McCain's Role and the Core Issue of the Day

It's hard to know what the core issue of the day is; it seems to change from minute to minute. But certainly near the core has to be the issue of Iraq and the War on Terror. Anmericans are questioning whether or not President Bush's approach to the War on Terror has really made us safer, if the war in Iraq was really necessary.

Today's article by Tony Blankley is intended to cheer the Conservative Masses by encouraging conservatives to remember how great Conservatism is and how Conservative American's are. But then he gets to this interesting section.

Moreover, the Democratic Party has not even advanced its programs to a plausible credibility yet. Their argument is almost completely a negative one: "Kick the Republican bums out." Thus, their central theme is the credulity-strained slogan that a vote for McCain is a third vote for Bush. Whatever McCain is, even the Democrats know he has almost been the anti-Bush (and anti-Republican) these past many years. Not too many elections are won on an obvious lie.

First of all, of course it's nonsense to say that Democrats haven't put together a positive agenda. If you visit the Democratic Party Website or the Websites of either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama you will see all kinds of positive things they want to do. The fact that such proposals don't have the same media juice as Reverend Wright says more about the media than it does about the Democratic party.

Secondly, the statement that electing McCain is a third term for President Bush is really quite fair. If you consider their entire career and positions, well yes, there are some real differences between President Bush and Senator McCain. But when it comes to the key issue of the day, Iraq and the War and Terror, there aren't that many differences. Both Bush and McCain think invading Iraq was both necessary and desirable. Both favor a "get tough" approach to Iran which probably involves military strikes if not a full scale invasion (now they may not get this, but they want it). Both oppose negotiations with Iran or Syria or the Palestinians. The only area they disagree is on Torture, and even there McCain's opposition is somewhat weaker than he portrays it.