Posted on 01/04/2008 12:22:47 AM PST by billorites
When I head into the voting booth Tuesday, I will be casting my vote for John McCain. If, a year or so back, you had told me that that’s what I would be doing come primary day, I would have politely told you that you’re nuts—there’s no way I could vote for the “maverick” Arizona Senator. So what has happened? How could I possibly be supporting somebody that gets regularly panned by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and others that I respect on the right?
The answer is easy: the New Hampshire primary process. Because the hallmark of our state’s unique position as the kickoff for the presidential races is retail politicking, we get to see most of the candidates up close and personal—if we choose to do so, which I have.
In addition to taking advantage of the intimate contact afforded all New Hampshire citizens at public events and meetings, thanks to my online activities here at GraniteGrok.com, my weekly column in the Laconia Daily Sun, and the Saturday morning radio program, I have had additional opportunities to interact with several of the candidates and their closest advisors on a very personal level.
With the multitude of ways that the presidential wannabees have at their disposal to engage in real, one on one conversations with as many people as possible, one hopeful stands out from the rest: John McCain. I can attest that this is a man who doesn’t pre-screen the questions that come his way and is ready to take on all comers.
While I like Rudy Giuliani, my second choice in this cycle, he just doesn’t hold a candle to the Senator when it comes to having the ability (desire?) to answer standard questions from the regular folks outside of the town meeting atmosphere. In one instance, when walking beside me towards his campaign bus, the mayor refused to answer a simple question about the trash-to-energy industry—quite expansive in New York State— telling me that he “simply cannot walk and answer substantive questions.”
I was then politely sidetracked by one of his handlers. Needless to say, as I was feeling rather disposed to vote for him at the time, I was taken aback by this brush off. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t trying to pull a “do you know who I am” moment or anything like that, but his local NH people actually DO know who I am—and knew me to be favorable to Hizzoner at the time.
McCain and his people are completely opposite in this regard—and not just for the likes of me. At every town hall meeting that I have attended, the campaign staffers have had to practically drag their man kicking into the bus in order to make the next stop in a timely manner. The problem? He is so comfortable with his beliefs, opinions, and thoughts, that when he engages the folks, he actually communicates with them for real.
When you have nothing to hide, and you are up front with your core beliefs and ideals, there is no “trick question” one might come up with that can’t be answered.
In addition to his connectivity with the people, there are the issues themselves.
Many Republicans believe that their nominee must stand opposed to abortion. There is no ambiguity here. Sen. McCain definitely fits the bill on this one.
For people like me, the new world war with the Islamo-fascists trumps all else. I believe that the path to victory starts with the front in Iraq. Nobody has been a stronger advocate for finishing the job than John McCain. And while you might be able to fathom his knowledge of the military and governmental players from about the globe from bits and pieces you catch at public appearances and on TV, I can assure you that you have only scratched the surface.
Several months back, I had the chance to take a ride on the Straight Talk Express, where I ate chicken wings with this genuine American hero. We had nearly an hour of conversation about a variety of things, including some details about military strategies and the realities on the ground in Iraq. I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with his understanding and awareness of these matters. Add to that his personal experience in Vietnam, and you get a person with insight from the perspective of the soldiers that must fight wars as well.
This is a man that will be ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. Beyond that, I have participated in a number of “Blogger Conference Calls” with the senator. Given the wild West nature of the blogging community, these were no-holds barred exchanges where, again, the sense of his awareness on a variety of matters both great and small was always plainly in evidence.
“But Doug, what about illegal immigration?” I am confident that McCain “gets it” when it comes to this one. At a town hall meeting in Wolfeboro just after the defeat of the so-called “comprehensive” immigration bill, he duly noted that Americans had spoken and want the borders verifiably sealed before anything else gets done in this area. It is the rare politician that acknowledges being wrong on a matter, and recognizes the collective voice of regular people.
Beyond all that, I think it’s imperative that the Democrats are prevented from gaining the presidency during this moment in time. McCain still carries great appeal among independents and even a fair number of Democrats. In a phone conversation with a prominent local Democratic leader this past Monday, he admitted to me that if McCain were to end up as the President, he would be OK with that. The President must stand ready to be the leader of ALL Americans, not just members of one party or the other. It is a good bet that McCain has the ability to attract enough votes to win it all for the GOP next November.
If our Democrat friends admit this possibility as being one they can live with, then perhaps we can at least throttle back some of the bitterness that has gripped our nation since the 1992 election. That’s a notion I’m sure we can all agree with.
We will not be able to successfully finish the war unless there is a degree of unity among the people of our nation. It will take a real leader to make that happen -- one who can convince Americans of the rightness of our cause. This will take someone who is trusted, and can explain things in plain fashion. I am convinced McCain is up to that task.
Doug Lambert is co-owner of the GraniteGrok.com blog and writes a column for the Laconia Daily Sun.
Left wings, I presume...
Unless Iowa shook things up it certainly looks like McCain is gonna win NH - with Fred not in the top 5. Like it or not McCain is back in the running.
Maybe we could help with a slogan— John McCain - better than the other Rhinos.
Must be the sedentiary lifestyle of the blogger come columnist.
Brushed aside by handlers? Probably former Kerik associates. He's lucky he didn't press too much.
Obvious identity crisis going on here. Is this guy a teenager?
I was supporting Tancredo. That didn’t turn out too well.
McCain is soft on illegal immigration, but we could do a lot worse. All general elections are compare-and-contrast competitions. McCain matches up better against the Democrats than any other GOP candidate. A McCain-Huckabee or McCain-Thompson ticket would be very tough to beat, even considering all the damage George W. Bush and Karl Rove have done to the Republican brand name.
John McCain will never get this Nam Vets vote. NEVER!!!!
A teenager or an immature adult. Pouty. Juvenile article (editorial?). Confident McCain “gets it” as to immigration. Moron.
...ya didn't have to read past that
He loves Rudy and McCain! Next week, he will be pushing a Huck/Romney ticket. The week after that, it will be Paul/Hunter.
“How I chose John McCain after thinking I never would”
Forget that, I want to know how you wrote the article after the lobotomy!
Im beginning to think that our only chances are either fred or Huck..
I figure we could do a hell of a lot worse than Huck..not that I am thrilled with him. HOWEVER..he’s a hell of a better deal than Osama Obama.
Reports on the ground are that NH, being an open caucus with open party registration and little to no validation of residency, has been infiltrated with out-of-state MoveOn.Org types preparing to throw the GOP primary into chaos.
I don't believe for a second that we can attribute any credibility to the results in NH until they correct their problem with their voter registration and ID problem.
This basically explains his title. 'Nuff said.
“McCain is soft on illegal immigration, but we could do a lot worse. “
Well, Huckabee is worse... but on immigration, that’s about it.
Talk about your willing suspension....
I’ll stick with Fred, thank you very much.
How about McCAIN, Ted Kennedy’s right hand man.
Not a very solid vote of confidence.
I will not vote for McCain.
His support for amnesty and his McCain Feingold b.s. negates his chances with me.
This is whats wrong with New Hampshire and Iowa. It's often not about policy but about who shook my hand, who bought me a hot dog or kissed my A** errr Baby.
I wasn't in favor of a national primary until this mess. It's time we stopped having two states compete to be bought off, moving to a national primary would force policy to be more important than it is now.
At the moment these two state contest are on the level of a home comming king election, its a diservice to us all.
So this clown picks McCain because McCain doesn’t prescreen the questions he gets asked? There are some people in Iowa and N.H. who need a wakeup call. Choosing a president is NOT about how many times a guy shakes your hand and sits down next to you. That’s a load of crap. Some people are willing to sell out the party and the nation because they got the amount of butt kissing they wanted.
McCain stabbed CONSERVATIVES in the back one too many times. I will stand with Fred08
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