Why John McCain should (will) win the election

First, I want to say that I do not by any means think that John McCain is a perfect president for our nation. Nor do I want to make some worn out remarks about how great of a guy McCain is and how he can change history. I just want to point out why, of the candidates available, McCain is the best choice at this time to lead the United States.

Next, I'm going to address another candidate that I'm sure 99% of bloggers (who might read this post) my age humbly support, Ron Paul. Dr. Ron Paul is an excellent choice to lead our nation, but we all know that he WILL NOT GET NOMINATED. There comes a point when you must choose from the strong and abandon the weak in order to further your interests. Ron Paul may be the most incredible person in the world, but his views (which are very different from mainstream politics) are just too extreme to be accepted by enough American citizens (particularly the bulk of the vote, 30 and up...) There will come a time when our generation will be the majority of voters in the nation and maybe we'll call for a swift and poignant change in policy, but now is not the time. I really respect the huge support that Generation X is giving to Ron Paul in such a new and exciting news form, through bloggers, through YouTube, through Facebook and MySpace, through the INTERNET, a bold place dominated by the under 30 "youth of America." I hope that this type of support creates a more educated and politically active youth in our nation that will be able to see and react to the needs of our nation in the form of educated law-making. But for now, nothing can save a candidate from such lack of support from the mainstream voters...

Now, on to the meat of this posting...why McCain should (will) win the republican nomination. The most deserving evidence that I can possibly show is this (courtesy of pollingreport.com):

John McCain is the only candidate who stands any chance at beating a Democratic candidate (I didn't show the others to save space, but Romney loses to Obama 27-57 and to Hillary 39-50, and Giuliani loses to Obama 34-56 and to Hillary 41-51). I know some people might argue the validity of these polls, but truth be told...polls don't usually lie too much in elections. You might also say "oh, it's just 'cause of McCain's recent boost in the polls that he's getting such good results." Nope! McCain's been beating out Democratic candidates since early '06, (with one or two minor exceptions here and there...).

The other reason is this (courtesy of realclearpolitics.com):

John McCain has been Comeback Kid. Everybody likes the Comeback Kid. He has broken into a skyrocket in polls within the last month that has left the competition dangling behind. John McCain just happened to get the most incredible boost possible in his following during the most critical time for his campaign. This boost will propel him in Florida and with a win there...it will be all over on Super Tuesday...

Now, we can stop talking about which Republican is best, and start talking about why we don't want one of the front-running Democrats in office. And also, what we want McCain to do for us if he IS elected to office.

First, let's address the former: why we DON'T want to see Hillary or Obama in office. I believe that there are a lot of good ideas that come from the Democratic party, but I would venture to say that more than half of them are so idealistic that they could never work in the real world. Let's look at one that's plaguing our nation right now; social security. The idea for a social security system was a great one when it was passed by Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. Since then, it has turned into an outdated system that sucks away tax dollars from American citizens while returning inadequate benefits. By the year 2020, the costs of the Social Security system will far outweigh the income, creating a spiral of debt that will have to be increasingly subsidized by the government. This WILL NOT WORK! Modern technology has made it easier than ever for individuals to invest in their future on their own with far more profits than would be gained through social security. No matter your income level, slow-growth investments in the stock market will ALWAYS give you a better return than that you would collect from Social Security. Mandatory investment into the stock market to replace the old Social Security system would help create a financially stable retirement fund for every person in the U.S. period.

How 'bout one more very controversial issue: the war in Iraq. Pulling out of Iraq WILL NOT stop war. The war began the day terrorists decided to fly a plane into an American building on 9/11. Al Quaeda are not going to say "OK, we're done fighting with you U.S." just because "we don't want to fight anymore." The tensions that were created when we invaded Iraq are permanent and cannot be mended by ignoring the problem. Keeping troops in Iraq (and maybe even sending a few more) with an undefined withdrawal period will allow the military to do its job much more efficiently. What would happen if all of the sudden the U.S. said, we're going to withdrawal on a hypothetical date, March 7, 2008. Throughout that period troop levels would be decreasing and Al Quaeda (who aren't stupid people) would see this as a perfect time to make larger attacks. Many soldiers would suffer from such a haphazard policy. The only way to get out of Iraq is to let Generals do their jobs: increase troops when necessary, raid known terrorist establishments when necessary, and when the time comes; to slowly take troops away without the other side even knowing it. In this way, we will be able to build Iraq up to a self-sustaining state and eliminate one country from being a stronghold for terrorism.

Now, I'm going to address the second concern of mine: what John McCain would do if he was elected to office. I think that this part can be influenced, in a way, by people who post their opinions on the Internet. Politics is listening to the people and when the people speak with a loud enough voice, the sound will echo across the political arena. Blogging is a way to not only post your support for a candidate, but to also drive the candidates in a new direction. Show what views you have. Put them up front in of the face of a leading candidate and say, "this is what you need to do better to get my vote." One concern of mine that John McCain happens to currently support but in my opinion, not strongly enough is alternative energy. Energy is an issue that can destroy our country within only a few years and if it is not addressed very quickly, will do just that. Oil can NOT continue to be the main energy source for our nation. Through changes in energy policy, the U.S. can do a few things: boost its own economy through high-tech infrastructure, remove its dependence on the quarrelsome Middle East, help remove environmental strain on our slowly failing planet, and give rise to new technologies that can help modernize other markets. All of these things would be a great advantage to the United States at a time when recession is slowly peaking in to the stock market (not permanently, it can definitely turn around with the help of Bernanke). Nuclear energy is the future...currently fission and when it is developed fusion, will be the answers to all of our energy problems. This is the way the environment produces energy (in the sun) and Emerson has taught us that "when nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it." Nature has created the most genius invention in the universe to create energy and to recreate that genius would open up endless possiblities for the people of our world. Nuclear energy does not produce any waste save the radioactive substances that decay with time. Fusion can create radioactive substances that decay in less than a hundred years, allowing for people to create a prolonged containment method to let the materials break down. I hope that energy quickly moves to the forefront of political debates during this 2008 election.

Now, I'm going to close. I may not have convinced you that John McCain will win this 2008 election, but I hope that you may have been opened up to some new views by reading this. If nothing else, I hope that you might be encouraged to build up some political zeal and start pushing for the issues that you really think do matter. In this way America can be restored to a true democracy with the voice of the people commanding the government in a way that could never before happen in the past. John McCain may or may not win the Republican nomination, but I hope that whatever candidate wins in '08 will begin to see to the views of the people (right here on the Internet), and make changes accordingly...