The Case for John McCain

As the primary season unfolds, it is becoming more and more apparent that John McCain will emerge as the Republican candidate. While the intramural competition of primary elections is an integral part of the election process, it is time to begin to focus on the main event, The November election.

Of concern is the Greek chorus of complaint from conservatives whining about McCain's lack of conservative commitment. Of course this is not without cause as McCain has taken a number of relatively moderate positions during his career. At the same time, we need to keep our eye on the ball. Threats to boycott a McCain candidacy, or worse, to vote for the democrat, makes as much sense as those in my precinct who cast primary votes for candidates who had long before withdrawn from the race. And while this might yield a pyrrhic victory in a primary election, it amounts to gross futility in the big show. It is hard to accept the idea that going down to defeat with a “perfect” candidate is preferable to winning with an acceptable candidate, especially given the current alternatives. So let’s examine the case for John McCain:

First of all, John McCain is clearly the most elect able of the Republican candidates. While not advocating a retreat from conservative principles, I don't see the other candidates providing stronger conservative orthodoxy. At the same time, ideals are important benchmarks but politics lies more in the realm of the achievable. If John McCain is no Ronald Reagan, I ask, who is? I’m not even sure that Ronald Reagan measures up to his own legends. And I loved Ronald Reagan. Now that we have to take Mike Huckabee more seriously, I can see how his emphasis on rolling back the liberal assault on family values has appeal to many conservatives. Frankly, it appeals to me. But of all the conservative values, this is the one that the office of president has little or no power to promote. But fortunately there are several that it can:

John McCain is clearly the strongest candidate for Commander in Chief. I'm not sure who is in second place, but it boggles the mind to think of Hillary Clinton, with her notorious disdain for the military, filling that position. Islamic extremists continue to be a major threat to the U.S. Moreover, the war in Iraq will require experienced leadership, even as it winds down. This is a major gut-check issue.

When the new president takes office next January, six of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court will be over age 70, which means the next president may well be in position to reshape the court for years to come as he, or she, names new justices for lifetime terms. Any republican thinking seriously that somehow ceding the presidency to the liberals for four years will teach the party a lesson, had best re-consider the impact of those lifetime appointments. McCain has identified his advisors for judicial nominees as including conservatives such as Ted Olson, Sam Brownback and Jon Kyl. Ceding the presidency is pure folly. Ceding the appointment of Judges is political suicide.

Dealing with the influx of illegal immigrants begs for a solution. We don't seem to know who's crossing our borders and we aren't quite sure of who is already here, as estimates for the illegal population has been pinned down to between 12 and 20 million. Hey, what are 8 million people among friends? Ignoring for the moment the security concerns about terrorists gaining entry to the U.S., the impact of the "un-documented" upon our social infrastructure is a financial wild card that liberals try to ignore as they propose more and more social programs for "the Children". McCain has been accused of proposing an amnesty program, an approach that has been proven to be unworkable. At the same time, this problem is complex and one that will not be solved, as much as some conservatives demand it, by simply slamming our borders shut and deporting all the illegals, all 12 million (or is it 20 million?) of them. While that solution provides a marvelous rush of righteous indignation, I suspect the actual solution is going to take a great deal more work and maybe even some compromise.

So as the cavalcade of primaries slogs to its end and the approach of this summers' Conventions signal the start of this election's gun lap, it's time for Republicans to think long and hard about the choices being offered, and begin to get comfortable with the idea of backing John McCain for president. You can be sure that the Dems will be pulling together to back their candidate, whoever the poor wretch turns out to be.