John McCain Votes Against Disclose; Defends Huma Abedin Senator John McCain started out as a conservative, but highly principled lawmaker who bucked his party's establishment and earned a reputation as a maverick. In 2008, he underwent a complete principles makeover, ran to the right, selected Sarah Palin as his running mate and used the word "maverick" so much that it became a caricature. Now, he's all over the map. Will the real John McCain please stand up? Is he the maverick or the "maverick"? On Monday, Mr. McCain joined every other Republican Senator in voting against a bill that would have required the shadowy organizations that pour money into political campaigns to disclose their donors. This was strange, because Mr. McCain was co-author of the campaign finance reform law that was gutted by the Supreme Court in the Citizens United case. Mr. McCain had no coherent explanation for Monday's vote. He said he didn't vote for the DISCLOSE Act because it wasn't bipartisan, a problem he could easily have fixed by crossing the aisle. Then on Tuesday, Mr. McCain got himself into trouble with a little straight talk about Mitt Romney. He told Politico it was "stupid" to ask why he chose Sarah Palin over Mr. Romney, or, say, Tim Pawlenty, for his running mate in 2008. He said, "We thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate." Hang on. Isn't Mr. McCain supposed to be promoting Mr. Romney for PRESIDENT, not suggesting that he was less fit than the feckless Alaska governor to be VICE president? Within hours, the straight-talking Mr. McCain was reeled back in by the not-so-straight-talking Mr. McCain. He said in press release that "some in the media" were taking his comments "out of context." "I have the highest respect for Governor Romney and his record of public service, and he will make an outstanding president," he said. Finally, today, on the floor of the Senate, he excoriated Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Tea Partier, for her McCarthy-esque claims that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the government. He singled out attacks on a senior aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin. To say that the accusations "are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it," he said. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma Abedin, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant. I'd like to think that was the real John McCain standing up.