Why John McCain Needs To Be The Next President
Unfortunately for American politics in the 21st century so many voters are becoming single issue voters. As a candidate you are defined as pro-choice or pro-life, for gun control or against it, or as evidenced in the past two elections catering to the huge religious voting blocks so prevalent in modern America. This makes running a campaign so much simpler for any candidate, find the largest voter block and express those views while your opponent stands for the opposite point of view or a watered down version.
This removes or minimizes so many other important issues from a presidential platform. If an individual in vehemently morally opposed to abortion they seldom move beyond that issue to find out what other positions a presidential candidate might have. Most times it doesn’t matter anyway because abortion is divisive and there is no middle ground for compromising. It is issues such as these that allow modern day politicians to be so vague in their position on other issues or to not talk about any other important issues at all. Gay marriage, abortion, socialized medicine, and many other issues dominate the political landscape and allow candidates to play a smoke and mirrors game much like the Wizard of Oz. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain who running the show watch over there while we control what is really happening from over here.
This political landscape has allowed our government to slowly take away our liberties through the passage of the Patriot Act. It has allowed the government to increase the national debt, which was balanced just eight years ago, by trillions of dollars with relatively little public outcry. Gas and heating oil has more than tripled in the past eight years and it is barely newsworthy and our elected officials continue to do nothing about it, despite continued record breaking profits posted by oil companies. Now the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being placed on the back burner and while not being ignored entirely they are no longer the focus. There is no other war in American history that has successfully been removed from the American consciousness.
During this election the candidates are divided on what to do about Iraq. It isn’t spoken about much now with the economy taking over the focus of the upcoming election but it is the single most important issue facing our country. Interest rates can be raised and lowered to help grow or slow down an economy. Laws can be written or overturned regarding any topic as evidenced in Washington D.C. regarding current gun control laws. Amendments can be made to our constitution in order to clarify or modernize our goals as a country. Abortions can be made illegal and legal again and presumably illegal again. Gay marriage while illegal in a majority of American has gained acceptance in many states.
What can not be undone is the deaths of 4,000 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis both military and civilian. What can not be undone is the crippling of tens of thousands of American troops and who knows how many Iraqis. What can not be undone is the sorrow of widows and families on both sides. What can not be undone is the images and memories of our troops that lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the difficultly of trying to reintegrate into society. What can not be undone are the sleepless nights, drinking and drugging to excess, and the feelings of loneliness, alienation, and loss. These things are irreparable.
That is why John McCain is the only reasonable choice for president this year. He is the only candidate that is committed to seeing Iraq a stable and revitalized country. No one can claim that the Iraq war was necessary or unavoidable. There have been no weapons of mass destruction found anywhere within Iraq nor have any facilities capable of producing those weapons been uncovered. The U.N. weapons inspectors were right all along. In recent government reports the link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Ladenhas been proven to never have existed. None of the claims that the Bush administration used to drag our country into a senseless war have ever been proven. Our leaders knowingly lied to us and somehow managed to avoid any legal repercussions. George Bush should have been impeached for his actions. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have a responsibility to both our troops and the Iraqi people. These sacrifices can not amount to nothing. The last thing we need as a country is another Vietnam. One country ravaged by war and ours ravaged by doubt. Iraq must be rebuilt with our help and the only way to ensure success is through a strong peace keeping presence of American Troops.
