Temper, Temper: Immigration Outburst Shows Pressure Getting to McCain

Apparently the stress of reviving his crumbling presidential campaign during politically sensitive talks on immigration reform was too much for John McCain. According to media reports, McCain launched an expletive-laden tirade at fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn last week when the Texas senator criticized McCain for his diminished role in this year’s immigration negotiations. During talks last week, Cornyn reportedly criticized McCain, saying, "I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line." McCain responded by accusing Cornyn of “making a ‘chickens—t’ argument to try to sink the delicate immigration package” and shouting, “[Expletive] you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room." [Washingtonpost.com, 5/18/07; Roll Call, 5/21/07]

McCain’s angry outburst highlights the pressure he’s been under. A principal architect of last year’s McCain-Kennedy immigration bill, McCain has backed away from the bill and played a far smaller role in the issue this year in the face of heavy criticism from conservative activists on the campaign trail. Not only did McCain switch his views on his own bill, but he hasn’t even been able to make up his mind about what role he played in this year’s talks. After boasting during the last Republican presidential candidate debate that he has been “heavily engaged in all of the negotiations and in phone calls and conference calls and various meetings,” McCain later changed his tune, telling reporters he played only “a small part” in the talks. [The Hill, 5/18/07]

“Apparently, John McCain’s do-anything-to-win campaign strategy doesn’t include anger management classes,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. “McCain can lash out at his critics, but his temper tantrums are just the latest reminder that John McCain simply isn’t offering the kind of leadership that the American people want in their next president. The fact is, John McCain’s campaign is stuck in a downward spiral because the voters can see through his misleading rhetoric on Iraq and his shifting views on everything from immigration to campaign finance reform.”