McCain is the man we need in the White House

John McCain has the right stuff to become president of the United States. We’re heard all the tired arguments: he’s too old, too temperamental, too out of touch, too wedded to George Bush’s policies. The list goes on and on ...

This election is not about Bush or the past. It’s about the future. We need a president tried and tested to occupy the Oval Office. Despite the negatives spread by a compliant, in-the-tank-for-Obama mainstream press, McCain has the stature, the rock-hard principles and the ability to lead our nation through the daunting challenges ahead.

On the economy, McCain is committed to a free market, capitalistic system that is still the world’s powerhouse. He will make it stronger with policies that reward personal responsibility and initiative, which leads to economic growth. Has Barack Obama ever mentioned the words “economic growth?” Instead, he is fixated on higher taxes and government expansion that will worsen our economy. Taxpayers had nothing to do with the subprime loans and reckless financial practices that brought our economy into recession. Think about what a President Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will do to our economy when they get their hands on it. Picture Barney Frank of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fame running the banks.

And should McCain lose and the Democrats achieve a liberal supermajority in the House along with a filibuster-proof Senate in the congressional races, we can expect a cradle-to-the grave health insurance program modeled after Medicare and open to everyone of any income. Obama wants to do that. McCain has a plan based on a health-care insurance tax credit that will provide a powerful incentive for the 45 million Americans who are uninsured to purchase health insurance that would not be based on employer-financed plans, which are rapidly eroding. And there is something else to consider: there is an enormous unfunded liability associated with the major entitlement programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. If left unchecked, the growth in these programs will nearly double the size of the federal budget by 2040.

National security is paramount for the next president. We must have a commander in chief who will preside over a strong military, not one weakened by Frank, who has served notice he wants to cut defense spending at a time when Islamic terrorists continue to be threats along with deranged dictatorships throughout the world from Iran to North Korea to our own hemisphere. A cutback in defense spending would have serious implications for our own Shaw Air Force Base. McCain, above all, has the expertise and experience to keep our military intact and improve upon it in a no-nonsense manner.

This election is not about John McCain’s capabilities – he is a proven leader. It is about an unknown quantity, a freshman senator who took office by immediately running for higher office. What has he accomplished? Did he “reach across the aisle” and build bridges to the other party, or simply reach for the White House with no more than rhetoric and a pleasing personality? Even Sarah Palin has more experience actually running a government than Obama.

As the gifted columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Kimberley Strassel, has commented, Obama is more than just a politician but “the world’s most gifted political magician! A thing of wonder. A thing of awe. Just watch him defy politics, economics, even gravity!” And in addition, “For his next trick, the Great Obama will jumpstart the economy, and he’ll do it by raising taxes on the very businesses that are today adrift in a financial tsunami!”

You get the picture. We used to regard Bill Clinton as “The Great Pretender.” He has met his match. We now have the Great Obama on the biggest stage in the world, performing amazing tricks and hypnotizing us with his mesmerizing words.

We need a serious man in the Oval Office, not a performer. John McCain fits that profile. We know him, and we can trust him to do what’s right for his country. The last thing we need is a performer.

John McCain is who we need.