Bridging the Gap with John McCain

Here's a little break from the Middle East and a look at the 2008 elections:

Today I decided to take an in-depth look at the Repulican Party Nominee John McCain to see if there were issues that I agreed with him on. With the exception of Ron Paul, I always believed John McCain to be the most tolerable Republican candidate. With that said, here are my opinions about John McCain

Foreign Policy:

McCain is a huge supporter of military interventionism (unilateral if necessary) on the foreign policy front. I disagree entirely with him on this position with one exception: if the country/regime/group poses an IMMEDIATE and real threat to American citizens. The US military should only intervene unilaterally to protect American lives that are in immediate danger. I absolutely do not believe the Iraq war fit into this category and cannot support his foreign policy beliefs. His statement regarding keeping American troops in Iraq for 100 years "if needed" betrays a great ignorance regarding conflicts, tensions, and ideas in the Middle East. A continued presence in Iraq fuels terror groups bent on attacking American targets wherever is easiest and only creates more "undeterrable" terror cells. On a positive note, I do agree with his lack of confidence in Donald Rumsfeld.

As most anyone that knows me already understands, I oppose his policy of non-negotiation with Iran and Syria. We've tried this policy for the last decade and it hasn't worked, why continue?

I am fully behind him regarding torture and Guantanamo Bay. It's refreshing to hear a Republican argue fervently against both. However, he voted against a bill banning the use of waterboarding by CIA agents. I'm worried he's going to take a stance similar to GW: "We don't torture, but we're not going to discuss what we do to 'enemy combatants'"

Social Security and Health Care:

He's in favor of privatized social security. I agree with him. His health care plan isn't awful. I just don't think it's far-reaching enough. I can support his plan to allow individuals to buy insurance nationwide (rather than just in-state) and providing tax credits to people that get health insurance. I would like to see a non-mandatory federal health care plan similar to Obama's though. We've got the money, we've got the smarts. A plan like that would really help to fill in the gaps in our current system. It's not a pipe dream, it's a possibility. Pointing to flaws in European systems doesn't constitute a strong enough criticism. We have the resources to make it work.

Campaign Finance:

The McCain-Feingold Reform act was needed. Kudos to him for that. I support his views on campaign finance reform, but again, think any candidate that takes a lot of money from PACs and lobbying groups has a tendency to let his/her views be too strongly influenced by those interests.

Social Policy:

Voted yes on a $75 million bill to provide money for abstinence only education. He opposed a $100 million bill to decrease teen pregnancy through sex education and contraceptives. These abstinence only programs don't work, we know this, the government knows this. He's wasting money. Teach abstinence, but teach safe sex too. Otherwise, we fail 50% of our youth. He wants to repeal Roe v. Wade. That's a supreme court/constitutional issue. I support abortion rights as a right a woman has concerning her own body. I agree with his support of stem cell research. Bravo McCain, there's some smarts, finally. He's a big supporter of the War on Drugs. That program doesn't work either. Why throw more money down the drain, McCain? I support his opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment. He believes each state should decide whether to legalize gay marriage. This is a rights issue. On these type of issues, we need the same guarantees regardless of state. I support legalizing gay marriage. He opposes it. I think it's a basic rights issue. It's discriminatory to not allow gays to marry and it's unneeded government babysitting. McCain supports teaching intelligent design in schools. No science supports this theory. There's no place for this in our public schools. As a country we're falling behind in education, let's reverse the trend by teaching real science. Intelligent design has a place - private schools, churches, and the home. Science has a place - public schools, universities, and laboratories.

Environment and Energy:

Again, it's refreshing to hear a Republican actually admit climate change is worrisome. He's been at odds with the Bush administration over these views. I could support his environmental views. He wants to build new nuclear power plants to get us off of oil. I applaud that. I like Obama's initiatives to provide money for research into alternative energy sources. McCain's has good views, but it seems their not far-reaching enough. This is beginning to become a theme of his candidacy for me.

Immigration:

I like his views on immigration. He favors creating a guest worker program and promoted a bill to legalize 12-20 million illegal residents. I support those.

Conclusion:

McCain is not an awful candidate, not by any means. I disagree with him regarding most (if not all) social issues and that makes it hard for me to vote for him. I think his foreign policy is more of the same failed cowboy antics we've been up to since before the end of the Cold War. He comes off as an honest man with passion for politics and making the country better. On a few issues (health care, environment, energy) he has good policies but I don't think they are far-reaching. I believe he's really a "don't rock the boat" candidate. He's not really into change on a large scale, which I believe is throughly needed in this country after the Bush administration. He's not a bad guy and it does restore a bit of my confidence in our country that he is the Republican nominee. If he is elected, things will get better - not worse, and that's what I need to see.

Regardless, I'd support either Clinton or Obama over him in November.