Now John McCain is talking up a new “fundamental mission” of his theoretical presidency: he wants to “restore trust and confidence in government.”

Have you stopped laughing yet? I’m sure you must have flashed on Bush’s big drive in 2000 to “restore honor and dignity to the White House” (any day now!). It seems like Republicans are always about restoring two reasonable-sounding qualities to Washington D.C. If McCain wins, then what will the next Republican candidate want to restore? Youth and vigor? Competency and skill?

Suffice to say that when a Republican talks about restoring something, it’s a sound bet that these areas are where they will most particularly lack.

Aside from questioning McCain’s ability to actually do any better than Bush did at restoring anything to the venue, one also has to realize that in order for McCain to restore “trust and confidence” to government, that means that Bush must have destroyed such things first. Unless he wants to suggest that it was Bill Clinton who was still responsible for the current lack of trust and confidence (which would raise the question of why bush didn’t act on these). More likely, McCain will try to claim that Democrats in Congress were somehow responsible. Or maybe a legal aide.