Let’s get out of the way, the case against BHO. At first, I approchaed BHO with the scorn you would a petulant child who thinks he’s the shit. The ads of ridicule from the McCain campaign reflected the disdain for his celebrity status. But, as time wore on and smaller investigative outlets actually did their jobs, BHO has demonstrated disturbing traits of being the most far-left politician to ever get a chance at the presidency. His pals and the obfuscation around them has signaled his dishonor and dishonesty. I have written enough against BHO that a recap would be a waste of all y’all’s time. Just peruse my archives. So let me end the case against BHO with those two links and a quote I found on The Corner:

Here [...] is a useful quote from Robert Heinlein:

If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for … but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.

Here’s a God’s honest truth for ya: I am not a citizen of the United States; I am here legally. I pay taxes on everything I earn. And even if I didn’t, while I do not have a vote, I still have a voice. And this voice is proudly speaking in support of John McCain. This isn’t a bitter-pill endorsement, nor a lesser-of-two-evils endorsement. My endorsement of John McCain is grounded on what I have learned from him since the primaries.

I knew little of the legendary John McCain when I first arrived in this country. In the year that I changed from Leftist to Moderate Republican, I learned a lot more about him. In the years following that, in my own personal great shift to the Right, I regarded him with a dislike that I reserved for unprincipled political calculators whose goals are mainly to whore for publicity and to get their agenda through. Boy, was I disappointed in McCain-Feingold, which regulated political expression through financial contributions. (Little did I know that, first, BHO trounced those rules anyway and that second, the sheer amount of money that McCain’s opponent had was used to suppress speech in ways that the law could have done.)

For all the bad that may come with it, John McCain has conducted his political career with honor. We know why: he figured in with the Keating Five scandal and as a result he has spent the rest of his life atoning for his misjudgment. There has been plenty of criticism about his personal notion of honor, and how he approaches his decision-making process as a moral matter. This is not the notion of honor that leads parents to shun their children for being gay, or pregnant out of wedlock, or that leads them to scorch the faces of women who have scorned them with acid. This is not the notion of honor that executes adulteresess, nor the honor that promises a reward in heaven in exchange for holy murder. His is the notion of honor that leads him, to the great consternation of his partymates, to “reach across the aisle” to “get things done.” His is the notion of honor that leads him to decide against using Jeremiah Wright, no matter how strategically important it may be, because he may be accused of inciting racial animus. His is the notion of honor that shows that he will not compromise his integrity in order to win an election (Despite that, he has been accused of having the sleaziest, most false campaign ever.) His is the notion of honor that states that victory should never come at the expense of one’s soul.

For all the weaknesses that may come with John McCain’s model of honor, not only am I fine with this, this is one of the traits that lead me to whole-heartedly endorse him.

John McCain’s biography, and his time as POW in Viet Nam, was such an integral part of his personal development that it can not be extricated from his narrative. The same people who denigrated GWB for his lack of military experience, the same people who fetishized John Kerry’s own narrative (wherein he learned, shall I daresay, the wrong lessons from being a participant in war), have now dismissed John McCain’s experience with the ever-pervasive line: “surving a POW camp doesn’t qualify you to be president.” How bold, these luminaries are, in the coffee shops and libraries, and in the union halls and factories, and of course the universities! How bold they are to speak these words. How many of them have experienced violence, first hand? How much fewer of that group has known it for five years, to have lived the life of a recipient of violence, day in and day out? Surviving a POW camp may not qualify him for president, but man, did his experience there bring out of him the basis for his decisions. If the Keating Five scandal was the provenance of his honor, his time at the Hanoi Hilton was the provenance for his courage. We now know that not only did his time as a POW test the limits of his courage and endurance, we also know that he broke during that time. We now know that his courage was defeated, if but for a moment. This is the experience of a man who not only tested his limits but experienced what it is like to be brought past them.

His experience in the war will affect his judgment in matters of the military. This is a man who knows the horrors of war, and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, and yet knows all too well that it is a necessary instrument of foreign policy and that a decision to lead the country into war will come with a heavy heart. I just know it, you know? In my bones. When I see him. I know that he is the man who will avoid war at all costs but will defend our country, preemptively so if necessary, once he has done the due dilligence in avoiding it. This is the wisdom of John McCain that I think will prevail in his time of office. John McCain is a known factor in American politics. He is a man whom I know will ensure the interests of this country from a position of strength, not weakness.

My endorsement for John McCain is based only partially on his politics and party. My endorsement is based on the man. BHO is a man who remains relatively unknown. Almost all of the things we now know about him makes me dislike him. BHO is a child of Machine Politics and the behavior he has exhibited indicates he will rule with Machine Politics. John McCain is a brave and wise man whose campaign may have been fraught with error, but has exhibited amazing resilience and grace.

Perhaps my last positive point for John McCain is the fact that through all the insurmountable odds, the polls that seem more bent to brainwash people and dispirit those who support him, against the violence against his supporters, against the shame of being called a racist simply for not supporting BHO, through all of these and more, John McCain and so many of his supporters, Republican and Democrat, have approached this campaign with a kind of joy that only comes with a great sense of purpose but tempered by humility. So many of BHO’s supporters have been robbed of their humor. BHO has taken this election too seriously, and his supporters have taken him too seriously. Mothers have been disowned by their children. So many have sacrificed their dignity in support for a cause that, for all the flowery language, is tautological in nature. I pity these people. I feel sorry for them, because they may never be the same. Win or lose, after the election they will be filled with hate and vindictiveness, because these are the values that BHO has instilled in them. These are the values that they have adopted in the idolatry of a man. As for us? So many of us are Happy Warriors. We know, that win or lose, we gave it our best shots, we did anything and everything without compromising our integrity. We did it with a smile on our face, despite going through times of doubt and fear. We have fires in our bellies and we want to be heard at the only poll that matters (to which I ask, that if anyone finds my case convincing, if I have helped someone choose for John McCain this year, please, don’t even let me know, but always remember that you are my voice in this election), and John McCain knows it. He knows that we have fought for him and alongside him. We have stood up, and now with everyone’s help, we will enthusiastically carry him through the finish line.

Smile on, and get out and vote. Every battlegound, every sure state. Doesn’t matter. Get out and vote! This thing is not over.