America needs a president who can lead us during tough times, who can make tough calls, who can unite and not divide, and whom we can trust. Senator John McCain is that man.
Conservatives, of course, have good reason to recoil in disgust. This is, after all, the man who voted against the Bush tax cuts. This is the man who, for all intents and purposes, tried to get us to go along with his plan to give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Turn on Hugh Hewitt any day of the week and you can listen to the litany of problems conservatives have with McCain. But when it gets down the wire, who gives a ratatouille about this stuff?
The future is uncertain, but we all know it will be difficult. Beijing makes inroads into Africa, Tehran rattles its saber, Moscow abandons democracy, and Caracas sticks in our craw. Energy costs have skyrocketed, social security will become insolvent, and more and more American jobs stand to be offshored to India, China, and beyond. We need a president who can tackle problems, from the monumental to the seemingly inconsequential.
In such times, it takes character to make a decision that may not please everyone. Weaning ourselves off of Mideast oil may irritate the Saudis, but it’s something we need to do. Putting unrelenting pressure on Iran may scare the Europeans, but it’s something we need to do. Providing education and re-training for American workers whose jobs were lost to wage competition overseas may irritate laissez-faire ideologues, but it something we need to do. We need a president who can bite the bullet.
America is in a generational struggle against Muslim extremists. World War II, the Cold War – these monumental conflicts required bipartisanship in order for us to triumph. Today we need a leader who can unite both parties in common purpose against our common enemy. Conservatives can’t have it all. We need to compromise. By working with Democrats on climate change, taxes, judicial appointments, the Kosovo War, campaign finance reform, and on and on, John McCain has proven himself to be a uniter, not a divider.
Finally, we need a man whom we can trust. A true Vietnam War hero, a man who maintained his integrity and upheld his country’s honor, John McCain may not be a lot of things, but he is trustworthy. In Michigan, while Mitt Romney promised to bring manufacturing jobs back to the state, McCain told the truth: many of these jobs are gone forever. While apologists for the Bush administration insisted we had adequate troop levels in Iraq and while radical left-wing loons insisted we should pull out immediately, John McCain urged more troops. The ‘surge’ is paying off in Iraq, and John McCain was right.
He was right, and he’s the right man for the job.