Why I believe John McCain should be the 44th President

I believe that our Constitution, as amended, is still in some ways imperfect but is superior to any societal blueprint elsewhere. We must have no doubt that whomever will be sworn to "preserve, protect, and defend" our Constitution will truthfully and faithfully do so. They must appoint federal judges and Supreme Court Justices who will interpret our laws and Constitution, not rewrite, invent, or reinvent them according to their own philosophies. Writing law must be left to our elected representatives, not imposed by judicial fiat.

I believe that the United States should be energy independent. We must develop our own energy resources - coal, solar, oil, natural gas, wind, water, tidal, geothermal, nuclear - everything. We have thrown up too many regulatory and legal restrictions in the way of sound utilization of our natural resources. Our economy can not grow without plentiful, unrestricted sources of energy.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we have "certain unalienable rights", the first - and therefore most important - listed was life. Since 1973, over 40 million human lives have been ended via abortion in this country. To put that tragic count in perspective, a nation state of 40 million souls would be the 32nd largest country on Earth, right in between Argentina and Sudan. In the last 35 years, we have lost millions who could have become doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers, soldiers, firefighters - or mechanics, construction workers, computer programmers, etc., etc., etc.; most of them simply for reasons of convenience. This is a holocaust of unimaginable loss, and I fear, unrecoverable cost. There is no life unplanned by God; if we do not defend the defenseless, then what worth are we?

Taxes are too high. Our economy will continue to hemorrhage jobs and our industries will continue to diminish and perish unless we reduce - or better still - eliminate corporate taxes and let the ingenuity of the American entrepreneur flourish and thrive without crippling oversight and regulations from a government that has no idea how to produce, only consume. Economics is not a zero-sum game; new wealth will always be created, and government must not stand in the way.

I believe that if not for the United States of America, there would be no freedom and liberty in the world today. It was President John F. Kennedy who would have said, "If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help." We must continue to combat tyranny around the world, with diplomacy first, but must always be ready to use our military might if necessary. Our exit strategy for the War on Terror's two fronts should be victory, not negotiation or compromise. Our enemies should never doubt that conflict with the United States of America can have only two possible outcomes: their unconditional surrender or their total annihilation.

Most of all, I believe in American Exceptionalism. I have never had to search for a reason to be proud of my country. I see American greatness every day. We became the first colonies to break away from their European parent because we no longer wanted to be Europeans, and we have no desire to be like Europe today. This is the greatest Nation on the earth - yesterday, today, and hopefully forever more - and our President should never be a man who thinks the United States of America is not the "shining city on a hill."

Nearly forty years ago on July 20, 1969 the United States of America put two of our own on the Earth's Moon - arguably the greatest achievement in all of human history. Forty years on, and all the other nations of the world have yet to equal the United States of America. Forty years hence, let us hope that we have not been equaled or God forbid, surpassed.

On July 20, 1969 while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were taking their historic Moon walk, an American Naval Aviator was suffering unimaginable torture at the hands of the Communist enemies of the United States. That man never lost faith in his comrades or his Nation. He was coming up on just the end of his second year in enemy hands, the second of five and a half years of brutal captivity. That man was John McCain.

John McCain would not have been my first choice as my candidate for President. I disagree with him on many policy areas. That aside, on all of the above issues I have listed Senator McCain is the clear choice. He has the experience, independence, and integrity to lead this great Nation forward. He will not let our national security be dictated by foreign powers. He will honor and defend our freedoms and Constitution. He will reduce taxes, and get our economy moving without the encumbrance of an ever-growing government weighing it down.

Finally, I believe that John McCain should be elected for one more reason. I believe that one of our Nation's darkest black marks is the absolute contempt that returning Vietnam Veterans were received with. Tens of thousands of Americans served in that war with honor and over 58,000 gave their lives. We should be grateful for the services and sacrifices of the Vietnam generation, and they deserve to have one of their honorable own be the President.