Senator McCain's Speech

I got this from a friend of mine. I think it sums up my feelings on Senator John McCain and the race for president quite nicely.

I think I'm fairly representative of those conservatives who just could not stand to vote for John McCain. But I now plan to vote for him this November. Let me tell you why.

The author goes on to describe the traits of the "McCain haters" and I agree that hate is probably too harsh of a word, but I am probably as dismayed with many of Senator McCain's policy stands.

The logic of the anti-McCain crowd was not that simple. Our time horizon was not just the next four years, but the future in general. I had stated that it is better to have a Democrat President who governs like a Democrat than a Republican who governs like a Democrat. Why? Because the Democrats would get a twofer with the latter: the enactment of a Democratic agenda and the ability to fix the blame for anything bad on the Republicans.

And what would conservatives get? An agenda they despise, blame for everything bad and no political party representing them any more.

While this author said that the Sarah Palin pick was the sole reason for the turn around, I have to admit mine is a little more complex. Yes - beyond a shadow of a doubt Sarah Palin being on the ticket is a huge shot of adrenaline. However there is more to it. That came from Senator McCain's speech to the convention. As I said in a prior post, Senator McCain was not my first or even 5th choice for president. However, as the speech wore on, I was reminded of the many things that I admired about President Reagan. The faith in the goodness of the country and the absolute devotion to America. These concepts shown brightly through every line of the speech. The other theme of the speech that really hit me was service. Senator McCain talked often about how everything he has done in is his life was for country first and his "glory" last. It was that and the exhortation that he needed the American people to join in the solution of the problems that face America today.

That is what real leaders do. They say "join me" in solving this problem....not "you must sacrifice all while I get the glory". It is that sense of shared sacrifice and shared glory that I think will help push Senator McCain over the top in November.