'I'll still be an asshole...er, maverick.'

John McCain gave his concession speech last night in Arizona. It was noble, humble, and sincerely congratulatory. It reminded me of a John McCain that I remember from years ago.

John McCain was a man whose integrity I once admired, but not anymore. After watching him repeatedly sling mud, including implying that his opponent was a socialist, I find it difficult to muster even an iota of respect for him. The one moment I held out hope that I would still be able to respect McCain was when he seized the reins on his runaway fearmongering. When he corrected audience members and told them, “you have nothing to fear from an Obama presidency,” and took the microphone from an old lady claiming Obama was a Muslim and corrected her, I thought I could respect him again.

The next day it was right back to scare tactics.

McCain’s ideals are outdated, and his party loyalty is far too strong. While it looked like he was genuinely uncomfortable at times smearing his opponent during the campaign, he did almost nothing to stop it. While he played up Obama’s win at his concession, he did not apologize for his campaign at all, though a presidential rally in a concession speech is probably not the best place for that.

So, congratulations, McCain. You’ve managed to make yourself not look like a complete asshole. Now I just have to listen to people call the leader of this country a socialist who hangs out with terrorists for the next four years. Thanks a lot.