Below is an e-mail exchange I had with my mom. She's a McCain supporter and had forwarded an e-mail explaining why people were going to vote for McCain. This is my response:
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Mom,
Thank you for forwarding that, as I've been trying to find someone to articulate why they liked McCains' platform. I'll assume that you agree with what you forwarded since you don't indicate to the contrary. Here's my response and why I think people should vote for Obama instead of McCain:
Yes, McCain conducted himself in accordance with the Code of Conduct when he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. A code taught to all our military members. That he held to it is a credit to him, but not unique to him. Also, the fact that he served in the military is laudable. But it is also one of the primary reasons that he is less qualified to be a good President. It is the same reason that I would not be a good President. People instinctively reach for what they are most familiar with. In my case, as in Senator McCain's case, that is the military. How could it be otherwise? It is what we have lived and what we know. However, the military should be the very last of the tools a president reaches for in his pursuit of foreign relations and policy. Sen McCain knows this, and has on occasion even uttered these words in public. But he hasn't internalized them. This is readily evidenced by his proposal that we implement a spending "freeze" with the exception of the military and veteran affairs as a means of addressing our current financial crisis. This very clearly communicates what his priorities are, and I believe them to be wrong. Having served 14.5 years in the military myself, I feel I am entitled to weigh in on this issue. As for the "unblemished record" the below author claims, this is simply not true. McCain was one of the Keating 5--directly involved in the largest savings and loan fraud ever perpetrated on the American people. It is unfortunate that you were unable to watch the video I sent you, as it appears to detail the particulars of this as narrarated by the government regulator who was directly involved with it. That notwithstanding, a quick google of "Keating 5" should bring up the relevant facts of the matter. While the resulting congressional inquiry did not find that McCain acted "improperly", it did find that he exercised "poor judgment". Beyond this, one has but to fact check the attack ads that McCain is running to find his tactics both dishonest and hypocritical. I specifically refer to the ad where Obama is portrayed as saying that Americans were just "air raiding villages and killing civilians" in Afghanistan. It then goes on to berate him for having voted against a funding bill for the troops. On the first point, the words shown are taken out of context and spun. In context, he was actually advancing the idea that we need to increase the number of ground troops in Afghanistan so that we are not limited to air raids on villages which DO kill civilians along with their intended targets. Being an Air Force fighter pilot, I can tell you with authority that that's a fact. Obama also steadfastly refers to the work that our soldiers are doing as "heroic" and advocates great benefits be extended to them, both in terms of education and health care (to include much better treatment for post traumatic stress disorder--a condition known to affect many of our homeless veterans). On the second point, McCain is grossly hypocritical to even bring this up, since he ALSO voted against the particular funding bill that is being referenced--but he conveniently didn't want to tell you that part.
However, enough of throwing spears at McCain. The individual who wrote the message you sent complains that no-one he's talked to can articulate why a person should vote FOR Obama. As incredible as this seems to me, I can answer that mail. Here are a few of the reasons that I like Obama (in no particular order):
1) Among the tasks facing our next President is the restoration of American standing and stature in the world. Obama is already vastly more favorably viewed in international circles than is McCain, making this task easier for him to accomplish. Not "easy", mind you, but "easier" since he has a better starting position.
2) Obama is intimately versed in both black and white culture, making him a leading figure in overcoming the remaining race relation issues that linger in our country. Being mulatto, there are many who reflexively grouped him with and treated him as black. However, being raised by his white single mother, and then by his white grandparents, he has lived through both sides of the issues are and so understands both sides at a very fundamental level. If you missed the speech that he gave on race relations, it is well worth referencing--easily on par and in keeping with the tenor struck by such distinguished men as Martin Luther King. And for those who have asserted that "you don't elect a black man to lead a white country" (a direct quote, these people are still out there), I have two suggestions. First, check your racist attitude at the door. Second, check the projected demographics which indicate that in the very near future, this will no longer be a majority white country.
3) Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest 5% of Americans while giving tax cuts or no tax increases to the other 95% of us seems the only responsible thing to do in light of the fact that we have doubled the national debt over the course of the last 8 years. We have to pay for that SOMEHOW, and the primary way government gets money is through taxes. So, while nobody enjoys taxes, it is our collective responsibility to pay the debts that we have, as a nation, already run up. It is true that Obama proposes a number of new programs that will cost money. However it is also true that he consistently outlines how he intends to pay for each of his intended initiatives. By contrast, McCain's intended policy of continuing to give tax cuts to big corporations has already been proven a failure. This really comes as no surprise to me. Trickle-down economics doesn't and never will work for the simple reason that people are greedy. This is not meant so much as a pejorative statement, just an observation. If they weren't basically a little greedy, then we wouldn't praise people for being generous--it would be the norm. From this perspective, if you give more money to people at the top, who don't need to go spend it on anything, its really not surprising to me that they're usually going to keep it. On the other hand, if you make more money available to people who are struggling to make ends meet, it seems obvious that they will turn around and buy more of the things that they are in need of. If you want to jump start the economic engine, this seems a much better way to go about it. While we're on the subject of economics, I have spoken with a distressing number of people who seem to hold an altogether caustic opinion of the poor in this country. Yes, it is probably true that some of them are in that position because they're lazy. But to assume that such is the norm is both elitist and, in my experience, incorrect. Many of the "poor" people that I am personally familiar with are junior enlisted members in our armed forces, who routinely put in a 10 to 12 hour work day and then (when they're not deployed) go work a second job to try to provide adequately for their families. To castigate such fine people as "lazy" is deeply offensive to me.
4) Obama favors strong investment in renewable energy sources in an effort to rid ourselves of dependance on Middle Eastern oil over the next 10 years. This is actually a point that the two candidates agree on--the differences are only in the details. While not wildly enthusiastic about it (and contrary to McCain's claims), Obama does support offshore drilling to tap additional domestic sources of oil. However, he also points out that there is no conceivable way that we can simply drill ourselves out of this fix. We only have 3% of the world's known oil reserves, yet consume 25% of the world's oil. At best, increased domestic drilling can represent part of a bridge to a new mix of energy sources. By aggressively pursuing wind, solar, bio-fuels, geo-thermal, clean coal, and nuclear technologies, we can simultaneously stop sending $700B a year to other nations for their oil (many of whom don't really like us), and create thousands of new jobs here in America. Jobs that cannot be shipped overseas, since they will revolve around building and sustaining the new energy infrastructure that we create.
5) Obama champions strong investment in improving our nation's schools, to include incentive pay for outstanding teachers along with an across the board raise in teachers' salaries. Beyond this, he calls on our youth to invest in their country, either in the military or in a greatly expanded version of the Peace Corp. I think this is a fantastic idea, as it will give many more Americans the opportunity to serve in an organization greater than themselves in pursuit of national goals and improvement. It will allow them to identify themselves as Americans and gain pride in their nation. Even better, in my book, is if that service includes the opportunity to serve overseas, as this would be an eye-opening experience to many--helping them to finally understand the freedoms and privileges that they grew up taking for granted. This is not to fault anyone. I am merely stating that most in our country lack this perspective, and without it, how can you really appreciate what you've got? In return for the youth investing in our country, our country will invest in them, extending the same kinds of educational benefits currently accorded to those who serve in our military through the G.I. Bill. This will make going to college a much more attainable goal for many who are both willing and capable of completing higher education, but simply lack the means to do so at this time. By thus establishing a more educated and much more broadly experienced workforce, the nation will benefit in its ability to compete in a global economy.
6) It is true the Obama has not served in the military himself. However, he demonstrates a much firmer grasp of very basic military principals than McCain does. To begin with, a gentleman by the name of Sun Tzu made a remarkable observation a VERY long time ago, which is still true today. The observation was that never, in the history of the whole world, has it been a good thing for any nation to be perpetually at war. Our nation has been in perpetual conflict since at least the first Gulf War (arguably much longer). We just called the intervening years Operations NORTHERN and SOUTHERN watch (among others). McCain is on public record as having no problems with continuing to fight in Iraq for as long as the "next hundred years". The reasons that protracted conflict are bad are many. They include the following though: First, war is expensive both in terms of blood and money--and you will bleed your country dry of both if you remain at war indefinitely. Second, the longer you fight an enemy, the more you teach him your tactics and the more effective you make him. Even if our whole country was wildly enthusiastic about being in Iraq, the fact remains that we can't afford it. We are spending $10B per month there. This is money that we don't have. We are having to borrow it from countries like China, adding to an already massive national debt. We are doing this while the Iraqis are sitting on a $79B surplus. Yes, we invaded Iraq and yes, it would have been extremely irresponsible to then turn around and leave immediately. However, that's not what we did. We invaded them over 5 years ago and have invested heavily in trying to help them rebuild since then. Many of the remaining problems are rooted in deep fault-lines within Iraq's own population. For time out of mind, Sunnis and Shi'ites have fought each other--and until THEY work out a compromise that will work for THEM, all we are going to do by being there is akin to puting a band-aid on a case of gangrene and getting our troops killed in the process. This brings me to a second basic military principal which Obama demonstrates a better fundamental grasp of: the necessity to commit sufficient force to a military endeavor to achieve victory. Obama is very clear on the point that we are involved in two wars: one in Iraq, and one in Afghanistan. One which should never have been started, and one which we cannot afford to lose respectively. On Sept 11, 2001, our nation was attacked, and we rightly answered that attack. I served in Kyrgyzstan in 2002 with an international coalition of 8 nations who all stood with us and believed in the justice of our cause. We had a very good opening game, but since then we have lost our way. As a result, many who once stood with us, do so no longer. There was no reason that had to happen. As I mentioned earlier, Obama correctly champions the idea of increasing our troop commitment to Afghanistan in order to finally finish the job that we started there. However, with the massive commitments we currently face in Iraq, we are unable to do this. We have nothing else left to send. Our guard and reserve forces are fully tapped already--which functionally means that we have no reserve (which is a terrible position to be in, but I won't go in to that here). Therefore, I heartily approve of Obama's proposal that we responsibly and expeditiously end our involvement in Iraq so that we can conclude business in Afghanistan--the original and true front in this "war on terror".
A personal observation at this point: While we definitely had to respond to the Sept 11, 2001 attack, declaring "war on terrorism" was not the way to go about it for two fundamental reasons. First, terrorism is a method of warfare which always has (and always will) be chosen by the weaker side in a conflict as the most effective means of fighting the stronger side. It is cheap, it is effective, and it is very easy to maintain for a very long time. Thus, there will always be terrorists. This leads right back to Sun Tzu's caution about not fighting perpetual wars. Second, since we backed the mujahadeen (essentially a collection of 7 different terrorist organizations) as a means of kicking the Russians out of Afghanistan, it is entirely hypocritical of us to then turn around a crusade against a method of warfare that we have used ourselves. So, while we needed to respond to the attack we suffered, we also needed to establish what our strategic objectives would be. Once again, Obama has articulated a position that I agree with: kill Osama Bin Laden. This is specific, it is measurable, and it is achievable. All too often, people seem to think that the implied end-state for our "war on terror" is to kill all terrorists everywhere. This could not be further from the truth. For proof of my point, just look to history. In World War II, we didn't kill all the Germans. We didn't even kill all the Nazis. Nor did we kill all the Japanese. Nor even all of those most devoted to their emporer. The point is that at some point, we have to figure out how we're going to live with those who were once our enemies. And this brings me to another reason that I like Obama:
7. Obama has said that he intends to sit down and talk with both our friends AND our enemies. This is in keeping with my basic understanding of what diplomacy is. That he is intent on trying diplomacy first is exactly what we should want in our leaders. To borrow a quote from the musical 1776 (attributed to Stephen Hopkins, one of our founding fathers), "I've never seen, heard, nor smelt an issue so dangerous it couldn't be talked about--hell yes! I'm for debating anything!" President Bush's policy, which McCain appears intent on continuing, of refusing to speak with nations we don't like is another proven failure. For example, under this policy, Iran has gone from zero to now claiming over 6000 nuclear centrifuges. While it is possible that this would have happened even had we been in dialog with them, there is also the possibility that a diplomatic resolution could have been reached--and we know that not talking to them didn't produce the desired result.
As this is getting rather long winded, I will content myself with the first seven reasons that sprang to mind for why I think people should vote FOR Obama. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you like, and I welcome discussions with any who so desire. My truest hope is, regardless of which candidate people choose to vote for--that they will be voting for their candidate's positions, not merely in opposition to the "other" party. David--- On Wed, 10/8/08, Pamela wrote:
From: Pamela Subject: Fw: Letter worth readingTo: Date: Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 2:42 PMWell sports fans, if this is a hoax, so be it.To be honest the whole election sounds like one to me.But IF Obama and McCain really are the candidates we have to chose between here is a well written, if somewhat verbose, letter stating why you should consider McCain over Obama. ^_^.---------- Forwarded Message ----------Well worth reading as you consider how you will vote----- Original Message ----- From: Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 7:35 AMSubject: Fw: Letter worth reading----- Original Message ----- From: Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 6:57 AMSubject: Fw: Letter worth readingThis is long, but worth taking the time to read. Letter worth reading THIS LETTER MAKES MORE SENSE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE SEEN, HEARD, OR READ, CONCERNING THE UPCOMING ELECTION... IT'S A LETTER FROM A U.S. CITIZEN... WHO LIVES IN ILLINOIS... AND OBVIOUSLY IS A "SELF-THINKER"... NOT JUST A "FOLLOWER"!!! IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING, REGARDING THIS ELECTION... LET THIS BE THE ONE THING!! AFTER READING IT, YOU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO FORWARD IT TO OTHER AMERICANS WHO ARE "SELF THINKERS"!! An impassioned letter from a "nobody". Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 3:19 PM Subject: FW: A letter from Illinois Dear Friends: My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are "two Americas " but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first. The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news", thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs. We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right? I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change". "Change what?", I ask. "Well, we're going to change America", they say. "In what way?", I query. "We want someone new and fresh in the White House", they exclaim. "So, someone who's not a politician?", I say. "Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama", they state. "So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news, and win his party's nomination for the White House that system's all wrong?" "No, no, that part of the system's okay we just need a lot of change." And so it goes. "Change we can believe in." Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why only that he's going to change a lot of stuff "Change, change, change." I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change. We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, "What qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?" CHANGE WHAT? Friends, I'll be forthright with you I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes. For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice. Here's a question - "Where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6,000 meals, give or take." John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began. Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain. Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying "We honor John McCain's service...BUT...", which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country, and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change." I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change, can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in1981 and elected to the Senate in1982. Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe "likeability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES. Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why. There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country. I want a President who's qualified to lead. I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain. Phone: 760.434.1395 E-mail: ronald.hess@alumni.purdue.edu
From: Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 6:57 AMSubject: Fw: Letter worth readingThis is long, but worth taking the time to read. Letter worth reading THIS LETTER MAKES MORE SENSE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE SEEN, HEARD, OR READ, CONCERNING THE UPCOMING ELECTION... IT'S A LETTER FROM A U.S. CITIZEN... WHO LIVES IN ILLINOIS... AND OBVIOUSLY IS A "SELF-THINKER"... NOT JUST A "FOLLOWER"!!! IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING, REGARDING THIS ELECTION... LET THIS BE THE ONE THING!! AFTER READING IT, YOU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO FORWARD IT TO OTHER AMERICANS WHO ARE "SELF THINKERS"!! An impassioned letter from a "nobody". Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 3:19 PM Subject: FW: A letter from Illinois Dear Friends: My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are "two Americas " but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first. The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news", thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs. We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right? I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change". "Change what?", I ask. "Well, we're going to change America", they say. "In what way?", I query. "We want someone new and fresh in the White House", they exclaim. "So, someone who's not a politician?", I say. "Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama", they state. "So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news, and win his party's nomination for the White House that system's all wrong?" "No, no, that part of the system's okay we just need a lot of change." And so it goes. "Change we can believe in." Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why only that he's going to change a lot of stuff "Change, change, change." I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change. We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, "What qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?" CHANGE WHAT? Friends, I'll be forthright with you I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes. For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice. Here's a question - "Where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6,000 meals, give or take." John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began. Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain. Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying "We honor John McCain's service...BUT...", which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country, and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change." I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change, can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in1981 and elected to the Senate in1982. Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe "likeability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES. Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why. There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country. I want a President who's qualified to lead. I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain. Phone: 760.434.1395 E-mail: ronald.hess@alumni.purdue.edu
