McCain has ESP (Or was he being a partisan hack?)

Sen. John McCain’s extrasensory perception first revealed itself (at least to me) during the 1991 Senate hearings on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. When Anita Hill came forward to say that she had been sexually harassed by Thomas, McCain (and other apparently clairvoyant senators) determined that Hill’s accusations had no merit even before she testified under oath.

Or were they just being partisan hacks?

Either way, they didn’t wait around to listen carefully to what Hill had to say and then measure it carefully against what Thomas had to say. This is sort of what you’d expect the people you elect to do. You might even refer to it as their constitutional duty.

Instead, McCain brushed off Hill’s accusation as a ”last-minute attempt to derail the nomination.”

That was a long time ago, however, and McCain’s second sight hasn’t been much in evidence until … this week.

And, again, it involves potential Supreme Court justices.

This time around, McCain very specifically wants you to elect him so that he can NOT do his job.

According to the Constitution, the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint [Justices] to the Supreme Court.” Not for McCain, apparently.

The senator went on a radio program in Philadelphia and said, “I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up.”

What McCain was admitting to — what he promised — is a dereliction of his constitutional duty. The Constitution demands “advice and consent.”

McCain’s sixth sense somehow didn’t pick up on the criticism he’d receive for having said such a thing.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is hoping to unseat McCain, called his comment a “stunning admission of just how far above his country John McCain now places his party.” Others joined in the condemnation. Following some of the negative reaction, a member of McCain’s staff — acting on psychic intuition or political panic — “clarified” the senator’s position, saying:

“Senator McCain believes you can only judge people by their record, and Hillary Clinton has a clear record of supporting liberal judicial nominees. That being said, Senator McCain will, of course, thoroughly examine the record of any Supreme Court nominee put before the Senate and vote for or against that individual based on their qualifications as he has done throughout his career.”

Sort of as he evaluates Clinton herself?

She is, after all, the person McCain once referred to — on the floor of the U.S. Senate — as “an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”