Posted on 08/29/2008 10:36:03 AM PDT by IreneE
he Case for McCain Bruce Herschensohn
August 27, 2008
One of my favorite conservative columnists recently started a column with the words, “Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee…” How was the Republican Party “saddled” with him when more Republicans voted for him than for anyone else running in the Republican primaries and caucuses?
I was one of those who voted for John McCain in the California primary—and did it with enthusiasm. As someone who is as conservative as the columnist, of course I have had disagreements with Senator McCain on some issues, but all the issues of disagreement are secondary to winning the war in which our nation’s survival is at stake, as well as the survival of civilization as we know it. I am convinced that John McCain was born to be commander in chief in this war. Foreign policy and the military are in his blood. That is not true of the Democrats’ choice.
Early in 1961, President Kennedy invited former Vice President Nixon to the Oval Office to discuss world affairs. Former Vice President Nixon was seated on a lounge chair while President Kennedy was pacing the floor as they discussed Cuba, Berlin, the Congo, Laos, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the U.N. President Kennedy stopped pacing and said to former Vice President Nixon, “This is the stuff of presidents! I mean, who cares if the minimum wage is $1.15 or $1.25?” He meant, of course, that the minimum wage “is the stuff” of Congresses.
Voters, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, generally believe that presidents establish both foreign and domestic policies. They don’t. Presidents can advocate domestic policies but Congresses generally decide them. President Clinton advocated National Health Care. The Congress killed that one. President George W. Bush (43) advocated Social Security Reform and Immigration Reform. The Congress killed both of them. It is different when it comes to foreign affairs. Clinton sent our armed forces to Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti and Kosovo. Bush sent our armed forces to Afghanistan and Iraq. Throughout our entire U.S. history our Congresses have only committed five declarations of war, while there have been some 234 foreign military engagements ordered by presidents with or without congressional approval. Since World War II, with little exception, no matter the domestic policy pursuits of presidents, it has been foreign affairs that have taken center-stage of their administrations from the atom bomb to the Korean War to the Cuban Missile Crisis to Vietnam and Cambodia to the Iranian Hostage Crisis to “Tear down this wall, Mr. Gorbachev!” to the liberation of Kuwait.
On April 10, 1975 President Ford made an impassioned plea to a Joint Session of the Congress to give the funds for aid we had promised South Vietnam in the Paris Peace Accords of January 27, 1973. The Congress refused. One week after President Ford’s rejected plea, Cambodia fell, and before the end of the month South Vietnam fell. Shortly after that I asked former President Nixon what he would have done had he still been president with the imminent surrender of Cambodia and South Vietnam while Congress denied the funds to prevent those surrenders. He answered, “I would have bombed the blazes out of Hanoi and Haiphong.” Then he added, “I would have been impeached but so what? We would have saved millions of Southeast Asian lives.” In short, presidents are commanders in chief.
In 2004, John McCain publicly advocated sending a surge of more troops to Iraq. He stuck with it until his surge was implemented by the president last year. Whether it is remembered or not, it was not that Senator McCain only supported the surge; he was the author of that policy.
When I hear the recitation of issues that are used against John McCain by any conservative, I can’t help but answer that we are in a war against those who announce their objective is, “Death to America!” They mean it. Wars are either won or lost. If we lose, then all the second-tier issues will be decided for us by an Ayatollah, an Imam, or a Mullah.
The primary season is long-since over and the luxury of 2008’s inter-party debates should be history. John McCain does not need to reach out to us. We need to reach out to him. He ran. He won. He is our candidate while the Democrats are “saddled” with Obama.
Without the base of a political party solidly behind their candidate, the party’s candidate loses and the opposition’s candidate wins. As a conservative, as a Republican and most of all as an American, I believe there is no contest in determining who is most capable of leading the United States: John McCain. His mind, his heart and his blood are filled with the stuff of presidents.
Bruce Herschensohn is currently teaching a graduate course at Pepperdine University on U.S. Foreign Policy, is author of the new book, “Above Empyrean,” and is a recognized media figure on all things political.
Bruce is one of the most honorable and decent men I’ve ever met. He would have been a great senator. Bruce ran way ahead of the losing GOP ticket in 1992, and it took a last second smear by Boxer to barely beat him.
I asked him about it in 1993. We were at a National Review gathering in San Diego. He just said, “There’s no point in holding grudges like that..” One of the absolute finest gentlemen in the world and a great Reagan Republican.
As a woman, I hate to sound like a good ol’ boy, but if she would just “let her hair down” and take off the glasses — I think she’d be even cuter.
WHAT A GREAT PICK FOR V.P.
I imagine the Mean Stream Media is going to do a “Katherine Harris” on her, tho.
God protect her when the ugliness starts.
I stopped right there.
Yeah, totally agree.
If Bruce was younger, I would marry him.
The bottom photo in your montage is photoshopped. She only appeared on the cover of that magazine wearing a long coat standing on a float plane if I remember correctly. The face is hers, the hair and the body are not. She is more than pretty, she is a kick ass governor, she was a kick ass mayor before that and she took on the corrupt republicans of Alaska and won, stopping the bridge to no where scandal. She pushed through the natural gas pipeline that other governors have failed to do. She is pro-life, pro-gun, and as conservative as they come. She is a great pick for VP and her pick shows just what a great candidate McCain really is. Go McCain/Palin.
I voted McCain in the CA primary, too.
I was for Thompson but years ago had done a lot of research on POWs. I was busy looking at Thompson at one of the debates, but I can honestly say that when I looked at John McCain, and remembered that man was tortured by some of the worst commie scum the N Vietnamese could import from USSR, China and Cuba who specialized in torture treatments, I burst out crying.
Yeah, I know McCain deviated after his divorce. Loan scandals etc. But still I watched the body language of the other GOP candidates that night and even Thompson (who knows him well) were deferring to him. And it takes a very strong man with cajones to pick such a confident gal as Palin appears to be.
I agree, Irene. She really would be a knockout if she took off her glasses and let her hair down.
However; I’m not sure this would be a good idea- at least until after she is VP.
The glasses and pinned up hair give her a more serious, studious look.
GOP - You need a NEW 'Top of the Ticket' Nominee!
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The Media and Conservative Leaders and Voters in the GOP Should Talk to Gregg Cunningham. What does Gregg Cunningham say about the situation in our Country, and in the world. I happen to believe that Gregg Cunningham may be the leader that we need for the United States. The name of Gov. Mike Rounds, South Dakota, was also mentioned on a post Wed. night. ...I believe it said two term conservative / prolife... Either Gregg, or Mike, sound better than JMcC, at the Top of the Ticket! |
FYI - Post #10
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