Rolling Stone‘s cover story, Make-Believe Maverick, is a brutal and brilliant expose of John McCain’s pretensions of valor. The story opens with a telling anecdote: In 1974 McCain runs into Lt. Col. John Dramesi, a fellow former POW. Unlike McCain, Dramesi refused to give a false confession under torture. So, the encounter is awkward. Both [...]

According to the Pew Research Center, when asked to describe their views of McCain in a word, the term “maverick” didn’t even come up. Nor did “reformer” or “independent.” Ruh-roh. It looks like the embrace of Bush, 100 years in Iraq and his newfound affecion for Bushenomics have done serious damage to his perceived maverickness:

John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.