Betty Bowers has been updating her website. Come along for a ride through THE NO SIN ZONE.

[Bozita]

America's Best Christian prepares for the election.

http://bettybowers.com/betty4president/



Maverick for Sale

When John McCain constantly refers to himself as a “Maverick,” I assume he means a cheap, poorly put-together, domestic car that had its best days 30 years ago. Otherwise, I’m embarrassed for him. After all, self-deprecatory automotive analogies are endearing. Gerald Ford once momentarily won America’s (fickle) heart by telling her that he was a Ford not a Lincoln.

But when McCain introduces himself as a maverick, he doesn’t sound as if he is being folksy or humble. No, it always comes across as awkward bragging. “Hi, I’m a real maverick!” It’s very odd, and a bit unseemly. Good taste – and sanity – require waiting for someone else to compliment or define you. It would be as if Barrack Obama constantly greeted people by saying, “Hi, I’m a great public speaker!” Or Mitt Romney walking into a room with a swagger and said, “My name is Mitt and I have really great hair!”

And does the word maverick have any worth or meaning when it is used compulsively and proactively? Aren’t such people (and horses) supposed to eschew canned predictability for whimsical impulse? Could a genuine maverick tell you how he will act for the next eight years? No, because you’re a maverick when you naturally follow your impulses. When you self-consciously call yourself a “maverick” because the word tests well with your base, you aren’t a maverick; you are a preening poser.

And you have done what no true maverick would countenance: allowed yourself to be defined by one word, a word that is little more than an advertising slogan. But when you think of yourself as simply merchandise to be sold, rather than an individual with ideas, you sell yourself, rather than your ideas. Every comment is aimed at moving product, not the conversation or voters.

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[Swede]

1. A maverick is an unbranded range animal, especially a motherless calf

Is another definition.

[aquart]

2. You mean, PREY?