Okay, Politics

Could things be going any worse for John McCain? He's dropped to fourth in many states--single digits in some--the immigration bill he champions is tanking (in no small part because he refuses to admit what is written down on paper), and now the piece of legislation most closely tied to him has been gutted by the Supreme Court.

McCain's reaction here.

McCain-Feingold, the most onerous piece of anti-free speech legistlation to become law since the Alien & Sedition Act (which was passed during the first Adams administration), has been struck down. It was hard to wonder what was more prominent about the whole aorry mess: the blatant unconstitutionality of the bill or the cynicism of those who voted for it. In their unguarded moments, Senators, especially, would reveal their true purpose: shutting up their critics and continuing their reign in (to quote Mark Steyn) Incumbistan.

This, too, must be said: President Bush did not exactly drape himself in glory here: first (again) cynically signing it, hoping that the Supreme Court would take him off the hook; then, when it did not, needing a mulligan to place the deciding vote on the bench. With Roberts voting the same--or nearly--as his mentor Rhenquist, Alito's vote reverses O'Connor's.

Next up (one would hope): Kelso.