January 25, 2008
The wisdom in moving Florida's presidential primary ahead of next month's Super Tuesday vote has been proven.
For the past week, the Republican candidates have been in Florida, debating and giving GOP voters a solid look at them, their credentials and positions that they wouldn't otherwise have gotten if Florida were a Super Tuesday state like New York or Illinois.
Now the speechmaking, rallies and debating are coming to an end. It is time to make up minds and vote.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Editorial Board recommends Republican voters choose Arizona Sen. John McCain.
McCain offers the right mix of experience and ideological autonomy that should
strike a chord with restless voters.
No, he's not an outsider, having served in Congress since 1982, including the past 22 years in the U.S. Senate. During that time, however, he carved out a role as an individualist, having supported two pieces of legislation that angered his own party. One was the McCain-Feingold campaign fundraising law. The other was the sensible and practical McCain-Kennedy bill to reform immigration laws, which stalled due to congressional bickering.
McCain supported the Iraq war, but was an early and vocal critic of the way the war has been mismanaged. He is right, however, to oppose a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops, a decision that could leave Iraq with a weak or failed state that could ultimately threaten U.S. security, as happened with Yemen and Afghanistan.
He argues that Washington must now allow the surge's success in quelling violence to permit the Iraqi government and security forces to coalesce. It may be an unsatisfying course, and a galling one given the misguided, if not deceptive, reasons for invading Iraq in the first place, but it's the most practical and best option for the near future.
McCain's economic plan calls on stimulating the economy by reining in spending, making permanent the Bush tax cuts permanent, which he initially opposed, and reducing the corporate tax. Stimulus has a proven track record in re-energizing recessionary economies, and the 2001 Bush tax cut helped pull America from a meltdown after the 9-11 attacks.
America today faces budget deficits and a $9 trillion debt. Any economic plan to invigorate growth must take into account debt and deficits, and at least commit itself to paring debts once fortunes rebound.
McCain also opposes a national catastrophe fund, a position that is a disappointment to many Floridians. He does, however, call for fixing the emergency management agency FEMA, which sorely needs much better controls.
Nonetheless, a national cat fund could lessen the price tag that federal taxpayers would get stuck with in the event of a debilitating and costly national disaster. McCain has a track record in reaching across political fault lines and he ought to give a cat fund a second look.
McCain's greatest strength
Where McCain is strongest, however, is
the moral authority he would restore to the American presidency. McCain, a
Marine pilot during Vietnam, was held prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton, where he and
others were tortured.
In contrast to the current administration, McCain is clear and direct in his opposition to the use of torture and unequivocal in stating that he would close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He does not mince words on the damage the Abu Ghraib scandal has had on America's standing in the world.
That kind of "straight talk," and straight action would go a long way toward bridging divisions with allies across the globe. His earnest, candid talk of working with Democrats to end deadlocks and stand-offs in Congress is also appealing.
At 71, McCain would be the oldest man elected to the White House. There are concerns his age could be a limiting factor, and the stresses of the presidency are well-documented.
But in a nearly hour-long interview with the
Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board on Wednesday, McCain showed energy and passion that
suggest he's got the fire and desire to serve.
Other GOP candidates
His key opponents in Florida include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Giuliani has spent much of his energy and money in Florida, where a large base of former New York residents gives him a wellspring of support.
In a meeting with the Editorial Board in December, he reiterated his support for a national catastrophe fund and has a similar, workable plan for immigration reform, even though his high-tech plan to patrol the border sounds a bit sci-fi. His tax plan calling for simplified filings and a reduced corporate tax is appealing, too.
The mayor of New York during 9-11, Giuliani also brings a much-needed focus on the war on terror, which lost its way after the Iraq invasion. Giuliani would certainly refocus government goals and efforts to protect the U.S. homeland and find Osama bin Laden.
Once thought to have a lock on the state, Giuliani has seen his lead evaporate in the polls, largely because he yielded the national attention to McCain and others who campaigned in previous primaries and caucuses, which Giuliani passed on.
There lies one of the biggest knocks against the Big Apple's ex-mayor, electability. His Florida focus suggests he can't win in places like Michigan, Iowa or South Carolina. That's problematic, and it's a major concern that Republican voters must weigh.
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