Why John McCain Will Be Our Next President

Above: A brief video of Senator John McCain’s Saturday Night Live appearance.

I do not consider myself a Democrat or a Republican.  Personally, I think it’s stupid to hitch yourself to a candidate based soley on what party they’re running with, especially when the candidate opposing your guy may have better ideas.

As I am writing this, the nominee for the Democratic Party’s Presidential Candidate – either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton – have yet to be decided since the race is so close.  But, as far as I’m concerned, both of them should pack up their suitcases, get back on their campaign buses and go home.  Why?

Because John McCain will be our next President.

A bold statement to make, and one that I’ll clearly be taking back should one of the two Democratic hopefuls end up in the White House instead.  But as of right now, John McCain is the man heading to the Oval Office.

Now, what would make me say such a thing?  After all, aren’t I a black guy?  Shouldn’t I be rooting for someone on the Democrat team to win?  Heck, shouldn’t I be supporting Obama?  I mean, he IS black – that should be reason enough!

Believe me, nothing would make me happier than for either Obama or Hillary to make history and become President (or, at the very least, Vice-President).  But I just don’t see that happening.

Besides – I LIKE McCain. 

I’ll admit that, when it comes to what platform he’s running on, or what his policies are, I have absolutely no idea.  Then again, nor does the majority of the voting population, though they may not care to admit it to their friends.  Think about it: everybody KNEW what George W. Bush Jr.’s policies were – “Let’s go to war and spend lots of money for no reason!” – yet he still got elected. TWICE. (Once, if you’re still thinking about that 2000 election).

So, it’s not about what issues or policies he may implement upon becoming Commander-In-Chief.  Here is a short list about what makes McCain the candidate to beat:

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1. HE’S BEEN CAMPAIGNING LONGER THAN YOUR FAVORITE DEMOCRAT.

McCain first ran for President in 2000, and lost.  That means he had to wait 8 YEARS before he could have another shot at being President.

During that 8-year hiatus, though, McCain wasn’t just working in Washington, D.C. – he was also making the rounds.  I can remember seeing John on a plethora of TV shows during the last few years.  He’s done the Tonight Show, Late Show, The Daily Show, SNL, and more, and on these shows he was able to let the public see what a kind, funny guy he could be. 

He may not have said it at the time, but all these appearances were a GREAT way to get his face out there.  By the time he decided to run for office again, so many people were comfortable with him from having seen him so much that he got the nomination.

Compare that with Hillary or Obama, who have only been doing regular TV appearances within the last year.  Shoulda been doing that 3 or 4 years ago like McCain – then, maybe one of you would already be a nominee!

2. HE TELLS IT LIKE IT IS.

I’m sure someone reading this will go back and look at things McCain has said, and point out to me that McCain has occasionally contracticted himself.  And I don’t really care, because we ALL do that.

With that said, I DO respect his ability to tell people how he sees things, whether good or bad. 

When the candidates were in South Carolina - or it could be North Carolina (I forget, but it was a southern state), the Democrats, as well as some of the other Republican nominees at the time, were telling people down there that certain jobs that were on the verge of being phased out, would be protected.

Enter John McCain, who, point blank, told them that there was a good chance those jobs they had would NOT be coming back. He said that he would do his best to create other jobs they could do, but not to expect the ones they had to return.

Now, that may sound like a cruel thing to say… but it was also the truth.  And the truth may hurt sometimes, but I’d rather have a President tell me something like this, instead of lying to me and making me feel hopeful for something that’s not going to happen!

3. JOHN MCCAIN IS LOYAL TO HIS FRIENDS, EVEN WHEN THEY’RE NOT POPULAR.

In April, Obama’s former preacher, Reverend Wright, came under fire for comments he made that were taken out of context.  Rather than stand up for him and say, “his thoughts are his, my thoughts are mine, but I respect him as a preacher and stand by him,” he quickly tried to distance himself from the reverend, fearing the connection would hurt his candidacy.

In short: he abandoned his friend when it looked like he wouldn’t be looked favorably upon.

Contrast that with John McCain, and his friendship with current President Bush.  Bush’s approval rating is in the toilet, and several other Republicans have distanced themselves from him – except McCain.  You can see photos of them laughing together, hugging, standing next to each other, eating together… and these are RECENT photos, people!

Now, while I may not agree with Bush’s policies, or think he’s a bad President, I still don’t feel like the man doesn’t deserve to have friends.  And I like the fact that John McCain isn’t treating Bush like a quarrantine victim just because others in his party are doing so.  It says VOLUMES about how dedicated he would be to serving the American people, and not abandoning them when times get tough.

4. HE DOESN’T STOP WORKING.

John McCain won the nomination MONTHS ago.  He could be at home, sipping some lemonade and waiting for the Democrats to finally have a nominee.

But what does he do instead? He goes on a “Straight Talk” bus tour, visiting towns and having town-hall meetings where people can go and ask him questions!

And he’s got BALLS, people!  Unlike the Dems, who go to cities and set up rallies that can only be attended by people in the Democratic Party, he allows ANYONE into these meetings to ask him ANYTHING that’s on their minds! He’s had questions asked to him, not just by Independents or Republicans, but by Democrats who weren’t supporting him!

But this shows two things: one, that he really IS interested in serving all Americans, i.e. not just the ones that will agree with him – and two, that he’s gracious enough to hear issues from all sides.  Definitely nice to have a guy like THAT in office!

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I still haven’t decided on who I want to vote for in this upcoming election, but right now I’m leaning towards McCain.  Yeah, he’s old, but he’s also sympathetic, knowledgable, likeable, and – most importantly – he has no other Republicans running against him, which gives him time to better figure out just how he’d make this country great again.

So go ahead, Obama and Clinton – keep running your campaigns into the ground if you want to.  Just don’t be surprised when, after all that in-house bickering, John McCain becomes our next President anyway!

-Aaron P. Taylor