My Endorsement
I like John McCain. I wanted to vote for him eight years ago, But the Republican machine attack dogs killed his candidacy during the primaries. I think he would have made a much better president than George Bush turned out to be.
I won't be voting for McCain in this election. My reasons are as follows:
1. THE WAR
As one who fought, and almost died, in the Vietnam War, I'm all in favor of winning whatever war we happen to be fighting. But, and its a big but, Iraq was an unnecessary war. I think George Bush wanted to take down Saddam Hussein for a lot of the wrong reasons: Saddam got too big for his britches when he invaded Kuwait; George Bush II wanted to finish what his dad failed to to; he wanted to avenge Saddam's failed assassination plot against his dad, and on and on. There was one good reason to go to war - Saddam's alleged "weapons of mass destruction." So Bush gave entirely too much credence to flawed intelligence and used it to justify getting the war he wanted. He then proceeded to badly mismanage the pacification process. The fact that the most recent surge has been successful doesn't change the fact that the Bush administration started the war on false pretenses and then badly planned and badly executed the invasion.
John McCain followed party lines and supported Bush from the beginning and he gets to share the blame.
2. THE ECONOMY
Large, and possibly unmanageable, forces have precipitated the most severe economic meltdown in my lifetime. It may be unfair, but the political party in charge gets to take the blame. The Republicans have controlled the White House for 8 years, and the Congress for 6 of the last 8 years. When things go to hell on your watch, its time for somebody else to do the watching.
Plus, when things do go to hell, the President, a so-called conservative, came up with a bail out plan that's a massive government intervention into our private economy. Just exactly what do the Republicans stand for? Why should I think they're any different than the Democrats?
3. AMERICAN PRESTIGE
The US has been the pre-eminent world power since WW II. And, it wasn't just because of our economic and military might. We were the good guys. We called out other nations for human rights abuses and torture of prisoners. We didn't do them ourselves. We had the world with us after 9/11. A measure of how far we've fallen, when Bush tried to put together an international coalition to legitimize the invasion of Iraq, all we can get is three guys from Poland and 2 from Romania.
I think the international community will see the election of John McCain as a continuation of the last 8 years of simply not giving a damn about what the rest of the world thinks.
4. McCAIN"S JUDGMENT
McCain is 72 years old. His body still suffers the effects of his captivity by the North Vietnamese. He has a history of skin cancer. Just look at how George Bush has aged since he became president. How about admitting your physical frailties and picking a running mate who can step in and run the country in the event you can't complete your term. Does anybody seriously think Sarah Palin can do that?
5 OBAMA'S LIMITATIONS
Everyone would probably like it if Obama had a little more experience, but he's got all he's going to get before the election. He's run a first class, nationwide political campaign for 17 months. He beat the Clinton political machine to win the nomination. He raised an unconscious amount of money. He's not a Muslim; he's not a terrorist; he's not a socialist and he's not the anti-Christ. Will he try to govern from the left of center? Maybe, but the economic climate and the congress, even a Democratic congress, are going to keep the reins pretty tight. Plus we've got the oversight of a federal judiciary which is still largely composed of Republican appointees.
Two years from now, after spending some time in exile and atoning for their sins, maybe the Republicans can retake the congress. Four years from now, maybe some Republican can steal the glow from an Obama presidency and retake the White House. In the meantime, I think the Democrats should have the opportunity to run things for a while.
I won't be voting for McCain in this election. My reasons are as follows:
1. THE WAR
As one who fought, and almost died, in the Vietnam War, I'm all in favor of winning whatever war we happen to be fighting. But, and its a big but, Iraq was an unnecessary war. I think George Bush wanted to take down Saddam Hussein for a lot of the wrong reasons: Saddam got too big for his britches when he invaded Kuwait; George Bush II wanted to finish what his dad failed to to; he wanted to avenge Saddam's failed assassination plot against his dad, and on and on. There was one good reason to go to war - Saddam's alleged "weapons of mass destruction." So Bush gave entirely too much credence to flawed intelligence and used it to justify getting the war he wanted. He then proceeded to badly mismanage the pacification process. The fact that the most recent surge has been successful doesn't change the fact that the Bush administration started the war on false pretenses and then badly planned and badly executed the invasion.
John McCain followed party lines and supported Bush from the beginning and he gets to share the blame.
2. THE ECONOMY
Large, and possibly unmanageable, forces have precipitated the most severe economic meltdown in my lifetime. It may be unfair, but the political party in charge gets to take the blame. The Republicans have controlled the White House for 8 years, and the Congress for 6 of the last 8 years. When things go to hell on your watch, its time for somebody else to do the watching.
Plus, when things do go to hell, the President, a so-called conservative, came up with a bail out plan that's a massive government intervention into our private economy. Just exactly what do the Republicans stand for? Why should I think they're any different than the Democrats?
3. AMERICAN PRESTIGE
The US has been the pre-eminent world power since WW II. And, it wasn't just because of our economic and military might. We were the good guys. We called out other nations for human rights abuses and torture of prisoners. We didn't do them ourselves. We had the world with us after 9/11. A measure of how far we've fallen, when Bush tried to put together an international coalition to legitimize the invasion of Iraq, all we can get is three guys from Poland and 2 from Romania.
I think the international community will see the election of John McCain as a continuation of the last 8 years of simply not giving a damn about what the rest of the world thinks.
4. McCAIN"S JUDGMENT
McCain is 72 years old. His body still suffers the effects of his captivity by the North Vietnamese. He has a history of skin cancer. Just look at how George Bush has aged since he became president. How about admitting your physical frailties and picking a running mate who can step in and run the country in the event you can't complete your term. Does anybody seriously think Sarah Palin can do that?
5 OBAMA'S LIMITATIONS
Everyone would probably like it if Obama had a little more experience, but he's got all he's going to get before the election. He's run a first class, nationwide political campaign for 17 months. He beat the Clinton political machine to win the nomination. He raised an unconscious amount of money. He's not a Muslim; he's not a terrorist; he's not a socialist and he's not the anti-Christ. Will he try to govern from the left of center? Maybe, but the economic climate and the congress, even a Democratic congress, are going to keep the reins pretty tight. Plus we've got the oversight of a federal judiciary which is still largely composed of Republican appointees.
Two years from now, after spending some time in exile and atoning for their sins, maybe the Republicans can retake the congress. Four years from now, maybe some Republican can steal the glow from an Obama presidency and retake the White House. In the meantime, I think the Democrats should have the opportunity to run things for a while.
posted by Crotchety Old Fart at 8:03 PM
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