WTF is a maverick anyway, and does it apply to McCain?

Main Entry:

¹mav·er·ick

Pronunciation:

..ˈmav-rik, ˈma-və-..

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Samuel A. Maverick †1870 American pioneer who did not brand his calves

Date:

1867

1: an unbranded range animal ; especially : a motherless calf

2: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party



So, are John McCain and Sarah Palin a pair of mavericks? Well, lets see if either of these definitions apply...

We'll start with definition 2, as quoted from Merriam Webster's online dictionary. "An independent individual...", OK he's not independent. He's a Republican and he married a rich woman to finance his political career, "...who does not go along with a group or party." Hmmmm.... I am pretty sure he accepts the label of Republican, and he couldn't possibly be running for president as an Independent with any success, so it would sure seem to me that this definition doesn't qualify. McCain may argue that he doesn't ALWAYS go along with everyone in his party, but that's like saying you're a vegetarian, because you don't ALWAYS eat meat.

So lets move on to the other definition, an unbranded range animal. Well, I suppose when he was being worked over in that POW camp, they didn't actually take a branding iron to him, and I suppose one could see McCain and Palin as "range animals", perhaps even "motherless calfs," so I conclude that these two are indeed mavericks, but I am not interested in having a barnyard animal running my country.