
The way the McCain campaign uses the word, you'd think it applied to absolutely any impulsive act, not just ones that go against the common wisdom of the group. No, for Senator McCain, all he has to do is be completely unpredictable to earn the moniker. This past week has been a clear example of that. From Gail Collins' New York Times Op-Ed this morning:
This campaign has been so chock full of excitement, however, that the debate lost some of its normal most-important-moment-in-history sheen. The real tension, after all, had been getting McCain there in the first place. A simple trip to Mississippi turned into a saga featuring many, many rapidly changing story lines:
Cancel the debate!
Maybe cancel the debate!
No debate unless Congress passes a financial rescue bill!
No debate unless Congress has a plan to pass a financial rescue bill.
Oh, what the heck.
After all that, when the wandering debater finally showed up Friday night, he just looked like a smallish, grayish, slightly grumpy guy with a grizzly obsession.
To be fair, it had been a very long week for McCain, what with ruling out the debate, ruling in the debate and returning to a Senate from which he has been AWOL so long that it’s believed his desk is now being used to store janitorial supplies.
And the end result? The McCain campaign spokespeople and surrogates shake their heads and smile and say, "Oh, that John McCain. Such a maverick..."
Please. Let's call that what it was. It was not a maverick move. It was the dangerous flailings of a wounded deer, smashing around, antlers and all, completely unaware of the damage it's doing.
The past week has been a microcosm of the entire campaign and, indeed, the candidates' personas. While Senator McCain rushes headlong, careening from campaign slogan to campaign slogan, from campaign tactic to campaign tactic, Senator Obama is a calm voice of reason, urging patience and thoughtful action.
You have about 40 more days with that word, Senator Maverick, sir. Then it gets retired for good - you ruined it.
I'm just sayin'...