George Bush's biggest mistake in John McCain's eyes? Signing budget bills.

But, earlier in his administration, when the Republicans controlled Congress, Bush routinely signed budgets that included pork-barrel projects and earmarked spending. "That was probably the biggest mistake the Bush administration made," McCain said Tuesday.

That is a principled, straight-talking position, right? And check out what McCain was saying in 2003:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a key swing vote on fiscal matters in the narrowly divided chamber, told fellow lawmakers it was premature to consider any tax reductions or spending increases until the administration and Congress have a better idea what the war will cost.

In 2003, he was against tax reductions and spending increases because the war might cost a lot. In 2008, he thinks Bush should have vetoed even Republican-passed bills because of pork. That's consistency!

Not so fast:

2005 Budget Resolution (voted 3/12/04): Yea

2006 Budget Resolution (voted 3/17/05): Yea

2007 Budget Resolution (voted 3/16/06): Yea

Only when you've been running against someone like Mitt Romney, who switched positions daily, does this count as consistency. In the real world, it's what we call "hypocrisy."