Sunday, July 20, 2008

McCain is the Wrong Man

Lately there's been a lot of talk about Obama's and McCain's qualifications to be president. I'd agree with those who say Obama is light on experience, but I have a lot of trust in his knowledge, his instincts and his calm and positive demeanor. On the other hand, I've become more and more convinced that McCain would mean big trouble for our country because he lacks knowledge and seems socially retarded. In these respects, McCain differs little from our current unsuccessful president.

It's no surprise that McCain's supporters focus on his military background and his POW status in order to depict him as a great patriot. In my view, his version of patriotism is about all he has to offer. Like Bush, his education is dated and there's little evidence he's been a dedicated student of world affairs and the cultural, business, and social issues that face America today. There's plenty of evidence that he has a short fuse, speaks before he thinks, and has a penchant for being crude in public and private. Because his family's wealth and his privileged status as a tenured senator have isolated him from the challenges faced by average Americans, he is unable to clearly explain domestic issues or speak coherently about how to address them. And lastly, his mental and physical stamina is suspect due to his age. In short, he's not competent to be president unless you feel patriotism is the sole criteria.

I don't hate John McCain. He is a product of his environment, as we all are, and I doubt he is an evil person like Dick Cheney. But, remember: he is running for the most important and demanding job in the world. McCain is clearly the wrong man.

2 comments:

Woozie said...

I read a post elsewhere speculating that John McCain may have early stages of Alzheimer's, citing increasingly common gaffes like "the Iraq/Pakistan border". It was worth a chuckle, but may be a possibility. I'm no doctor.

Ron Davison said...

I agree with all that you say but still feel like if the Republicans were going to hold the White House these last 8 years it would have gone so much better with John than George. I sometimes wonder if his winning the nomination doesn't reflect that kind of regret among Republicans. Can anyone say, "too late?"