I don’t evaluate candidates on how well they spew out facts and statistics. That’s a common tactic in many debate leagues, but being able to do that tells me little. Presidents have staffs that tell them the name of the president of Nicaragua and garner various facts. Nor do I expect candidates to come up with some brilliant idea to solve our nation’s problems. Those problems are generally too complex for simplistic solutions of the kind that can come off the top of someone’s head. Those are matters for in-depth research, collaborative thinking, and lots of counselors.
What I do care about are the candidate’s political philosophy, his character, and his judgment.
How are the candidates measuring up in my mind? In philosophy, I worry that John McCain does not have much of one. He is pragmatic rather than ideological. He leans conservative, but does not seem to be governed much by that philosophy. He does have principles that he fiercely defends, which I respect, and he is pro-life. For me, being pro-life trumps just about everything in a politician. It tells me that he believes in moral absolutes, recognizes evil when he sees it, and believes in transcendent human rights that go beyond the state and the culture.
In philosophy, I want to know more about Barack Obama’s ideology. Specifically, I want to know if he is a political radical, such as I knew in my college days. I want to know more about his ties to William Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and Saul Alinsky. I’m going to be posting about this, starting today. Not because I want to pursue guilt by association, but I want to know about what the possible, even likely, future president of the United States believes. Nothing in this campaign is more important to me than that. I do know that he is liberal, pro-death, and has an essentially secularist worldview.
In character, I respect hugely McCain’s military record and his five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp–especially his refusal to be released until his comrades could also be released. But I am bothered by how he divorced his wife and remarried when he returned. I’m also worried about his temperament and his temper.
In character, I appreciate Barack Obama’s projection of calm, restraint, and self-control. I’d like to know more about him.
In judgment, I cannot understand how McCain would push that campaign finance bill that regulates political speech in a way that seems flatly unconstitutional. Some of his judgments seem good, while others seem bad. The man is decisive, though. He is definitely principled.
In judgment, we do not have much of a track record to go on with Obama. I need more information.
If any of you could help me out with any of the above–correcting me if I have something wrong or giving me additional information–I’d be much obliged.
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