Myth of McCain multilateralism

There is a persistent myth that Senator McCain is a credible voice on international affairs. As I've written before, the Senator does seem to have a grasp of *military* affairs, but that doesn't extend to any kind of foreign policy expertise, and his latest claims of multilateralism fall flat when compared to his actual policies and previous statements.

My colleagues Ilan Goldenberg and Max Bergmann of the National Security Network do the important work of going through McCain's speeches and statements and debunking the idea that he will offer anything different from the current (and disastrous) Bush administration approach to global affairs. Ilan and Max put it perfectly:

Only a press corps so enamored with McCain could imagine that one of the staunchest supporters of the Iraq War would be capable of breaking with the current administration's unilateral adventurism. Despite his conciliatory rhetoric, McCain's hawkish views, and his long history of castigating allies who do not agree with him, leave little reason to believe that when it comes to restoring America's image, credibility, and alliances, he would be much different than George W. Bush. A brief look at these four crucial policy areas explains why.

This is a meme that needs to be corrected in its infancy, and the piece does a great job of patiently going through the reality of McCain's views. The whole thing is well worth a read.