"30 Percent Express" To Run Again

Sen. John McCain travels to New Hampshire today to formally announce he is running for president. As one of the main backers of America's involvement in Iraq's civil war, McCain is hoping to secure the "Stay and Die" mantle currently held by Bush, Cheney & Co.

Previously McCain believed the way to win the presidency was by trading in the "Straight Talk Express" for the "30 Percent Express." However now the Washington Post says that his "goal is to broaden the definition of McCain's candidacy, which has been singularly focused on Iraq."

But after watching his painful appearance with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show one has to wonder if McCain can broaden his support much beyond the dead-enders still supporting the war. The most painful part of the McCain's appearance was the realization that it took a comedy show to finally debate some of the important issues of the day with the leaders who are behind those issues.

This was the second day in a row that The Daily Show was at the forefront of breaking news. On Monday, in addition to an insightful skit with John Oliver on the Gonzales hearing, Matt Cooper, formerly of Time Magazine and one of the journalists who faced going to jail over Karl Rove leaking Valerie Plame's name to the press, was on the show to explain why important questions were never asked of Rove.

After Stewart pointed out a number of questions that were never asked of Rove and Cooper agreed they were good questions, Stewart was left asking "do you know any reporters - because you could ask them to ask him about it?"

So the "Straight Talk Express" has jumped the rails and turned into the "30 Percent Express" and main people asking tough political question are on the Comedy Channel. Not quite the civic lesson people expected.