Obama right man for the job
Even if this country were not in dire need of a new direction, Sen. Barack Obama would make a better president than Sen. John McCain.
McCain's one advantage, experience, is of little use without judgment and temperament. On both counts, Obama has shown himself to be better qualified.
Obama has been composed, consistent and honorable through a long and tricky campaign, which he has led almost flawlessly.
McCain, meanwhile, has abandoned stands that once earned him respect as a principled maverick within the Republican Party. He has done about-faces on immigration and the Bush tax cuts, the first ever during wartime, which he once opposed but now wants to expand. He drowned out his own enlightened voice on global warming with chants of "Drill, baby, drill." After fighting influence-peddling in Congress, he handed his campaign over to corporate lobbyists to manage.
With McCain, voters have no idea what they'd be getting, other than a president who promises to hold out for victory in a war in which no surrender papers can ever be signed because the enemy will always change shapes.
Despite his relative youth, Obama, at 47 (three years older than John F. Kennedy when he became president) has shown himself to be a more reliable leader than McCain.
Compare their responses to the financial rescue negotiations: McCain thrust himself into the spotlight, threatening to cancel a debate and rushing to Washington where he had nothing to offer except a distraction. The talks, coincidentally, broke down that day.
Obama, on the other hand, was sensitive to the need to insulate the negotiations from presidential politics. He listened to his bipartisan advisers, including some who steered the vibrant economy of the Clinton years. He reassured the public that the country would weather the crisis and counseled patience and calm. He was, in a word, presidential. In the end, both candidates voted for the plan.
And then there's Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor is great at firing up conservative crowds and gave McCain's campaign a shot in the arm. But, for all her charms, she is starkly unqualified to be president. Her mastery of the challenges go no deeper than reciting talking points.
McCain, 72, is the oldest person to ever run for president and has had cancer four times. Yet, barely knowing her and with little time for consideration, he put Palin in line to be president should he win.
Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, would be prepared to step into the presidency. The larger point: The contrast in running mates is just one example of Obama's steadier leadership.
http://www.kentucky.com/591/story/560578.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
