Chait: John McCain Is No Luke Skywalker

John McCain liked to portray himself as Luke Skywalker in his 2000 presidential campaign, says LA Times columnist Jonathan Chait, but this time around he resembles a different Jedi: the corrupt Darth Vader. McCain claimed he was an anti-special interests crusader, but the last few years he's gone over to the dark side, pandering to conservatives in his grab for the presidency.

"If John McCain circa 2007 was campaigning against John McCain circa 2000," Chait writes, "he would call him a communist." McCain's embrace of conservative causes he once opposed is particularly tragic, Chait argues, because being the candidate of the Republican establishment looks like a losing strategy. "At least Darth Vader attained his position before the Death Star exploded." (More John McCain stories.)