|
FELTS: An election-year ‘Dear John’ letter
By TOMMY FELTS, Voices From The News
|
|
A letter to Republican presidential hopeful John McCain:
Sen. McCain, I had such high hopes for you.
To be honest, I’ve been an admirer for several years. You caught my eye in high school when I was just beginning to understand politics — not because of your buck-the-system, “maverick” ways, but because you stood up for what you believed in. You were first among only a handful of political heroes.
Back then, you had more than just a colorful history — a harrowing POW experience and rich tenure in the Senate; you had humor, a no-B.S. approach and, most importantly, principles that we all could admire.
I turned 18 just in time to vote in the 2000 election. Still bitter over what I felt was a “stolen” nomination by George W. Bush, I headed behind the little red, white and blue curtain at my polling place and voted my conscience — penciling in your name next to “president.”
In the years that followed, you faded from the national spotlight a bit as the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the exploits of the Bush administration took top billing. Still, you pressed on, not only by speaking out on national security issues and the Iraq war, but also in your attempts — successful and unsuccessful — to pass meaningful campaign finance reform.
We didn’t agree on every issue, you and I (see your immigration/guest worker plan), but that’s OK. I’ve always thought that if a voter agreed with a politician 100 percent of the time, the voter either was delusional, ignorant of the issues or a mindless drone of his or her political party.
In short, I was proud of you, senator. In numerous columns, I pushed for more leaders like you. After Democrats were swept into Congress with the 2006 mid-term elections, I wrote that only you — a moderate politician of integrity who knew when to compromise — could lead our divided nation forward.
Unfortunately, it appears I didn’t know you’d compromise so much ... of yourself or your principles.
Moving from longshot candidate to Republican Party nominee, you switched positions on several key issues — immigration, the Bush tax cuts, torture, off-shore drilling — all for the purpose of wooing the conservative base and others who disagreed with you in the past. You pandered to us with the notion of a gas tax holiday. You parted ways with your promise of a dignified, issue-oriented presidential campaign by using petty, immature attack ads leveled at Barack Obama’s character — rather than at what people like me see as the Democratic candidate’s flawed positions.
My pride turned to disappointment.
You’ve become Mitt Romney. Remember him? He’s the one-time rival you called a “con” for changing positions to seem more Republican.
“You might not agree with me on every issue,” you said, drawing a contrast between yourself and Romney on the campaign trail in October 2007, “but I think you know I won’t con you. The most important thing we have in this life is our self respect. And I’m not going to trade mine for anybody’s vote for any office.”
So when did things change for you, Senator?
When did you decide running as the generic Republican candidate (or worse, as Romney) was a better tactic than campaigning as the real John McCain?
I can think of a few possible explanations for your recent decidedly un-McCain-like behavior. One or more could be true.
• After more than 25 years in the Senate, you’ve honestly and sincerely had a sudden change of heart (and stark move to the right) on numerous hot-button issues;
• You’re being horribly manipulated by the same political puppeteers who botched Bush’s presidency and used dirty tactics to ruin your 2000 campaign against him (the same folks now pushing you to pick Romney as your vice-presidential running mate);
• Or, you’ve decided you’ll borrow a page from the likes of Romney and Sen. Hillary Clinton, adopting a policy of doing or saying anything to get elected.
Prove me wrong. Remind me what a hero really can be. Give me a reason to trust you again.
Being the not-Obama candidate isn’t good enough. You’ve got to be John McCain.
If you can’t do that, you’ve already lost my vote and likely the election.
•••
Casualty update: At least 4,141 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 496 have died as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department.
•••
Tommy Felts is design editor for The Ottawa Herald. E-mail him at tfelts@ottawaherald.com.
|
|
To post a comment click here
|
|
|
0 comment(s)
|
|
