Posted on 12/20/2007 6:39:06 PM PST by Norman Bates
There are times in this nation’s history so perilous that they cry out for a steady, experienced leader, a person so trusted that we would put the fate of this country in his hands.
This is one of those times, and Sen. John McCain is that person.
He has a brand of courage that is rare in the public arena these days - a courage forged in part by those years spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and in part by more than two decades of fighting for what he believes in on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
In an age when too many candidates are driven by polls and focus groups, fashioning and re-fashioning their “core” beliefs, McCain is a man of unwavering conviction and integrity. His values, his beliefs, his goals are what they were when he first entered public life, what they were in 2000 and what they will be a decade from now.
And those goals include a safe and secure America, a country that is respected around the world for honoring its commitments, for encouraging and respecting the rule of law whether in Baghdad or Guantanamo Bay.
During a meeting with Herald editors and reporters Wednesday McCain was accompanied by James Woolsey, a man who has served in two Republican and two Democratic administrations, including a stint as CIA director under President Clinton. If Woolsey’s presence was designed to send a message - well, message received, at a number of levels. Yes, McCain is well regarded by those who share his commitment to national security. And, yes again, there are those who operate above the partisan fray.
The two men were passionately critical of the latest National Intelligence Estimates that downplayed the danger of a nuclear Iran.
“It’s not up to the intelligence community to make policy,” McCain said, adding that their conclusions about Iran’s future nuclear capability is “not substaniated by the facts on the ground.”
The war in Iraq has, of course, loomed large both in the national consciousness and as a campaign issue. McCain knew that the administration’s early military strategy was not enough to get the job done. And he was among the first to sign on to this year’s troop surge as devised by Gen. David Petraeus.
“John Edwards used to call it ‘the McCain surge.’ He doesn’t anymore,” McCain said. “Al-Qaeda isn’t defeated in Iraq, but it’s on the run.”
But John McCain’s expertise doesn’t begin and end with national security. He is now a firm believer in the power of tax cuts as a driver of the economy. He saw the Bush tax cuts work and vows to make them permanent. He also supports an end to the alternative minimum tax, which has managed to snare far too many middle class families in its unindexed grip. This week the Congress moved to increase the exemption for the middle class, but that’s merely a one-year fix.
McCain’s name, of course, is also synonymous with immigration reform - the kind of real reform that will both safeguard our borders and provide a path to citizenship - not amnesty - for the 12 million illegal aliens who now live among us. The senator freely acknowledges that his support for immigration reform threatened to jettison his presidential candidacy.
“What we miscalculated was the total mistrust in government,” McCain told the Herald. “They didn’t believe we could secure the borders.” But this isn’t 1986. The technology has changed. But more than that, it takes commitment. A McCain administration would have that commitment.
On immigration reform, on tax reform, on campaign reform McCain has proven time and time again that he has the ability to reach across that increasingly wide partisan divide and make things happen.
This week Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who was himself on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2000, took the unprecedented step of endorsing McCain in the upcoming Republican primaries. He did so with these words:
“In this critical election, no one should let party lines be a barrier to choosing the person we believe is best qualified to lead our nation forward. The problems that confront us are too great, the threats we face too real, and the opportunities we have too exciting for us to play partisan politics with the presidency.”
The Boston Herald agrees. And so this newspaper too will break with its decades-old tradition of endorsing candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. In doing so we also address our words particularly to those millions of independent voters here, in New Hampshire and around the nation who can choose to cast their ballot in either party primary.
The choice this year is indeed clear. John McCain should be the next president of the United States and the Boston Herald is proud to endorse his candidacy.
Well, after thinking a bit, I guess, unless he explodes/implodes (ominiplodes?) again, I'd place him third on my list, after Thompson and Hunter.
Just curious...am I the only voter who is upset by the pathetic choices this current electoral cycle has produced? Is this candidate list the best this country has to offer? I don’t think so or I at least I hope not.
Murdoch bought the Herald in 1982 but sold it in 1994.
Only until he gets the nomination. As soon as he is the nominee, they will take him down with his participation in the Savings and Loan scandals in the 80's. McCain barely avoided indictment and his participation was as smelly as it gets. McCain, Paul and Huckabee are safe candidates for the Old Media. None of them can possibly win. So they get all the positive press during the primaries.
Based on some past articles, I really thought they were going to endorse Rudy.
No wonder it seems more liberal.
McCain is strong on national security - which is going to increasingly be the focus in the election because it pertains to the sheer survival of this nation. McCain has the ability to convincingly convey this aspect.
He also has a lot of appeal to independents, a rapidly growing sector of the electorate and crucial in the forthcoming Presidential election.
Sooo, the main newspaper in the heart of the bluest state which has endorsed The Chappaquidick Dick for 40 years finds that John McCain is the most tolerable choice for them?
My, my, my. I guess that pretty much makes up my mind for me doesn’t it?
Congrats to McCain’s supporters on a nice pick-up.
Yes, precisely my thought when the Globe endorsed him.
It’s possible with the right tide, for sure. You need to stop thinking of the miniscule numbers Bush put up versus Gore and Kerry (who was a fav. son). McCain is a totally different electoral beast with more independent and even democrat reach than Bush could ever dream of. He would put Vermont in play as well and carry NH in a walk.
I don’t see that happening. There was an investigation, an official exhoneration, a slap on the wrist, and McCain has come clean on it. Years ago - old news.
A total myth. That was never in the works. Thank goodness I’m not that cynical.
Howie Carr is endorsing Mitt Romney.
On behalf of them, I’ll thank you. :^)
I’d be six feet under before I would vote for McInsane, or any Dem. Luckily I won’t have to worry about it as McLame will get nowhere in the long run. Thank goodness. He who continously shafts his base, gets shafted by the base.
:) You’re welcome.
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