Teflon John



With all the venom that’s been passing back and forth, it’s become very easy to ignore the persistent gaff and goofs as well as the clear insights that into a McCain presidency that are more than a little troublesome.



First of all, should Mr. McCain be elected, he would be the oldest president ever to have that job. It is interesting, that there have been no statements as to his health which should be a prime concern for voters. That would include an assessment of his ability to think and solve problems, a challenge that faced Ronald Reagan during his presidency even though no republican would ever bring up the subject..



For all intents and purposes, it is easy to conclude that McCain is getting a free pass while his democratic rivals are busy eviscerating themselves in the public square.



Americans seem to love good blood sports and certainly this rivals anything put forth by Ultimate Cage Fighters. Every day, it’s a case of Hillary hitting below the belt or a swift comeback from the Obama side designed to save face and draw blood.. This week, it’s Pastors vs. trips to Bosnia under sniper fire; not to mention the sniping by Bill who is anxious to feel the grip of power again. And seems to be going into desperation phase.



Nevertheless, it should not take our mind off the fact that we are currently coming down to the wire and up til now, McCain seems to be largely unexamined as a candidate for the most rigorous job in the world, a job that requires a candidate’s position on the issues to be fully examined and laid out before the voting takes place.



In the process, we have been subjected to goofs and gaffs, inaccuracy and bad judgement on the part of the one man who seems to building a strong and resilient base among his Republican peers and cross-over voters.



Here’s just a casual list of questions that have arisen..



One might why Obama has had to go to such great lengths to explain his preacher, while McCain hasn’t even been asked about the endorsement of his pastor who is a known anti-semite and thinks the Catholic church is a cult.



Doesn’t that count? Shouldn’t John be held accountable as well for the company of preachers he seeks? Mind you, the preacher even admitted that McCain invited him in as a supporter....



The fact is that Teflon John McCain is up to his ears in questionable stuff.



For example, why has the media been so forgiving about McCain’s persistent gaffs?



On his most recent tour, he got the holiday of Purim all mixed up offending his Israeli hosts with his ignorance and in his Jordanian speech, he warned about Al Qaeda being trained by Iran and then, after being cued by Lieberman, he reversed himself,. Nevertheless, he kept making the same mistake about Al Qaeda several times during his trip. Do we ignore these gaffs and attribute that to a senior moment or the fact that John is not a detail man despite the many trips he’s made on junket to Iraq and the Middle East. And if he's not a detail man, what does that mean for us?



One may be sure that if Obama made such a gaff, it would be all over.



Obama would never live it down.



In the way of insights into McCain’s character, we’ve been picking up hints all along. The other day, he admitted that he does not favor “bail-outs” for those who have been careless about how they ran their businesses; apparently failing to understand or consider that if these businesses go “belly up,” it might be far more damaging to those who depend on the financial system for loans and credit to help them over the rough times. Clearly, a failure at Bear Sterns would have contributed to falling dominoes throughout the banking system that would hurt the average taxpayer as much or more than anyone.



John, in admitting his weakness in Economics, does no one any favors when he sputters such nonsense, making the rest of us more unsure about his fitness for the job he aspires to.



It goes without saying that John McCain, with no experience at managing a budget or governing a State, who’s only experience is as a Senator, is obviously untrained in the diverse skills needed to restore our failing systems and the prevalent neglect writ large by the regime in power. His misunderstanding of the current war in Iraq and his commitment to what is increasingly being seen as a lost cause since the government seems unable to function, makes us question his ability to analyze situations and come to intelligent judgments. It’s not enough that he is loyal to the troops and America, it is more important that his judgments be responsible to the overall best interests of an America beset by an inventory of problems, many of them deriving from the macho and inept decisions of the man he seeks to replace. This will take vision and perspective, clear thinking and sound judgment. As of now, he seems wanting in these categories.



If any country requires a vision and sound thinking, it is America in 2008. For those and other reasons, John McCain’s election would be exactly the wrong decision for America.





“Down the drain with old McCain…”







Les Aaron