McCain or Obama: Who is the Change Agent?

Now that both conventions have come and gone, both candidates are in the final stretch of the race. The idea of change has become the real issue for each party. Both sides are jockeying for this title and it will be left up to the electorate to decide which candidate best exemplifies this political philosophy. The conventions, per usual, reinforced the political platform for both parties. Beneath all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field was a generic reiteration of the Democratic Party's belief in bigger government, increased social programs, and a tentative aversion to the use of force in the Global War on Terror. On the other hand, McCain's acceptance speech followed the Republican Party's belief in lower taxes, smaller government, and the continued use of offensive measures in the prosecution of the War on Terrorism. So, what is the voter to do?

Senator Obama would have us believe that he represents change however; does his record in the Senate provide the voter with many examples of this philosophy of change? Of course, the answer is no. He has only crossed the aisle on a couple of unimportant bills. Where is his active participation on bills dealing with such issues as lobbying reform, taxation, immigration reform, or even, putting his belief on the line vis-a-vis the Iraq war? Lately he has been extolling the American values of self reliance, individual responsibility, and neighborliness. He addressed these values in his acceptance speech in Denver as well as, in his interview on the O'Reilly Factor. Interestingly, personal values such as individual responsibility and self reliance are attributes that don't easily meld into the Democratic Party's platform for bigger government. Generally speaking, larger government with expansive social assistance programs does not provide a fertile landscape for the fulfillment of these values. Obama's use of the term "neighborliness" is interesting. Obama uses the term to veil his desire to redistribute income and provide government "freebies" to what he labels the working poor. Americans are adverse to being forced to do anything and in reality, "neighborliness" is a voluntary act of kindness or assistance provided to your fellow citizens and not government mandated income redistribution or assistance programs.

No matter how much Obama's supporters vociferously deny it, Senator McCain has a verifiable record of bipartisanship on issues relevant to American society. On the issue of immigration, much to the dismay of Republicans, McCain coauthored legislation with Senator Kennedy. Senator Obama ardently opposes the influence of lobbyists in Washington D.C. yet, it is McCain who once again worked with the opposition as he cosponsored campaign finance reform with the McCain/Feingold bill. Senator Obama often speaks about global warming and its effects but, once again it is McCain who has actually addressed this issue with Senator Lieberman. It is quite easy to see that it is McCain, not Obama, who has been the vehicle of bipartisanship in the United States Senate.

McCain is clearly the choice of change this election season. Rather than seeking change in Washington, Senator Obama seeks to change the social fabric in America by acquiring the White House and through the use of executive powers, mandate increased federal programs. If elected, I believe that Senator Obama will return to the policies of the 1990s and prosecute the Global War on Terror as a police action rather than a military operation and its importance within an Obama administration would be greatly reduced. This point is verified by a recent poll which showed that 51% of registered Republicans see the war on terrorism as the number one concern for our nation whilst, only 9% of registered Democrats see the fight against terrorism as our primary foreign policy concern. Senator Obama clearly demonstrated that he doesn't grasp the global nature of this battle against Islamic fundamentalism when he stated in a recent speech that we are currently fighting two wars rather than stating we are fighting on two fronts in a global war. As for me, the choice is clear, Senator McCain clearly eclipses Senator Obama when it comes to who is best prepared to lead America into the next decade.

De Oppresso Liber