It looks like some Democratic columnists and officials are testing the waters to see if it's reasonable to co-opt Sen. John McCain for the 2004 Presidential race. It seems none of the front-running Dems have the muscle to deal with the President, even war hero Sen. Kerry. It seems like desperation on some Dems part, until you look at how carefully some of the mainstream media are trying to discredit the idea. Joshua Micah Marshall points this out on his website talkingpointsmemo.com.
Here's the Gist of the whole thing: McCain actually wants to be President (I think he might be pretty good at it), and that won't happen as a a Republican or Independent, which means there's only one place to go. It really isn't as strange as it sounds: campaign reform, oil policy, corporate dominance of politics, etc... and he's enough of a Hawk to keep the military happy, but after a bunch of time in the Hanoi Hilton, he won't be sending Americans in harm's way without an excellent reason, defined goals, and a way out.
Meanwhile the mainstream media are pulling out voting records and speeches that are 7 or more years old, trying to say he just won't fit with the Democrats. Maybe not, but we should look at what he does now, instead of what he did then. After all, who among us is the exact same person they were 7 years ago?