How Mr Straight Talk was born

Writing for Rolling Stone, Tim Dickinson has a long article which debunks the myths of the McCain maverickness. Dickinson draws a number of comparisons between McCain and Bush noting one difference - Bush was a better pilot. A must read.

The Keating affair also taught McCain a vital lesson about handling the media. When the scandal first broke, he went ballistic on reporters who questioned his wife's financial ties to Keating — calling them "liars" and "idiots." Predictably, the press coverage was merciless. So McCain dialed back the anger and turned up the charm. "I talked to the press constantly, ad infinitum, until their appetite for information from me was completely satisfied," he later wrote. "It is a public relations strategy that I have followed to this day." Mr. Straight Talk was born.