McCain in 2008!

I supported Mitt Romney's campaign for President from around April 2007 until he dropped out of the race last month. Once Mitt dropped out of the race, Republicans were left with John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, which is another way of saying that we were left with John McCain. For all you Huckabee fans out there, sorry, but clearly that was the truth, wasn't it? Huckabee couldn't manage to win a single state after Super Tuesday, for all his charm and "aw, shucks" aura. And for the Paul fans...are any of you seriously even reading this blog?

I am warming more quickly than I would have even thought possible to John McCain. I am about 2/3 of the way through his memoir, Worth the Fighting For. It is a little wordy and densely written at times, but parts of it are a lot of fun and other portions are very informative. The most major bones that conservatives have to pick with McCain are the Big 3 pieces of legislation: McCain/Kennedy, McCain/Lieberman and MCCAIN/FEINGOLD!!! Love them or hate them, you can understand a lot better why McCain championed these causes of you read his exceedingly lengthy chapter on the Keating Five scandal in which he was embroiled in the late '80's. I won't go into all the details here because I don't have the time or the inclination. But if you want to be informed about the man who will very possibly be the 44th President of the United States, read this book and especially that chapter. I'll tell you this much: McCain determined, once his reputation was cleared, that 1) he would always be as forthright with the press as he could possibly be and 2) he would support any cause that he felt benefitted the nation as a whole, whether its legislative sponsor was a Republican or a Democrat. Add to that the feeling of a second chance being granted after near destruction in a financial imbroglio....ergo, McCain/Feingold, one of the most unconstitutional pieces of legislation in the last 10 years.

There is much to like about McCain, though. I LOVE the promises to veto any spending bill that contains an earmark. We can only hope so. He also has a solidly pro-life record and can't be faulted on the national security front. I believe he is a man of conviction, and there is a certain integrity about him, as well. Definitely an American war hero...(I hadn't seen the footage of his Vietnam capture and imprisonment until this last weekend; WOW!) and he seems to be trying to reach out to those on his right, which is certainly where I reside!

I really can't see much difference between McCain and Bush, at all, except for Bush's support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union only between a man and a woman, which McCain twice voted against. Evangelicals supported Bush in droves in 2000 and especially 2004. Can McCain win them over? It will be interesting to watch his efforts.