How to spot a maverick (or not)

Maverick

Maverick

Not a maverick

Still, Chafee is running a campaign that, like Whitehouse's, emphasizes his independence from Bush. Earlier this month, he campaigned in Rhode Island alongside the Republican Party's most famous maverick: Senator John McCain of Arizona, a frequent critic of the Bush administration. --Boston Globe

Other senators are wary of butting heads with the media-savvy McCain. Not McConnell. When McCain's reform proposals displease Republican Party donors, McConnell outmaneuvers the maverick. --San Jose Mercury News

"[McCain] is trying to balance his real nature as a maverick with what is needed to get nominated," Sabato said. --Daily News

Sen. Lincoln Chafee introduced Arizona Sen. John McCain to a dining room full of supporters as "a like-minded Republican." He said later they are both mavericks -- a term he said refers to "an unbranded calf" -- meaning both are independent-minded and not necessarily bound by party loyalty. --Kent County Daily Times

The rift among Republicans over the treatment of terrorism detainees appears to have closed, with maverick GOP Sen. John McCain telling NBC News on Friday that a deal reached with President Bush will lead to fair trials and interrogations but not torture. --MSNBC

Those comments supported maverick Republican Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and John Warner, whose opposition forced the administration to alter its proposal before a deal was reached. --KARE

McCain's maverick style has long been popular with GOP voters in New Hampshire... --Washington Post

Enough already! McCain is a conservative Republican who, in some ways, has disagreed with the White House but will do and say anything to become president in 2008. After he cast some harsh criticism Bush's way in the first term, McCain kissed W.'s ass at the last Repub convention and killed any way to justify calling him a maverick. Oh, and no matter how he wants to spin it, he caved on Bush's demand for extraordinary powers. Not very mavericky.

So let's stop playing along.

Oh, and if you call yourself a maverick? Sorry, that disqualifies you automatically, even if you're worth a gazillion dollars. Sorry, Mark Cuban.