March 3, 2008
If Clark and Champaign County Republicans want their candidate to hold the White House in November, they should run and not walk to the polls Tuesday to vote for Arizona Sen. John McCain.
He is the most capable GOP candidate the party has nominated since Bob Dole, and he has a realistic vision for how he would lead this country. The race for the Republican nomination is all but over and McCain has rightly been chosen by GOP voters as the best in the field.
But a strong showing by GOP voters Tuesday is what the McCain campaign needs in order to compete for votes from a general electorate that clearly is seeking a change in the direction of this country.
McCain's only serious challenger at this point is former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Huckabee gets points for persistence. But as a candidate whose top issue is controlling immigration, he must think the Republican Party really is represented by the rantings of its fringe lunatics on TV and talk radio.
Thankfully, it is not.
This is still the party of Lincoln. It is still the party that, especially locally, has produced officeholders who sought election in order to get something accomplished, did their work and moved on with their lives. It is a party that has been mightily damaged by its candidate in the White House, and McCain is its first best hope to regain the nation's trust.
If history is any guide, more than half of all voters in November will not be members of either party. Most of us do not consider ourselves Republicans or Democrats. The best leaders create policies with the entire nation in mind, not just their base, and McCain has produced a record of public service that shows he would govern as president that way.
McCain's service to this country is almost beyond honorable. A child
of some privilege, he sought combat in a war that many of his economic peers
successfully avoided. He survived internment as a prisoner of war. He has served
his home state of Arizona well and participated in legislative initiatives that
sought to take care of problems regardless of whether a bill's co-sponsor
happened to be a Democrat.
McCain's main issue is the war in Iraq. He believes there is still a victory to be had there and is opposed to signaling any sign of retreat. It's typical of McCain to stick with his convictions, even though most Americans are tired of this war. But Republicans who don't see a light at the end of the Iraqi tunnel will be conflicted.
McCain was recently the subject of a New York Times investigation that accused him of impropriety with a female lobbyist. The story in the newspaper that conservatives love to hate has helped him with his party's base.
McCain has demonstrated a maverick's nature on some issues. Campaign finance, immigration and a willingness to work with Democrats are issues that have made him the target of talk radio.
But he is a true conservative. He's just not as doctrinaire as some in his party seem to think he needs to be.
But that element has controlled the party for the two terms of George W. Bush, who has seen his popularity plunge to lows rarely seen for modern American presidencies.
A candidate in his mold would have little appeal to independent voters worried about their jobs, health care and America's standing in the world.
John McCain is the Republicans' best hope to retain the White House.
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