My concerns about McCain speak for themselves. I don't trust him to deliver on what few conservative policies he claims to support. The fact is that he holds many views that are similar to the Democrats'. For instance, he has boxed himself in with his hardheaded refusal to drill for our own petroleum reserves, and to support a policy of de facto amnesty for illegal invaders across our borders, even though he represents a state adversely affected by his intransigence.
I absolutely will not vote for Obama, but it doesn't necessarily follow that I would vote for McCain. I certainly will not contribute to his campaign or to the party, but I may contribute to individual candidates.
If he pledges to be a one term president (thus freeing him from his tendencies to pander to the left and to the press) and if he chooses a bona fide conservative running mate (hint: that would not include his pals Crist, Huckabee, Graham, Giuliani or Lieberman) I would vote for him. Right now that looks like a very long shot.
We wouldn't be in this fix if it weren't for all the "moderates" in the GOP, and if we had closed primaries. But those are the cards we've been dealt. Some of us will fold this hand.
Sounds good, except for the reality that will follow. I don't particularly like McCain; I'm a Fredhead. McCain may not be conservative enough for me, but he's a heck of a lot MORE conservative than Obama, and I trust him to govern accordingly. He may hold some views in common with Democrats, but there are at least three, that are extremely important to me, where he's as different as night and day from the Democrats. Those issues are the War on Terror, his pledge to appoint Justices to the Supremes who are NOT judicial activists, and the abortion issue. He has made noises about supporting embryonic stem cell research, but with the enormous successes by those doing research with adult stem cells, I think the embryonic stem cell issue will be come a moot point, so it isn't as important to me.