national_review_logoThe leading doctrinaire conservative magazine can’t muster up enough enthusiasm for Hayworth to overcome its long-standing distrust of McCain.

In the endorsement of the incumbent in the GOP primary, there’s a palpable sense of wistfulness that his challenger wasn’t a little stronger:

Hayworth is, to say the least, not obviously a more exemplary statesman than McCain. On one of the most pressing issues of the day — the need to control federal spending — McCain has had the better record. That Hayworth appeared in infomercials to tell people how to get “free money” from the government underscores the point rather emphatically.

If McCain had a different challenger, we might think differently. But, taken together, these considerations move us to suggest that Arizona Republicans nominate Senator McCain.

Hayworth is a buffoon, of course, but McCain has done dozens of worse things than Hayworth’s infomercial.

The endorsement is already drawing fire from right-0wingers.