A little patriotism please

I just watched John McCain talking before an Irish group in Scranton, Pa., and it occurs to me how transparent is his unseemly use of this crisis for political gain. He should be following Barack Obama's tone in this and supporting a unified solution to this absolutely terrifying economic situation. As Congress is meeting to consider the president's proposal, the four top candidates need to be supplying as much light and as little heat as possible. As the nation's leaders have proven over and over again that they cannot deal with our most difficult problems in sane ways, this moment is essential to come together wisely and not produce the economic equivalent of the Patriot Act.
The bailout brings the possibility of helping the economy or ruining it. It also brings the possibility of creating a monolithic role for the secretary of the treasury with no oversight and no transparency. And there's the little matter of impoverishing 99 percent of the country while enriching the 1 percent that put us in this situation in the first place.
Barack has spoken his mind about how to protect the American pocketbook as much as he can and supported the process of considering how to fix this situation without adding too much heat. That looks pretty presidential to me, and I mean that in the good sense of responding calmly, seeking information and considering a range of ideas before arriving at a solution.
Even a war hero should understand that the highest expression of patriotism is to put your country first, whether it's in economic or foreign policy, and no matter how bad you want to be president.