Straight Talk Express... about to derail?
I had the opportunity to see Senator McCain speak at the Exeter Town Hall in March. I sat behind him on the stage, alongside several of my classmates at Exeter High School. McCain has been a key contributor to legislation in the Senate that I agree with, but also with legislation that I do not agree with.
He spoke about not premitting torture, one of the pieces of legislation that he has passed that I whole-heartedly approve. However, the Senator seemed to be desperate when it came to the War in Iraq and the issue of immigration. He knew the crowd was losing its patience with Iraq and that few in the crowd had much tolerance for illegal immigrants and the proposed amnesty, McCain tried mightily, but he cannot convince me that the disaster that is Iraq should be carried on any longer and that he has a better exit strategy then the Democrats.
While they may adcovate immediate withdrawal and all the associated problems that will come to a chaotic Iraq, the Senator does not realize he cannot propose to stay in Iraq indefinitely. It is tiring to hear about progress time and time again, only to hear that this many Iraqis have died today or that the past month was the bloodiest for American soldiers since 2003. Progress is not being made and we all know it, yet McCain said it numerous times.
I think that removed any positive illusions I had about McCain, because he wasn't giving anymore straight talk when he professes that all is well in Iraq, when anyone can see it is not.
I think he came on a bit strong about Iran, to be honest, some of the fault lies with President Bush's axis of evil and policy of not talking with enemies unless they come to the table first, which is hogwash. Talking to Iran could cure our troubles...
Lastly, it disheartens me that the Senator is supportive of the shadowy, unclear conflict that the War on Terror is becoming. We need to try to define this struggle, as tough as that is, without coming to conclusions like the current President (he describes it as a struggle between Good and Evil, a crusade if you will).
Moving on, his immigration policy is also frustrating. I may live in New Hampshire and haven't even come close to seeing the influx (and associated problems) of illegal immigrants that the constituents of McCain see in Arizona, but I still feel the same way as they do. While I can respect the fact that they are hard-working, McCain underlined that point, I can't get around thet fact that they've committed a crime by just entering our nation. There is a process for a reason and my ancestors all followed that process and assimilated into America culture. I think that Senator McCain has forgot that and is taking the easy way out of this mess... amnesty, opposed to mass deportations and so on.
However, one thing that McCain said resonated with me. Concerning climate change, he said that if global warming is real (which I think it is), and we do nothing, we'll be in a huge mess of trouble. He went on to say that if global warming turns out to be unfounded theory and we take all sorts of measures to "go green" and become more environmentally conscious, we'll leave our children and grandchildren a cleaner world, so it's a win-win situation to undertake measures that will cut carbon emissions and so on.
My last bone to pick with McCain is his support of the so-called pro-life platform. A true conservative would say that the government has no right to interfere with a woman's body until the second trimester, when the fetus could live independent of the mother... albeit with medical support. As long as his pro-life views don't affect the current status quo, I'd be satisfied.
On the whole, I found McCain disappointing and it seemed like he was trying to recreate 2000, and our country has changed so much since the carefree days of the late '90s and the 2000 election. His climate change soundbite was solid, but everything else about him lost my vote.