News-Record.com

I find it disingenuous for a candidate, who has been entrenched in Washington for as long as Senator McCain has, to declare himself as the only person who can change Washington.

I found it partisan and divisive. The feeling I got from the convention was that anyone who disagrees with the asserted Republican strategies is somehow not patriotic or putting the country first. That is insulting after 8 years of falied foreign and domestic policies. It is also further proof of the parties disconnect with the average American.

McCain's acceptance speech was effective and workmanlike. It was obvious that he is not fond of teleprompters, but his words were authentic, his story captivating, and his ideas appealing.

McCain didn't say he was the only one who could make change. He made a compelling case that he, and his VP, were the most QUALIFIED to make change. And they have the results to prove it.

He showed that his motivations---and his record---are beyond the interests of serving his own party.

His love of country was forged under the heat and intense pressure of his torture in Communist Vietnam. It was tested in the most difficult circumstances. He did not come home to the US to live as a victim. He came back and overcame his handicaps and his emotional scars, and pledged to work not for himself, but for his country. His life has been a Hero's journey, unique in the political landscape.

That he came back from Vietnam committed to fight for America---and willing to buck his own party and political interests in the process---shows that his passion for the job and his ambition are not about him, not about building power for his party.

For McCain, it really is about what's best for the country. And his policies show a a well-reasoned path to a better American future. It rings of wisdom, unlike the naive and reckless programs and burdensome, bloated government that Obama promises.

As an Independent, I had been on the fence. But the last three weeks changed my mind about Obama and McCain. Obama, though a likable man of eloquence and a real political future, looks weak and woefully inexperienced, especially compared to Sarah Palin. His programs promise much for socialists to love, but are sure to send the economy into a depression. History assures that.

McCain looks like a wise statesman, who knows when and how to wage a "war" when necessary. His pick of Palin as VP seems brilliant, not because she is a woman, but because she is a normal American, and a "maverick" untainted by Washington's corrupting influence.

PS: The front-page headline in the N&R about his speech, just as their headline about Palin's speech, shows just how biased the N&R is for Obama.

Her speech was historic, the first GOP woman on the Presidential ticket. She presented a compelling narrative and a return to a government "by the people, not by the perennial political class." Her speech was watched on TV by as many as watched Obama's speech in Denver. Yet all they can manage for the headline is "Palin Jabs at Obama"---WHAT?!. (It's all about Him!?!)

Then, in today's paper, they dismiss the hero's pledge to fight for the country, to rise above partisan interests, and to put the people first. Instead, what they used as a headline is an intentional act of mis-information: "McCain Promises to End Partisan Rancor." He never said that, never promised that: I checked the transcript of his speech. That headline sets him up to be seen as a failure, for he cannot control the partisan rancor from the Democrats. He's smart enough not to make that promise.

What McCain DID promise was to work with people of all parties. He identified partisan rancor as a symptom of what happens when people put themselves and their own party first. He pledged "to reach out to anyone with good ideas to get the country moving again."

McCain has a long record of reaching across the aisle, and has upset plenty of Repubs in the process. Obama has never publicly criticized his own party, never challenged the shameful corruption of the Chicago Democrat Machine, never reached across the aisle in the Senate in any substantial way.

McCain is a man of his word. He has earned my support.