John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” plows through where other Republicans steer clear.
Mitt Romney addresses the deficit by exhorting Republicans to “stop acting like Democrats.” McCain doesn’t resort to name calling. He sets it straight: “Republicans lost the last election, not because of Iraq …” he told a crowd in Davenport. “We lost it because of spending… We presided over the largest increase in government since the Great Society.”
Rudy Giuliani hedges on torture and seeks definitions of waterboarding. McCain clearly says “no” to torture.
Fred Thompson jokes about alien SUVs when asked about global warming. McCain says he’s seen the evidence of climate change on trips to both poles. For those who choose to ignore science, McCain offers this compelling, bipartisan appeal: We owe our children a better planet.
On immigration and campaign finance reform, McCain talks like a problem solver, not an idealogue.
His faith, he has said repeatedly, is a matter between him and his maker. Look for evidence of it in his actions, not campaign speeches.
Those rambling, stream-of-consciousness speeches won’t win a rhetoric prize. They simply offer clear insight into a leader whose life experiences, personally, politically and heroically, have tested his mettle for the nation’s top job.
We disagree with the senator’s stance on the war. We believe he’d be wrong to pull ethanol subsidies, at least right away. But at this critical point in history, America can benefit from an honorable man with a hero’s record.
He’s survived tough opposition and deplorable campaign tactics, particularly some from his own party. Yet he’s never taken the bait.
For Iowa’s Republican caucuses, we support John McCain.