Feminism & John McCain

Just like statistics, the Internet can be made to say anything as a way to sway debate or undermine a point of view. Nowhere can these powerful tools be put to better use than in a political campaign.

Last week, a story from 1986 was revived about a jest made by John McCain that was in very poor taste. Linda Lowen, About.com's Guide to Women's Issues, wrote about it and used it to question McCain's credentials to run the country.

As a disclaimer, I should mention right away that I personally like Lowen, and consider her one of my favorite writers here at About.com. I admire her work so much that I invited her to write a column for this site's "Guest Commentary" section and was delighted when she accepted the offer.

While I was disappointed by Lowen's latest blogs about McCain, I do understand where she's coming from. There's no excuse for McCain's 1986 joke, or, if true, the comments he allegedly made about Chelsea Clinton's appearance, for which he reportedly apologized. And his voting record regarding women's rights doesn't sit well with many feminists -- for reasons that are obvious to anyone.

A closer look, however, reveals a certain trepidation on McCain's part for simply waving along legislation that has a feel-good name, without inspecting it first. As a veteran lawmaker, who has considerable experience with the way Congress works, McCain has long understood that the devil is often in the details. After all, it would be political suicide for a lawmaker in this day and age to vote against giving equal pay to women and recognizing their equality without a very good reason.

Indeed, a closer look at McCain's voting record on these issues explains some of the reasons he voted the way he did, and reveals a man of character, who is unwilling to pass what he believes to be bad legislation just because it is the politically popular thing to do.

We all make mistakes, and we all have character flaws. Certainly McCain's jest in 1986 can be called a mistake, and perhaps one of his major character flaws is the inability to tell jokes. Be that as it may, it his actions as a person and his thoughtful deliberation as a legislator that qualify him to be president -- not (thankfully) his skills as a comedian.