As I am an Arizona resident, John McCain is my Senator.  When I call his office in Phoenix to express my disappointment in McCain's latest vote (against the Bush tax cuts; against drilling in ANWR; against the repeal of the estate tax, etc.), I find that his staffers are often embarrassed to confirm that he indeed voted the way he did. 

But when I make the same call to his D.C. office, the staffers there are actually belligerent in their defense of these wayward votes by the 'maverick' Republican.  The Beltway indeed represents a different constituency for our elected officials.  In McCain's case, he was sent to Washington to represent this mostly conservative western—bred State, but he is mainly representing himself and his own ambitions.

Senator McCain reminds me of the Deep Space Nine Star Trek character who could morph into whatever his surroundings included; whether it be part of a wall, the floor, or a glass of water.  The purpose was to fool those in the scene into believing they were seeing something familiar and comfortable.  So, if Senator McCain is at the Republican National Convention, he rails against Bush—hater Michael Moore.  On the other hand, if the Senator is on the lowly—rated Chris Matthews show on MSNBC (and he's on the show constantly), he morphs into a liberal.  This is not 'Maverick,' this is 'Spineless.'

So which McCain will show up on the question of finally ending the Democrat obstruction of President Bush's judicial nominees?  Let's just say the folks in the Phoenix are getting ready to squirm again.

J. James Estrada