Why I'm voting for McCain on Super Tuesday

Last summer, I didn't envision a scenario where I'd vote for John McCain for president in Illinois' Republican Primary.

Circumstances change, and people change their minds.

There are a number of core beliefs that I possess which also happen to be conservative beliefs. In 2008, the most important of those is winning the War on Terror, including of course, successfully prevailing in Iraq.

Two years ago, maybe earlier, John McCain was advocating an increase in troop levels in Iraq. A year ago, President Bush initiated what is now known as "the Surge." The Surge is working, we are winning but we haven't won quite yet.

McCain was right two years ago, Bush was wrong.

Sometimes events and individuals converge, and a leader emerges at just the right time, even when they've been wrong in the past.

Let's take Winston Churchill. (Yes, I'm fully aware that McCain doesn't possess Churchill's literary or oratory skills.)

Churchill was a disastrous Chancellor of the Exchequer, the British equivalent of Secretary of the Treasurer. Later, Churchill was one of the few members of parliament who supported King Edward VIII in the 1936 abdication crisis. Had his view prevailed, Churchill, and Great Britain, would've had a much more difficult time as prime minister with Edward, who at best could be labeled a German sympathizer after his abdication, and at worst, pro-Nazi. Which is probably why his brother, King George VI, shipped him off to the Bahamas to serve as governor there. The colony viewed as one of the most insignificant possessions of the British Empire.

Widely seen as lazy and worthless as the Prince of Wales even by his father, George V, Churchill, no stranger to aristocracy, surely knew that about Edward. To be fair to Churchill, he didn't know about Edward's German sympathies in 1936.

Yes, McCain was wrong on McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Obama (Just kidding, I made that one up), and in voting against the Bush tax-cuts. And he's wrong on his opposition to drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But he's right on Iraq, and has been for a while. A retreat from Iraq, along the lines of our 1975 cut-and-run from Saigon, would be catastrophic for this nation--and the world.

About the other candidates: Romney gets my choice as second best, but I have only one vote. At this time, it's important to look at the general election and a match up against Hillary Clinton or the surprisingly resilient Barack Obama. McCain matches up better against both candidates. As for Romney's conservative credentials, he's been fuzzy on some of the core conservative issues, particularly gun owners' rights.

But here's what's wrong with Romney. He's correct, or seems correct on most conservative issues. But he hasn't clicked with most Republican voters. And if he's not connecting with conservatives, how the heck is he going to connect with independents and right-leaning Democrats? These are votes a GOP candidate will need to win in November.

McCain connects, although I can't quite put my finger on why that is. It's certainly not because of his looks or speaking style. His war hero status helps, but also, as a Republican who was anti-Bush when it wasn't the "in" thing, it allows McCain to appeal to voters outside of the GOP base.

And let's state the obvious: This country began a lean to the Left about three years ago. It's unfortunate, but true. And there is no "white knight" out there gathering conservatives, polishing the message, and preparing the Right for victory in November.

Winning the Senate is almost an impossibility for Republicans in 2008. And in the House the GOP faces similarly daunting odds. As the Party did in the 1960s and 1970s, this time we have to place our eggs in one basket--the presidency.

Do we need more Ruth Bader Ginsburgs on the Supreme Court? Or would you prefer someone like Ted Olson? Do you expect John Paul Stevens, or Ginsburg, to live forever?

Huckabee: A genuinely sincere and nice man, but he's completely untested, like Barack Obama, on national security issues. The Democrats would have a field day with him as the Republican nominee. By the end of the general election, they'd transform him into William Jennings Bryan, the man on the wrong side of the Scopes Monkey Trial.

Ron Paul: Puh-leaze!

McCain is 71 years-old, age will be an issue for him. However, his mother is still alive, so perhaps he inherited some good genes from her.

Choosing a running mate will be a much more important decision than it will be Obama, Hillary Clinton, or Romney.

Whoever it is will have to be younger than McCain. As has been suggested elsewhere, McCain might have to think of himself as a one-term president, and his selection of a running mate should be looked at as possibly choosing the Republican nominee in 2012. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) leaps immediately to mind, although someone with executive experience in politics would be better. Yes, he's a key Romney supporter, but putting a ticket together is a bridge-building process. South Carolina has a Republican governor, 47 year-old Mark Sanford, he'd add something to a McCain ticket. If he wasn't facing re-election this fall, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), who was once Mayor of St. Paul, could work as well. And he could push Minnesota into the Republican column. Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri, who is, gasp, just 37, would bring be a formidable running mate too.

As for the anti-McCain folks on the Right. I understand your disappointment, but the stars have aligned and it appears that they've done it in McCain's favor. If McCain ends up to be, as Tammy Bruce said on the Fox News Channel an hour ago, "Hillary Clinton in drag," there is another election four years from now. As for McCain-Kennedy, the "shamnesty bill," I take his word that he won't bring it back. And if he did, I can't see Congress approving it.

Ann Coulter says if McCain is the Republican nominee, she'll vote for Hillary Clinton. As she did with her recent comment about the need for Jews to be "perfected" and become Christians, Coulter has gone too far. But she got her name in the media, again, and sold some more books.

As for myself, let the hate mail begin.

Thanks for the link: ...With Both Hands

Technorati tags: democrats elections 2008 Hillary Clinton Hillary Obama Barack Obama McCain Romney Republican Huckabee Mitt South Carolina Minnesota Jim DeMint Mark Sanford Norm Coleman Minnesota Ron Paul Tammy Bruce Ann Coulter Winston Churchill Missouri Matt Blunt