By "old dog" I mean John McCain and by "new tricks" I mean how not to be a liar.

Have you seen John McCain's latest exercise in obfuscation? Just got this gem of an e-mail in my inbox (TPM has the e-mail in its entirety):

I appreciate the discussions President Obama is having with my Republican colleagues, but the time for talking has come to an end and we must now begin some serious negotiation. But as of yet, Republicans have not been given the opportunity to be involved. The House of Representatives passed a stimulus bill without a single Republican supporting it. In the Senate, the Democrat leadership is trying to jam the existing proposal through regardless of reservations from a number of members. With so much at stake, the last thing we need is partisanship driving our attempts to turn the economy around.

I have long been a fighter against wasteful spending in Washington and long an advocate for a balanced budget -- that will never change. I realize we face extraordinary challenges with our economy today, but that is not an excuse for more irresponsibly from Washington. I hope you will join me in saying no to this stimulus package as it currently exists by signing this petition.

It's hard to know where to start, really. For me, the nut here is his liberal (very small 'l') use of the word "partisanship." Umm, John, I don't think it means what you think it means.

In McCain's twisted telling, it's the Democrats who are being partisan when in fact it was the Republicans who were the ones who voted all together as one bloc, not the Democrats. If that's not the definition of partisanship, what is? But the thing is, there's nothing wrong with it, they're a united opposition, part of me admires their complete and utter disregard for the popularity of the new president and the stimulus package in apparent fealty to their base. Gee, wouldn't that have been nice a few years ago? But McCain here is throwing around the word "partisanship" with such abandon it completely loses all meaning. And while he concedes that Obama has reached out to Republicans, there's apparently absolutely no onus on those Republicans to reach out in kind. They're completely blameless -- how nice that must be. So much for personal responsibility, I suppose. You see, in McCain's words, "time for talking must come to an end" and instead begin "serious negotiation." What does he think negotiation is, exactly?

Oh, and one more thing, someone should tell McCain that, just as with "partisanship" here, he threw around the phrase "wasteful spending" with such utter disregard for any meaning during his campaign -- exactly what government spending in his world isn't wasteful? -- that he lost any and all credibility on that issue (where he was actually perceived to have had some.)