NRO: John McCain For President

National Review Online: Given The Choice Between A Liberal And A Moderate, Conservatives Must Choose John McCain

(National Review Online)  This column was written by The Editors of National Review Online.

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This election does not present Americans with a straight-up choice between conservatism and liberalism. This is not so much because John McCain is a moderate, although he is, as because liberals are likely to have effective majorities in both houses of Congress. Thus the choice we face is, in most respects, between a liberalism that is checked and one that is not.

We have reached this point because of the unpopularity of President Bush, the parlous state of the economy, and the enduring weakness of Republican positions on domestic policy. Senator McCain has done little to overcome these obstacles to his presidential hopes, and as a result he trails in the polls.

His opponent, Barack Obama, is a talented young politician who has shown both discipline and savvy in beating Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Given the initial odds against him, it is not quite right to say that he is untested. Yet his accomplishments, beyond propelling himself to the top of American politics, are few.

His views place him on the left edge of liberalism. The press has ruled that discussion of his extensive association with radicals is outside the bounds of polite society, although his history surely demonstrates at the very least that he has followed a policy of having no enemies to the left - and indicates that he probably shared more of their views than he now lets on.

The platform on which Obama is running is troubling enough. He advocates higher tax rates than any Democratic presidential candidate of the past 20 years has called for. He favors a health-care plan that would move millions of Americans from the private plans they prefer to a government system - and, in the long run, would reduce the quality and raise the cost of health care. He is more hostile to trade liberalization than any presidential nominee of either party within the last 70 years. He supports taxpayer funding of abortion. He seeks judges who “empathize” with liberal causes rather than feel themselves bound by the text of the Constitution. And with a stronger liberal base in Congress than any Democratic president has had in at least 40 years, he would have a good chance to get much of this domestic agenda accomplished.

His chief foreign-policy commitments have been to meet with America’s enemies - one could be forgiven for wondering whether he even thinks in terms of America’s having enemies - and to abandon Iraq. If he had prevailed on Iraq over the last three years, we would have lost a war that we now appear to be winning.

Luckily for the United States and Iraq, Senator McCain prevailed instead. He advocated the troop increase and strategic shift now known as the surge, first when other Republicans were denying the need for any change and then when they were rushing to quit the war. When President Bush came around on the need for the surge, McCain overlooked their past differences and became the policy’s most effective advocate. If we win in Iraq, McCain will deserve a good deal of the credit.

McCain has a solid record of opposing economically damaging tax increases. He has always opposed abortion. He has advanced a creative free-market health-care policy, even if he has not done much to defend it against Obama’s dishonest attacks. He is a scourge of wasteful spending and a resolute free trader. He says that he will look for judges who have demonstrated their fidelity to the Constitution as written. We have our differences with McCain, as do most conservatives, on such issues as immigration and stem cells. On each of these issues, however, Obama is at least as mistaken.

We have no doubt that if McCain is president we will find much to criticize. But we will be confident that we have the right commander-in-chief and that liberals do not have a free hand to remake our country. In this election we support Senator McCain and urge all conservatives to do so as well.

CBS IF ONLY YOU DIDNT HAVE A LIBERAL AGENDA, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO OBJECTIVE EVEN HANDED REPORTING OR DID IT NEVER REALLY EXIST. WHO WE KIDDING HERE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SLANTED TOWARD THE DEMS FROM THE START YOU IGNORE ANYTHING GOOD THAT HAPPENS ANYWHERE AS FAR AS THE WAR GOES. YOU BLAME THE IDOIT POLITICANS FOR ECONOMIC CYCLES THAT HAPPEN NO MATTER WHO IS IN POWER.... IF THEY DEMOCRATS REALLY WANTED TO CHANGE THEY THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE SURE THE BAILOUT HAD NEVER HAPPENED.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU CANT YOU SEE THE FOREST THRU THE TREES IF YOU LET THE GREED RULE YOU WILL BE ROBBED WE DEREGULATE THIS AND THAT AND WE GET SCREWED BY THE THIEVES THAT MOVE IN. lOOK AT A HISTORY BOOK SEE HOW THINGS WORK REMEMBER THIS LINE" THOSE WHO DONT LEARN FROM HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT... IE LOOK UP TEEDY ROOSEVELTS PRESIDENCY FOR HINTS ON HOW THIS PROBLEM MAY HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, GOD SAVE THE WORLD FROM THE *** RUNNING IT PLEASE

[noloyalisti]

Posted by doncbs

Since you have NOTHING else to say for your pathetic and evil Republicon Party, you have to make stuff up. My great grandparents were from Russia so I guess that makes me a communist. I believe Obama is an American.

Keep up the good work demonstrating WHAT A IDIOT sounds like. Thanks for sharing.

[doncbs]

I have two questions:
#1. I read online that Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother''s side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father''s side. While Barack Hussein Obama''s father was from Kenya , his father''s family was mainly Arabs. Barack Hussein Obama''s father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father''s birth certificate even states he''s Arab, not African Negro). From....and for more....go to.....
If this is true I think he has insulted the Arabic peoples by letting people think he is black. What else is he hiding?
Secondly: Look at the big picture. Congress makes the laws and the Democrat''s took control of congress two years ago. Since then oil set historic prices when at no time was there an oil shortage. People that knew that ahead of time, and people who sell oil made huge amounts of money the last couple of years. Barack Hussein Obama is over 40% Arabic, I would like him to disclose the major contributors that allowed him to raise an all time record of 150 million in campaign contributions this September at a time people can''t afford to put gas in there cars, and many have lost there homes and jobs. He is trying to buy this election outspending John 10 to 1. Is that fair? Why has the mainstream media not addressed these two issues??? Something is wrong here.

[fcb155]

Pailn throws McCain under the Bus.
Palin and Joe the Plumber rule.

[jsl45]

McBush, just what we need 4 more years of the disaster Bush thrust upon us.....

[idnnsg]

"McCain has done 6 years in prison and been to war.
I trust McCain. When things get tough he stands strong ! ! !

Posted by old300d

Really? Are you SURE about that? Because McCain himself says that when things got tough (he crashed his 5th airplane and was injured and captured by the Viet Cong), that he CAVED and gave up US military secrets in exchange for medical treatment! Is THAT what you meant by, "he stands strong"? What he did, most people call being a "traitor", but to the mindless minions of the repuke party, he''s a "hero"! That makes NO SENSE to me!

And then there''s the little matter about McCain flip-flopping all over the place about whether our economy is "fundamentally strong" or "in a serious crisis" and his PRETEND suspension of his campaign and his claim that HE solved the problem when no agreement had yet been made, followed by McCain claiming the bailout was a GOOD thing, then he said it was a BAD thing, then... the old bugger certainly is CONFUSED!

[lostcountry1]

when obama is asked a question, he answers the question with relevant up to date interest. when mcamnesty man is asked a question he says he''ll change or fix things,but never actually says anything. then he starts whining about his pow experience. i guess he was the only pow from the vietnam war?as far as picking palin? her strong "ethical" values must have been a strong point. she cant even run her own family,let alone anything else.i think the repugs threw mclame and plain under the bus because they knew they would never stand a chance of winning after what GOUGE WORTHLESS BUSHIT has done to their party. the repug base should not be fighting with the dems.they should be hanging their failed leader g.w.bushit!

[lostcountry1]

we can only hope that when obama is president,he remembers all of the neo-cons that tried to trash him. we,ll see who gets the last laugh then.

[old300d]

When things got tough for Obama he threw his Grandma under the bus. Remember ?

[old300d]

McCain has done 6 years in prison and been to war.

I trust McCain. When things get tough he stands strong ! ! !