John Ibbitson is a columnist for the Globe and Mail, Canada's "national newspaper." He's as right-wing as they come, and, early in the campaign, looked for any reason he could to slam Obama and pump up McCain.
But he can't take it any longer. In a column today, "McCain helped create this deregulated mess," Ibbitson asks the question, "How is it now possible for a reasonable voter to cast a ballot for John McCain?"
There's really no alternative now, he observes. John McCain helped create this economic emergency. "Under the circumstances, rewarding him by voting for him would be perverse."
Ibbitson has the insight that both candidates' platforms are now a pile of ashes. Given the tax hikes and foregone investments needed to fund the proposed bailouts, any plans to invest in education, health care or to retool the military after two long wars are now toast. Obama acknowledged as much yesterday, saying he would have to "take account" of things should he take office.
But it's McCain's clear, and, until now, proud voting record as a "deregulator" that is an unequivocal dealbreaker. With a platform that proposes allowing taxpayers to divert part of their social security payments into private investment accounts and to deregulate the health sector, McCain promises more of the same.
Ibbitson tries to defend the idea of deregulation in Reagan/Thatcher times as having freed up energy for innovation and risk. I think he's wrong even there, as the historical economic record clearly shows better economic performance during the so-called regulated, "big government" era.
But John Ibbitson sends it flying out of the park with this conclusion:
An American might vote Republican because his father did, and so does he, and so will his son. She might vote Republican because John McCain opposes abortion and the right to life is the only issue that matters to her. They might vote Republican because they would never vote for a black man.
But for a reasonable voter to support the Republican Party, after everything its candidate has done to help bring on the worst financial crisis since the Depression, well, that just makes no sense at all.