Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) GOP primary victory over Tea Party challenger J.D. Hayworth came at a cost: About $20 million, plus more damage to his reputation as an independent-minded "maverick." But as he prepares for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, supporters and opponents are wondering: What will the unpredictable senior senator from Arizona do next? (Watch a CNN discussion about McCain's future)
McCain is now senator-for-life: It's slightly tragic that McCain had to run as "an insecure, reactive, poll-watching hack" to beat the "clownish" Hayworth, says Tunku Varadarajan in The Daily Beast. In fact, the "decent thing" for him to have done after losing to President Obama was retire. Now, "ferociously" clinging to his Senate seat for as long as possible, at any cost, "Barnacle McCain" has become "the Liza Minnelli of American politics."
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