I personally do not see it happening. However the Politico reports today that Mitt Romney is at the top of John McCain's Vice Presidential list. Really, see for yourself. People concerned with his "Christianity," maybe you should go here first.
Of course, then the Politico throws this nugget in at the end: "if McCain is far behind later this summer, he could do something truly unorthodox such as pick his strong supporter Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman". Yeah, McCain only picks Lieberman if he wants to guarantee a 30 point defeat.
John, errr, "Maverick," Goose here, the time is now to add a true conservative that knows how to run a business, how to stay within budgets, and how to be profitable. Remember your admission to not knowing a whole lot about the economy. Mitt's the best guy to help you with that.
If you pick Mitt, conservatives will be energized by the election and will get out and vote for you.
Pick Mitt and "John, people will come John. They'll come to the campaign trail for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only a $20 donation per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come John. The one constant through all the years, John, has been Reagan Conservatism. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But Reagan Conservatism has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, John. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come John. People will most definitely come."
This is one of those ever-forwarded emails my father sent me. But unlike most of them, this story makes an excellent point.
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”
She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she’s too hung over.”
The wise father then asked his daughter, “Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That’s a crazy idea! How would that be fair! I've worked extremely hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”
The father slowly smiled, winked, and said gently, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”
"A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.
A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.
A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.
A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.
A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.
A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.
A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.
A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.
A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.
A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.
A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.
A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.
Those are the things a conservative believes in, and they're the things that I believe in. Now, if only I could find a candidate to match" (Obama No, McCain Maybe, Glenn Beck on CNN, link).
A dialogue between two soldiers, Lieutenant Joseph “Bono” Calton and Sergeant Sam Brighton, from The Great and Terrible Volume 3: The Second Sun pp. 137-139, by former Air Force Pilot Chris Stewart:
“Some people write us letter and thank us for keeping them safe. The politicians back home always thank us. Some are even sincere in their thanks. They say we are fighting for their freedoms. But I don’t thank that’s true.”
Sam laughed. “You going Jane Fonda on my, baby?”
“No, really,” Bono answered. “Think about it, man. When was the last time Americans were actually fighting for their freedom? You might have to go back to the Revolutionary War. That might have been the last time.”
“I don’t know, Bono. How about the Civil War, boss?”
“I understand the North was fighting to protect the Union, but I think most of those men were fighting for something else. The freedom of others. I just don’t believe, I can’t believe in my gut, that men were laying it on the line there, laying it down like they did, just to protect the Union. I think there was more to it than that. They were freeing the slaves. Fighting to free other men.”
Sam remained skeptical. “What about the first and second World Wars?” he asked.
“World War One was plain and simple a fight to save Europe. We had to national interest, nothing really at stake. World War Two? The Japanese were our enemy, the ones who attacked. We could have confined our war to the Pacific and won easily. We could have let Stalin and Hitler divide Europe, knowing they would eventually turn on each other and devour themselves. But we put our own interest aside and saved Europe first. Again, another fight to save other men.
“I know a lot of people like to talk about the Vietnam War, but can anyone make a serious argument that we were fighting for imperial power? I mean, come on, man, what did the Vietnamese have to offer if we had conquered them? Nothing. Nada. Not so much as a bowl of white rice. So why were we there, if not to save the South Vietnamese? And if you want to know what happens when we fail, you should look no further than Indochina. How many million Vietnamese and Cambodians were slaughtered because we failed in the war! The Killing Fields should haunt for the next hundred years.”
Sam didn’t answer, he just listened, content to sip his soda for now.
“Kuwait?” Bono continued, his voice rising now. “Afghanistan and Iraq? Yeah, we needed stability in the region, but if all we were interested in was the oil, we could have been like the Germans and French who propped up Saddam to keep the oil rolling in. Heaven knows he would have sold us all that we needed. That isn’t the reason we came here. There was more to it than that. Yeah, I think we needed to double-tap the Taliban and take out the madman, Hussein, and yes, in that sense, you might argue that we went into those countries to protect the freedoms we had. But though that might have been why we came in, it is not why we stayed. We could have eliminated the threat, then skipped out of town. But that’s not how we work. We stay to protect to freedoms of those left behind. We stay to help them build a government that will keep them free.”
“Now think about that, Sergeant Brighton. I believe it is true. We don’t fight for our freedoms. We fight for much more than that. We fight for the freedom of others. We fight to free other men.”
Although this book is a work of fiction, I feel this dialogue very effectively describes why we are in Iraq and why we should stay to finish the job, regardless of your feelings concerning the truth of the weapons of mass destruction intelligence that President Bush used as our reason to begin this war.
However, the downfall of this nation may ultimately be selfishness and pride. Those who want us to walk away from Iraq are either missing the big picture—our benevolent nation fighting for the freedom of others—or they are selfish, desiring all of our resources to return to the United States and the end of the sacrifice of the lives of our soldiers.
The most curious thing, however, about this position, it is it typically held by liberals, the party who are all about “caring” and “helping the little guy”. If this were true, they would be interesting in “helping the little guy” in Iraq too. However, their actions prove their character. The left wants us out of Iraq because they believe it is popular among Americans, which is the same reason they promote food stamps (also sugar-coated at “nutrition assistance”), unemployment “benefits” (truly a contradictory term), and mortgage “bail outs” (because if you blew it on an investment everyone else should pay for it but you! /end sarcasm).
Any politician, typically, but not exclusively confined to the left, who promotes welfare or walking away from Iraq is either selfish or pandering for votes.
I personally do not see it happening. However the Politico reports today that Mitt Romney is at the top of John McCain's Vice Presidential list. Really, see for yourself. People concerned with his "Christianity," maybe you should go here first.
2004, 2005 & 2006 Edward R. Murrow award winner for best regional
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