While he may be both of the above, what he has always been, for anyome who cares to look under the surface gloss & see the sleaze, is a rank opportunist and poseur willing to say or do anything to advance - himself.

He decries 'wasteful government spending' when the cameras are on him, and then votes FOR the very pork-barrel spending he complains about. He pretends to champion Campaign finance reform while accepting torrents of PAC money from large corporations & military contractors & etc.

On top of this, he has real anger management issues & is famous on Capitol Hill for throwing tantrums and generally being a hothead. e.g. vide ,/I>

http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair02012003.html

""In 1992, environmentalists Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman went to meet with McCain at his office in Phoenix to discuss Mount Graham. Silver and Witzeman are both physicians. The doctors say that at the mention of the words Mount Graham McCain erupted into a violent fit. "He slammed his fists on his desk, scattering papers across the room", said Silver. "He jumped up and down, screaming obscenities at us for about 10 minutes. He shook his fists as if he was going to slug us. It was as violent as almost any domestic abuse altercation." "