Senator John McCain has long been hailed as the resolute maverick of the Republican Party, the one voice of reason willing to stand up to an irrational administration, a reliable defender of the faith, always striving for what he truly believes to be 'the right thing'. Whether we agreed with him or not, his unwavering valor has always been worthy of our respect.

But, over the last few months, McCain has largely abandoned his post. He's flipped and flopped enough to make John Kerry look like the Old Man of the Mountain. Maybe he thinks that being straight with America didn't end well for him in 2000, so now he'll try something else. Maybe he thinks that he's doomed either way. Maybe his mind is going the way of Reagan, and taking the "Straight Talk Express" with it.

Whatever the reason, McCain's antics have left a lot of us very confused. He seems to be moving to the Right and to the Left at the same time, and doesn't have a clear position on any issue of importance (except committing to 1,000 years of occupation in Iraq). So, to clear things up, both for those of us who have yet to decide on a candidate, and for those of us who have already settled on McCain (even though he can't seem to settle on anything himself), here's a recap of his current standings (watch carefully: these might change at any time).

* McCain was against domestic drilling, especially in national parks and nature preserves. Now, he's in favor of it.

* McCain believed that abortion was appropriate in cases of incest and rape, or when the mother's life was at stake. Now, he doesn't.

* He stood against Bush's "indefinite" detention of possible terrorists, stating that America believed in a system of "innocent until proven guilty". But, when the Supreme Court came to the same conclusion, he called it "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country."

* He supported opening up a dialog with Hamas and Syria. Now, he doesn't.

* He used to decry Bush's illegal wiretapping program, on the grounds that it was illegal. Now, he's all in favor of government efforts to break its own laws, as long as a decent 'national security' excuse can be thought of.

* He is both for and against the privatization of Social Security.

* He is both for and against the 'death tax'.

* He used to oppose Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, even stating that "trickle down" economics "do not work". Now, he supports them.

* He is both for and against penalizing the oil

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