Endorsement for President of the U.S.

I have finally decided to endorse a candidate for the office of President of the United States.

We have been hearing for some time now that everybody wants change. Well, so do I, but I am getting a little concerned over the extent of changes that some candidates want to exact on the American people. For an instance -- the health care plans of the Democratic candidates, which would mandate that some people buy insurance. I don't know what happened to the single-payer plan, which would take it out of taxes that might be proportionate to income, but apparently that idea has sailed out the window. Now the proposals are to just make people pay for it and then they'll be covered. If they COULD have paid for it they WOULD have been covered! So, the Clinton plan has fallen out of my favor. As for Obama, he is not real clear on just how he plans to lower costs -- everybody who goes for cost cutting cites waste, fraud, and abuse and nothing real ever gets done about that. So Obama's plan is out too.

I also do not like the idea of pulling out of Iraq prematurely. Yes, I hate the war there and it should never have been started. Yes, I think the target should have been Usama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda all along and that we had a shot at killing most of them in Afghanistan and blew it. But the situation is what it is now, a big mess, and guess who's still nominated to clean it up? The United States. I do not think our enemies in the Middle East are the type who can be trusted to negotiate honorably, not with the memories of the thousands of innocents killed in the Twin Towers seared in my mind, along with those of the burnt bodies of American security contractors hanging from a bridge in Fallujah. We're not getting loose from it that way, people, sorry. We will have to keep killing the bad guys until there are no more bad guys. That's how you win wars. Even the ones you blunder into by mistake.

I do not think there is an ideal candidate for this office. There are some major political and personal flaws in all three of the principals still effectively campaigning. I have discussed Clinton and Obama somewhat, but my main peeves about Obama are lack of experience and lack of definition. He's a natural demagogue with a dubious voting record considering what he seems to be trying to represent himself to be, an old line social liberal. Hillary Clinton comes off as more experienced, but she has basically just been a President's wife and policy advisor, a US Senator, and a lawyer pushing social issues. And, I fear neither Democratic candidate would do enough to ensure American sovereignty and American rights in the international scene. They both strike me now as being too willing to say anything to get elected as the Democratic race comes down to the wire.

As for John McCain, I detest his stance on abortion, I do not like his willingness to grovel to the right wing of his party, and I think he would be far better served at this point, when he has the GOP nomination all but sewed up, to start reaching out to Democrats and independents, as he has done in the Senate so effectively in the past, instead of still trying to win the wing of the GOP that has been losing the primaries. It's plain as the nose on my face that even most Republicans are sick of the far right dominance of American politics and are screaming for a break from Dittoheads dictating policy. That having been said, I think his past record speaks for itself as being that of a practical leader who can get things done that are in the best interests of the most people.

So, this is a qualified endorsement: John McCain for President of the United States. It comes coupled with a recommendation which I have long had in mind, and which others are suggesting as well: Nominate Condoleezza Rice for Vice President. She is a good, moderate conservative who has shown both a willingness and an ability to tackle very thorny problems in the world in her capacity as Secretary of State, doing so with what I believe is an honorable record. I believe this combination would appeal to both independents and the moderate voters in both parties, as well as to black people and women who may be seeking alternatives to Obama and Clinton that are more credible than ultra conservatives like Alan Keyes and Mitt Romney.

So those are my final endorsements: John McCain for President, and Condoleezza Rice for Vice President.