Republican John McCain holds the most promise of offering the type of sound leadership this nation needs. Instead of simply offering the country four more years of the policies of an unpopular president, McCain has both the independence and the intelligence to end the worst abuses of the administration of George W. Bush, without leading the nation in a radically differently — and even more irresponsible — direction.
Moreover, the long-time senator from Arizona has the experience that Democrat Sen. Barack Obama lacks.
We like Barack Obama. He has the ability to inspire Americans in a way that we have not seen since the two terms of Ronald Reagan and, before that, the all too brief presidency of John F. Kennedy. We first witnessed his considerable skills as a orator when his powerful and moving keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention thrust the then Illinois state senator into the national limelight. We also were inspired by his best-selling book, “The Audacity of Hope.”
But Obama’s resume is extremely thin. He has yet to reach the two-thirds mark of his first term in the U.S. Senate, and he has spent most of that time running for president. While he says the right words about being able to reach across party lines to get bipartisan support for important programs, there is little evidence of him having done so as a member of the U.S. Senate or, before that, as a member of the Illinois State Senate. With few exceptions, he has voted with his fellow Democrats on every key issue, and while he talks about “change,” his proposals mirror Democratic policies that have been around for decades.
In contrast, John McCain does have a record of reaching across party lines on key issues. He joined with Democrat Russ Feingold to gain approval of a far-reaching campaign finance law, and he joined with other senators from both parties in a failed attempt to reach a compromise on immigration reform. He has opposed his president by sharply criticizing the use of torture on prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a victim of torture while a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he knows better than any other senator that the U.S. should not engage in such cruel and barbaric actions.
While the sagging economy has replaced the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as the top issue among voters, we are confident that McCain is better able than Obama to bring these wars to a just end. To simply bring our soldiers home without a stable government in place in Iraq and Afghanistan would be a recipe for disaster. If either country soon returns to government by autocratic regimes like they were before our arrival, then the American soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in these conflicts will have died in vain. We think the United States was wrong to invade Iraq, but we can’t undo what’s been done. The key is to get out of Iraq with honor.
On the economy, we have to be honest: We don’t have a lot of confidence in either John McCain or Barack Obama righting a sinking economic ship. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have shown much interest in bringing federal spending under control, and until it is, the health of our economy is vulnerable. We do know this: Both Obama and McCain have promised new programs the nation simply cannot afford to implement.
McCain has been rightly criticized for his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. While in many ways we like Palin, she is woefully unprepared to be president. If McCain thought he needed a female as a running mate, there were far better candidates than Sarah Palin.
In comparison to the glib, outgoing Obama, John McCain is rather bland. But beyond the outward appearances comes substance, and in that area, John McCain is the better choice.
Editorials
John McCain — 10/26/08
Republican has most promise of providing able leadership
- Editorials
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'Asset poor'
More than one in four Kentucky households are “asset poor,” meaning that they are living from paycheck to paycheck with little or no financial cushion to fall back on should they suddenly lose their jobs or have another emergency resulting in a temporary loss of or delcine in income.
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Safer mines
The head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) says coal operators throughout the country are improving their operations and, as a result, mines are becoming safer. However, MSHA chief Joe Main said too many coal operators still “don’t get it” and are continuing to cut costs by ignoring safety. That’s why MSHA plans to continue targeting mines with a history of repeated violations for additional inspections.
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Not far enough
For the past three sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly, bills that would raise the minimum dropout age from 16 to 18 have been approved by the Kentucky House of Representatives by wide bipartisan margins only to die in the Senate without even a vote.
Now the Senate Education Committee has unanimously approved a dropout bill hailed as an alternative to the House bill, but it does not go nearly far enough. It is a halfway measure that would have only a limited effect on preventing teenagers from quitting high school before graduation and virtually assuring themselves of lives on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.
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Not their job
The local government committee of the Kentucky House of Representatives has wisely killed a bill — dubbed “Cooper’s Law” — that would have allowed the family of the Lexington toddler with cerebral palsy to have a playhouse on their property despite a deed restriction that apparently prohibits such structures.
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Keeping FADE
Despite an increase in cost to the department, Carter County Sheriff Casey Brammell told the Carter County Fiscal Court that his department will continue to be active in the FIVCO Area Development Drug Enforcement (FADE) Task Force — at least for now.
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Needed changes
The soaring enrollment that Kentucky’s community and technical colleges have experienced in recent years could come to a sudden end — or at least be slowed — as about 5,500 students in the statewide system that includes Ashalnd Community and Technical College are expected to lose their financial aid under new rules being implemented by the federal government.
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Released early
While it is disappointing that 75 of the 952 prisoners granted early release in January have violated the terms of their releases, the good news is that none of the former inmates have been charged with new felonies. That’s an early, but positive, indication that the nonviolent felons released before their sentences were up have been carefully selected and are among those least likely to return to a life of crime.
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Obese children
Almost a decade after former Gov. Ernie Fletcher called childhood obesity an “epidemic” in Kentucky, a majority of Kentucky adults still think that there are too many overweight children in the state and they place the bulk of the blame squarely on the shoulders of their parents.
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Retiring
Dr. Gregory Adkins has served as president of Ashland Community and Technical College during a period of rapid growth and substantial changes. Adkins announced last week that he will retire June 30 after almost 11 years as the head of the school that now is located not only just off 13th Street in Ashland but also is in EastPark more than 20 miles from the Ashland campus.
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Work at home
While it is not for everyone, for those with the right skills and talents, Kentucky Teleworks works. Just ask Alison Boskovic of Louisa.
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