McCain was not my candidate.  Not originally.  His close ties to, and having worked with very liberal democrats had me worried.  Once it was clear that he was going to be the Republican nominee, he was the best of what was left.  Let's face it, the Democrats were choosing a nominee that didn't believe he was ready to run on a national ticket.  Even Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, doesn't believe he is ready, and in fact would have preferred to run with John McCain.  Hillary Clinton also chose McCain over Obama.

What won me over?  Was it 2000 Democratic VP candidate turned Independent Senator Joe Lieberman's endorsement speech for John McCain?  After all, the Democrats still think well enough about Lieberman to have placed him in a leadership position as an important committee chairman.  His speech was convincing, specifically the line about how McCain could anger his own party, but he was doing it because of what he believed in.

Was it Rudy Giuliani's fantastic speech, where he compared the resumes of the two Presidential candidates?  The first candidate, John McCain has an extensive list of accomplishments and experience and even some things that provide a "Wow" moment.  The second candidate, Barak Obama, his biggest experience has been to vote present rather than make decisions on important issues, which was the job he was hired to do.   Obama has never led anything and, in fact, has been doing nothing more than running for the next highest office ever since being elected to the Illinois legislature.

Maybe it was Fred Thompson telling the fantastic biography of John McCain, including his tenure as a POW.  He contrasted that with the description of Obama as the most Liberal and inexperienced Presidential candidate ever, but may be a good match for the Democratic congress, which is the most unpopular congress in history. 

Could it have been McCain running mate Sarah Palin?  She was engaging, funny, and extremely comfortable in her speech to the RNC.  McCain has made a tremendous choice for a running mate.  She has leadership experience and is a serious reformer.  Her record for ethics reform and standing up to special interests in her time as Governor is a testament to a good leader.  She was very good at hitting Obama at his weak points with shots while smiling and having fun.  My favorite line was when she said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities."

Possibly it was McCain's own speech to the RNC that got to me.  After a tremendous build up by the speakers leading up to the candidates acceptance speech, my expectations were pretty flat.  How could he possibly perform as the Headliner when the warm up acts provided headliner performances?  But he did it.  He knocked it out of the park.  I particularly liked hearing him discuss how he has worked with members of both parties to do what he felt was important.  It is for this reason that Democrats like Senator Feingold of Wisconsin, as well as Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden consider him a friend and someone they enjoyed working with and consider him ready to lead.

So what won me over?  It was a combination of all the above.  While the Republican platform and ideals are what I most closely identify with, it is the person at the top of the ticket that I have to believe will follow through on those commitments while leading and protecting this country.  That is why I am proud to endorse John McCain as our next President.

John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP candidate to help provide balance to the Republican ticket.  She brings with her a more conservative background as well as youth.  The amazing thing is that in Sarah Palin's and Barack Obama's relatively short political careers, the Republican VP candidate has accomplished so much more than the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his VP candidate, thus admitting that he severely lacked any foreign relations experience.  Joe Biden brings that to the Democratic ticket along with experience and accomplishments that are non-existent by the Democratic Presidential nominee. 

What does Joe Biden think of his running mate?  Just a few months ago he stated that Barack Obama is not ready to lead.

While John McCain and Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket are a slam dunk winner over their competition, Barack Obama will do well next year on the Speaking circuit.  After all, that's the one and only thing that he does well.

Sometimes I get the impression that all three of the major party candidates want somebody else to win the election.

This weeks biggest loser is Barack Obama.  In one short statement, while speaking in San Francisco, B.O. managed to alienate all of small town America.  The more often he speaks without a teleprompter in a prepared speech saying the same things over and over again, the more elitist and out of touch he sounds.  He doesn't acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance, he won't wear the American Flag lapel pin, his preacher and Spiritual Adviser says "God damn America", and his wife Michelle said her husbands campaign made her proud to be an American for the first time.  This is not a one time mistake.  This is a pattern of being anti-American in actions and words. 

I can't give a pass to John McCain this week either.  It's one thing to confuse North Dakota with South Dakota, I mean who cares, really.  But, John has for the second time in public confused al Qaeda as a Shiite group instead of a Sunni group.  Most Americans don't get the difference either, but that's no excuse for the candidate who should have the most knowledge in foreign policy.

Hillary, why are you still married to this buffoon?  Just as talk was quieting down, and the media pretty well buried the story to begin with, Bill had to bring up your sniper fire story again.  He tried to pass it off that when you related that story it was late and you were tired.  The only problem was that it was a morning speech.  Maybe the two of you are perfect for each other.  Neither one of you know where the truth actually is anymore.  Both of them are telling a story about how Hillary tried to enlist after law school and was turned down.  As a law school graduate, from Yale no less, she would have been allowed to commission as an officer or Judge Advocate General, and the reasons she states she couldn't get in would not have applied.

Will the real winner please shut up!

If you watched American Idol Thursday night, you saw all three Presidential candidates in recorded messages asking for people to support the Idol Gives Back charity. (I swear I was only flipping through and don't usually watch Idol.  OK, so maybe occasionally, but never more than once or twice per week.)  First up was Hillary, who looked comfortable reading her prepared piece. Her appearance on SNL probably helped her.  Next up was McCain.  He was entertaining and even funny as he made a crack about Simon and immigration.  Last up was Obama.  He looked stiff and uncomfortable doing this.  Come to think of it, he has always looked a little uncomfortable when doing anything but a prepared political speech.

The three of them are running for a different type of American Idol.  One that we can start to tear down the second we elect them the winner.  It's America, and we have that right.  It's an easy thing to do and too many people enjoy doing it.

On this night, John McCain was easily the winner. 

Hillary Clinton wants a do-over in Michigan and Florida, because those two states had primary elections that the Democrats decided wouldn't count because the states did not follow the Democratic party rules.  Hillary Clinton is behind in the delegate count for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and those are two states that she would likely win and move her closer to Barrack Obama and improve her chances in convincing "Super Delegates" (no they are not action heroes) that she should be the Democratic nominee.  Obama does not want a do-over, because it could only hurt him.  Instead, he favors splitting the delegates from the two states 50-50 so that they are counted.  Never mind that this is not how the states would actually have voted.  If their positions were reversed, Obama would be fighting for the do-over and Clinton would want to leave it as is.  Neither really cares about everybody being represented, unless it benefits them personally.

 The Democratic Party already has the most convoluted rules for selecting delegates.  I think you can get college credit for taking the course in understanding how it works.  After this year, you can bet that they will make major changes in the system again.  If the Democrats had a similar system to the Republicans, Hillary Clinton would already have clinched the nomination.  The Democrats ruled out the peoples vote in Michigan and Florida, because those states moved their primary elections to an earlier date, against the wishes of the Democratic Party.  Apparently it is the Democratic Party that doesn't want to count every vote.