I am an old man, and I know many old men. The "Old Man Syndrome" visits many of us old-timers, it has visited many of my old friends. McCain has got it bad.
Since the time he returned from POW status to a hero's welcome back in his homeland, his life was one in which he was greeted warmly by strangers, and in which his attempts at wit were always appreciated. His POW status enabled him to win office and after he became Senator it was easy to find audiences who would hang on his every word, who would invite him to important social events. He learned to make short wisecracks that suited his persona of a truly tough guy. In short, life was good for McCain.
What is the next logical step for a guy like that? To become the nation's president, of course. It would be the perfect ending for a perfect political career. He would go down in the history books as a war-hero president. What more could an old man want?
Then reality set in. Bush and his fellow nasties worked him over but good. It hurt, and it hurt those around him who hoped to share in his glory. They propped him up, healed his wounds and convinced him, without too much effort, that he could win in 2008. So he took the plunge and nearly was wiped out. But the weakness of the Republican field of candidates gave him a reprieve and he was able to keep going. But when he vanquished the other Republican nutcases the game changed. His opponents began to say things about him that hurt. It was not so much fun anymore and it was not so certain in his mind.
So, like many old men, he began to doubt himself. Was he ever funny? Was he ever wise? Was he ever heroic? He wasn't sure. Then he began to be unsure of what to do next. So he did what lots of old men do, he reached out for a young, attractive female companion who could help him regain his lost world, his lost self-confidence, his lost manhood.
McCain is self-destructing. He can only be "handled." He can no longer act independently. The Repubs know this and they may well be looking for a way to move him to the side.
Even though McCain is giving "old men" a bad name, and I hope that he loses the election, but more than that, I wish his family would make him stop, but they probably won't. Our country has suffered great harm under these guys: Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II, plus all their cronies in Congress and in various administration posts, not to mention Wall Street and all the rest -- so I want them out, permanently. I'll bet the Repub big boys are trying right now to find a way to get a new candidate. (Wouldn't that be fun to see?)