In 2000 John McCain distinguished himself with a policy he dubbed the "straight talk express." (Interestingly, the site is now vacant; check out that link!) It meant maverick, outspoken, truth-telling candidate — saying what he believes, regardless of partisan ideology — and, as observers predicted then, would prevent him from ever becoming a serious presidential candidate. This even had him dubbed "Senator Hothead" by his colleagues. Then McCain spent the next eight years coddling up to George W. Bush and the Republican right, posing with the President in the Rose Garden, 
trying to forget about McCain-Feingold and campaign finance reform, and pontificating that the U.S. will need to — worse, should — stay in Iraq for "100 years."
This is what’s wrong with American politics today. No accountability, no principles, no consistency. And don’t tell me that Hillary, with her pro-war votes, or Obama, with his Muslim and Farrakhan ties, are any better. Vacuous is an overstatement for these shameless panderers.