". . . little shall I grace my cause

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,

I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver . . ."

(William Shakespeare's Othello, I.iii.88-90)

Monday, February 4, 2008

More on McCain

It suddenly seems that everywhere I "click" I run into another column mirroring the theme of my "Four Days and Counting" post endorsing John McCain. If you are a conservative who is still undecided about your vote tomorrow, please take some time to survey the opinions below. They represent what I think is some of the soundest thinking on McCain's conservatism (or lack thereof) as well as on the qustion of electability and what for me is THE defining issue of this election year: the face of the Supreme Court that will be handing down judicial decisions over the next generation.

Jeff Jacoby, "A Conservative's Case for McCain"

Fred Barnes, "Let's Grow Up, Conservatives"

Burt Prelutzky, "Republicans Can't Afford to be Party Poopers in 2008"

The Anchoress, "Are Our Ideologies Our Idols?" and "'Faith-Based' and Hand-Wringing"

Calabresi and McGinnis, "McCain and the Supreme Court" (if you read no other of these columns, please read this one)

I know many of you are tired of talking, reading, and thinking about this election. After tomorrow I think I will be ready to let this topic go for a little while, too (although I don't know if I can go as far as the Anchoress and give up political writing for Lent!). But every day I become more convinced that the Republican Party's best hope for influencing the direction of our country over the next 25 years is John McCain. If Romney gets the nomination, I will wholeheartedly support him and cast my vote for him in November. But I don't have great hopes that he can win, especially not if Obama is the Democratic nominee. In his rhetoric and image, Romney just bears too many similarities to Obama--attractive candidate and family, superb oratorical skills, talk of "newness" and "change" and "unity" and a "fresh" direction for our country. He is competing on Obama's turf, and I just don't think he can win. If the Democratic nominee is Hillary, I think Romney has a somewhat better chance, because then he really can play the "fresh" and "new" Washington outsider card. But I don't think we'll know for several months who the Democratic nominee is going to be, which is why I think on the all-important electability question McCain is the way to go.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I'm done now.

4 comments:

Elephantschild said...

I'm working on that "trust" post as we speak.

Just starting skimming your last-linked article.

I'm feeling very sad that it's coming down to --Vote for the Guy that Can Best Beat the Dems.-- Phooey.

Anonymous said...

In unity there is strength, but what KIND of unity is to be questioned. Strength is, as we know, counterproductive if it's in the wrong direction. Obama in particular had better be sure of his physics in that sense if he wants to get elected by a happy majority.

Jane said...

Part of my problem with him is that I *don't* believe we can count on McCain to appoint the right kind of judges.

He was happy to help stomp on the first amendment. He has flip-flopped on Roe. He waffles on gun control. I don't know that he has principles and he has been way too cozy with some extremely liberal democrats.

And you're right, Romney isn't electable.

So back to feeling like my vote this year is going to go for the the lesser of two evils. Whoever that is.

AmusedMomma said...

Since Romney dropped out, I'm oh so sad that it appears the choice has been eliminated for us. McCain is the media's crowned Republican nominee and I'm with Indiana Jane in not trusting him for the reasons she so eloquently provided.

I'm definitely pouting!