Matt Welch, of the LA Times, explores the senator's political philosophy. Excerpt:
McCain’s fondness for government power doesn’t stop there [with McCain-Feingold]. He pushed for the huge airline industry bailouts after September 11. He recently proposed legislation requiring every registered sex offender in the country to report all their active email accounts to law enforcement or face prison. He wants to federalize the oversight of professional boxing. He wants yet more vigor in fighting the War on Meth. He has been active in trying to shut down the “gun show loophole,” which allows private citizens to sell each other guns without conducting background checks. He has lauded Teddy Roosevelt’s fight against the “unrestricted individualism” of the businessman who “injures the future of all of us for his own temporary and immediate profit.”
If you’re beginning to detect a . . . skeptical attitude toward individual choice, you are beginning to understand what kind of president John McCain actually would make, in contrast with the straight-talking maverick that journalists love to quote but rarely examine in depth.
If that's not enough to disabuse you of McCain's limited-government credentials, check out the Club for Growth's recent report. See also CUPVF's dossier (PDF) on why McCain isn't really a conservative.
