Good read:
> don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote
> for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are
> "two Americas " but that every person in this country can be
whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there and
> nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our
> government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and
> should always put the interests of America first.
>
> The purpose of this message is that I'm
> concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the
> silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this
> country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to
> involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying
> their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the
> good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They
> shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news",
> thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it.
> They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the
> public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government
> handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their
> taxes for more government programs.
>
> We are in the unique position in = this
> country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've
never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything.
I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses
100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look
> at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best
> qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and
> essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the
> credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the
> job right?
>
> I'm concerned that a growing number of
> voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a
> fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change".
>
> "Change what?", I ask.
>
> "Well, we're going to change America",
they say.
>
> "In what way?", I query.
>
> "We want someone new and fresh in= the
> White House", they exclaim.
>
> "So, someone who's not a politician?",
I say.
>
> "Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff
> changed, so we're voting for Obama", they state.
>
> "So the current system, the system of
> freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great
> country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and
> dominate the news, and win his party's nomination for the White House
> that system's all wrong?"
>
>
> "No, no, that part of the system's okay we just need
a lot of change."
>
> And so it goes. "Change we can believe in."
>
> Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of
> change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking
> virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois,
> so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can
> really tell me why only that he's going to change a lot of stuff
> "Change, change, change." I have yet to find one single person
who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be
> President and Commander -in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth
> other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of
> change.
>
> We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his
> upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's
> ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, "What
> qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator
and talks about change?"
>
> CHANGE WHAT?
>
> Friends, I'll be forthright with you I believe the
> American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what
> they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE
> of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the
> most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political
> experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements?
> Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't
read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is
who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from
> Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot
of new taxes.
>
> For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at
the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.
>
> Here's a question - "Where were you five and a half
years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that
> time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school
> graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000
> days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take."
>
> John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973,
> in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.
>
> When offered early release, he refused it. He considered
> this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted
> that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get
> that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A
> regimen of beatings and torture began.
>
> Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a
> filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom
> in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character
> that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.
> Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military
> service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to
> denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of
> Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze
> Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now
> serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying
> "We honor John McCain's service...BUT...", which to me is
condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this
man's sacrifice for his country, and his proven leadership abilities, and talk
> some more about change."
>
> I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am
> utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I
> trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best
> interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be
> President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference.
> Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A
> man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about
> change, can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in
public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to
> the Senate in 1982.
>
> Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old
> and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his
strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe
> "like ability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a
> prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the
> United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly
> DOES.
>
> Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for
> thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of
all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who
> wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their
> nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask
> who they're voting for, and why.
>
> There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be
readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are
> now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his
> citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any
> foreign country.
>
> I want a President who's qualified to lead.
>
> I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.
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