Does anyone else see an eerie parallel between John McCain’s campaign and Frank Capra’s movie, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"?

In the movie, Senator Joseph Paine is forced to choose between power and integrity, truth and lies. Rather than lose the support of the corrupt political machine that keeps him in the Senate, Paine chooses power and lies, participating in a smear campaign against Jefferson Smith, the son of his oldest friend.

That decision forces Paine to behave in a way that’s agonizingly discordant with who he truly is. He doesn’t have what it takes to be ruthless; he isn’t a cruel man by nature, he’s just spent so many years settling for Washington’s reasonable compromises that he no longer sees a difference between right and wrong.

But even when he can no longer see what’s right, he can still feel it. His smear campaign fills Paine with such self-loathing that he tries to commit suicide, fails, and then confesses his guilt on the floor of the Senate.

In the same way, I think John McCain isn’t cruel by nature --  he’s just been horse-trading so long in Washington that he’s lost his own internal compass. That’s why he veers wildly from one position to another, and why former supporters say they don’t know him anymore.

I also think that McCain loathes himself for choosing power and lies over integrity and truth.  Like Senator Paine, he's accepted the help of a corrupt political machine -- the very same advisors who smeared him in the last presidential campaign.  McCain allowed them to talk him into a totally unqualified vice-presidential candidate; he let them talk him into a smear campaign against Obama; and he knows full well those actions were dishonorable.  That's why he's sabotaging himself now, making what he unconsciously knows are huge blunders. 

I predict more self-destructive behavior to come...but I also think we’ll see a day when John McCain, like Senator Paine, returns to his principles.  The damage will have been done by then; his career, reputation, and self-respect will be in tatters -- but before the end credits roll, I think John McCain will retrieve his honor.