Selfless act by Woods could hurt his chances

Bad news, Arizona.

It’s beginning to look like former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, the late Sen. John McCain’s longtime friend and former chief of staff, actually means it when he says we all should put country over party. Why else would he be sabotaging his best chance of becoming a U.S. senator?

Woods is out there in public saying that Gov. Doug Ducey should not appoint Rep. Martha McSally to McCain’s seat if and when placeholder Sen. Jon Kyl decides to step down.

Woods tweeted: Let’s hope Ducey puts Arizona’s interests first and not the backroom deals we’re hearing about. McSally lost. Arizona voters rejected her negative dishonest campaign. It’s a big state. Pick somebody else. @kyrstensinema #CountryFirst

If Woods knew anything about politics (and he knows a lot), and if he really wanted to run for the U.S. Senate in 2020 (and he’s certainly considering it), you’d expect him to be begging the governor to appoint McSally.

After all, she’s already lost the Senate race once, owing in large part to having transformed herself into a backslapping toady of President Donald Trump.

How could she be anything different if she were sent to the Senate by Ducey, particularly since she again would need to kneel before the altar of the president and ask for his blessing in 2020?

An ambitious guy like Woods should be overjoyed to have Ducey appoint McSally.

Sure, the state would have to suffer through a couple of years with Sen. McSycophant, but it would be a gift to anyone looking to run against her in two years.

As it is, Ducey (who wouldn’t mind the Senate job himself) is in a position to place in McCain’s seat a Republican who will be able to use the time between now and 2020 to create the appearance of being senatorial, giving that person a big advantage when it comes to actually running for the office.

There already is a long list of perspective appointees. It’s more difficult these days to find a Republican who

doesn’t want the job. But McSally seemed for a while to be the front-runner, and she would be a dream candidate for anyone running against her.

But instead of taking the political path of blatant self-interest, here is Woods going all “country first” on us, essentially throwing a monkey wrench into his own possible campaign. And for what?

Because he thinks it’s the right thing?

Geez. How does a guy willing to put the needs and concerns of his fellow citizens above his own self-interest ever expect to get elected?