Okay, I’ve watched two Presidential debates between my main man, Senator Obama, and my favorite Republican going, Senator John McCain. At both debate-watch parties—amidst beautiful happy men, women, children and wrestling dogs running around, I’ve heard an intelligent, not-too-well-read liberal (god bless) say, what’s wrong with McCain, he looks like a robot, can’t even raise his hands up above his shoulders, he needs to do yoga!” Or something to that effect. 

Well, now, my friends (as Senator McCain lovevvvesves to say), you’d be right if you weren’t dead wrong. He doesn’t need to do yoga. 

John McCain entered in on his five years in the Hanoi Hilton with nearly every bone broken in his arms as a result of his plane crash. The bones weren’t properly set, ever. He suffered through, as you can imagine, excruciating pain. And the fact that he can’t give thumbs up any higher than his chest, to this day, is a touching, stirring reminder of his very real service. 

What matters, here, however, is his leadership. His plans for America. His idea of what makes American special, and worth serving. And it’s there that I part ways with this American hero. He’s just a little bit too old—Dubya robbed him of the last eight years in South Carolina, back in 2000 following McCain’s decisive New Hampshire victory. Now, McCain would be older than then-governor Reagan, and Reagan as we saw toward the end of his eight years was old enough. Even if McCain chose to only serve four, which he’s understandably not promised to do, I’m not at all comfortable with an old-school neo-conservative folksy faker like Gov’nr Palin being half a heartbeat away from the reins in the Oval Office. 

More to the point, McCain’s ideas for getting America back on track at home and abroad are lacking. He’s ahead of most Republicans on energy security/funding renewable, clean domestic energy sources—which is the same thing as saying he’s behind even the least progressive Democrat on the energy front. He wants to perpetuate Bush’s tax cuts for the rich and corporations, at a time when the middle class, which would see a tax cut under Obama (as would 95% of our nation) has fallen far behind the rich, and is struggling to pay mortgages and taxes as it is. McCain and Palin, furthermore, would cut programs for the poor, which isn’t very Christian of them. They would appoint judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade, which after 8 years of George ‘Same as Gore, said Naderites” Bush is already hanging by a thread. McCain’s voted against the Equal Pay amendment, he would push nuclear energy (for which there’s still no remotely safe means of disposal) and drilling for oil (though the oil co’s already have 84,000 acres of untapped offshore drilling, he favors giving them more). On the economic front, he talks about earmarks (while not opposing them in the recent bailout bill)—though they account for just $18 billion (in comparison to the $1,500 billion we just threw into the borrowing money from China to send to the Mideast to pay to pollute our skies and waters status quo), and pay for some worthwhile initiatives put forth by Representatives of both parties.

If I were Obama, and I won the Presidency, I would appoint McCain to some powerful position. He’s well-respected, or was before he got on board with Rove’s teammates—and could come back and help lead and guide many of the bipartisan proposals that will have to make it through the House and Senate if we’re to emerge from the moral, economic and environmental failures of the past eight years to once again inspire the world with that now-vague, still-holy word:

freedom