Who's That Tall Dark Author There? Barer is His Name

Flummoxed by the recent John McCain commercials that assert McCain is "The Original Maverick," a Chicago Sun-Times reporter calls an expert on the MAVERICK TV series -- my cousin Burl Barer, who wrote a terrific book on the series back when the Mel Gibson movie came out. No, Burl assures the reporter, it was James Garner, not McCain, who played Brett Maverick. Nor was McCain one of the myriad of actors who played various members of the Maverick family.

Stay tuned for the next round of commercials, in which McCain will assert that he was the original Sheriff Matt Dillon. Or maybe Festus.