From Maverick to ???

Last night, Rachel Maddow had a very thought-provoking segment on her show. I probably won't do it justice, but basically she was asking the question, "Who is the leader of the Republican party?" Speaking of the failed vote on the Wall Street "bailout", she pointed out that President Bush was for it, Sen. John McCain was for it, the Minority Leader in the House was for it, but the Republicans in the House overwhelming voted against it (in contrast, over 60% of the House Democrats voted for the package). So, who is the leader of the Republican party? Who is the person who can talk the "rank and file" into doing "what is best for this country?"
Clearly it isn't George Bush. He's beyond Lame Duck at this point; according to most Americans, if he says the sky is blue, you'd better go check--at least twice. I remember when he appeared on Wall Street a couple of months ago. He said our economy was fundamentally strong. I knew then we were in deep trouble. Very deep trouble.
If it's not the president, logically the leadership role would fall to the presidential candidate (as a matter of fact, John McCain stated that yesterday morning, when he accused Barack Obama of NOT being the leadership in his party--"He's standing on the sidelines"). And here is where the problem lies.
John McCain has been running as a maverick--someone who is going to take care of that do-nothing, lobbyist-ridden, failed Washington (and by default, Congress). Now, if it were me being accused of being do-nothing, and I was trying to get re-elected to Congress, AND I was a member of his own Republican party, I would be a bit bitter. Wouldn't want to be so quick to follow the maverick leader--heck, I'd probably want to be a maverick myself and find any way to distance myself from all "those others" in Washington too. So herein lies the problem--note to John McCain--don't go calling names and casting too wide a net; you will need to work with those "fish" when you're elected.
To me, this does not bode well for the future of our country. We need leaders who will work together; we've already had enough of partisan politics; what happens when elected leaders in the same party can't get along?
I'm not saying the "Bailout" package was the best they could come up with. I'm not saying I know how I would have voted. What I'm saying is, please could the Republicans put their House in order, and could the members of our Congress please work together to end this crisis soon? Please?
Oh yeah, and a note to members of the House--do NOT listen to Rep. Mike Pense from Indiana; that loser wants to put corporate tax cuts and other incentives into the "Bailout" bill. HUH????