Most would agree that Senator McCain has been a generally effective legislator, and he may well have valid explanations for his spotty voting record. The point is that he needs to be pressed to give those explanations. He needs to be accountable for his missteps, rather than assuming he can charm his way around them. We’ve seen what happens when a president considers himself, whether through ego or through the sheer force of his convictions, to be above accountability. But—particularly today, with Romney’s announcement of his campaign’s suspension and McCain’s official assumption to the status of “presumptive nominee”—the political press owes it to voters to question McCain more rigorously. Even mavericks deserve scrutiny.


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