(Not only does this help us understand cynicism, but it also makes me worry even more about John McCain. Does this guy realize how stuff like the below makes him look?):
Which gets me to the purpose of a primary.
After going at it hammer and tong, candidates would just as soon erase what was said and focus on the general election.
Implied is that, ya know, it was all sort of a show and we didn't really mean it.
Such is what John McCain would have us think about his nasty race against Mitt Romney of just a few weeks ago.
But just as when the stray blow does connect in the wrestling ring, there were some real shots taken in that race that can't easily be dismissed.
This is what McCain said on January 28th, the day before the decisive Florida primary: "The truth is, Mitt Romney was a liberal governor of Massachusetts..."
Nearly two months to the day, McCain said this yesterday while traveling with said liberal governor: "He came to a very liberal state [Massachusetts] and campaigned as a conservative and governed as a conservative."
So, which is it?
If it's the latter, should we just discount whatever is said in a primary as not meaning anything?
Now you know why reporters always like to extract a grudging pledge during the nomination battles that, whatever happens, a given candidate will ultimately endorse the the nominee.
