This is my first diary. I hope I have done it properly. In North Carolina, the ads which show actual residents of the state have begun to assist Kay Hagan in the hopes of defeating Elizabeth Dole. I believe it helps to show McCain and other Republicans why we are not not voting for John McCain, other than we are Democrats and they are Republicans.
I have never had this interest in a presidential election. But Obama makes me feel engaged and important when he speaks. McCain makes me think I am part of a horrible nightmare and I cannot wake up. He needs to be told, in a concise and proper manner, why we won't vote for him...
Dear Senator McCain,
I have wanted to write this letter to you for quite some time. Yet it is because of some of your recent decisions that has made it imperative that I communicate to you now. I want to let you know why I will not be voting for you. I wanted to let you know why some true, registered Republicans will be voting for a Democrat for the first time in their lives. And because the voting process in this country is one of multiple choice and not in an essay form, I feel that it is necessary to explain how we came to such a decision. I will attempt to be as specific as possible so there is no question to my motives and the motives of others. In the end, I hope you will respect such decisions and learn from your mistakes.
First of all, a leader stands up for his principles, even in the face of true adversaries. Everyone knows that you wanted Joe Lieberman as your running mate. Why else would you have a member of the opposing party by your side during so many photo opportunities? It’s not like you had Russ Fiengold or Barbara Boxer or even Ted Kennedy by your side during press conferences about Iraq or the state of our economy. Yet you cowered to the voices of the religious right of the GOP. I think you and I would agree, probably in private, that the Religious Right is neither. Yet just like Dr. Faust, you had to sell your soul to gain what you really wanted. So you picked an ultraconservative, out-of-touch governor to satisfy the appetite of your supposed base. When all is said and done and some junior reporter asks you in November if you would choose Sarah Palin again, would you say yes?
The media has said enough about Sarah Palin. Yet I wonder how much input you have received from voters about your choice. How can you expect your vice president to advocate abstinence-only education in our classrooms when she can’t even do it in her own living room? Can you honestly say that her foreign policy experience is dictated by her state’s proximity to Russia? If that is truly the case, why not pick Norm Coleman since his state is so close to Canada? Or what about John Kyl and his state’s closeness to Mexico? An Alaskan may be able to see Russia, but at least Minnesota and Arizona BORDER a foreign nation.
We all know you were a POW. And no one questions your dedication and perseverance to serving your country. I do not question such things. What I do question is your truthfulness and sympathy for your fellow men serving in harm’s way. For example, in the latest issue of Men’s Vogue (October 2008), there is an article titled “The Greatest Story Never Told” by Corey Seymour. http://www.mensvogue.com/...It details the treatment of our POWs by the Vietnamese. Mr. Seymour uses the words of your good friend George “Bud” Day to explain the horrors our men, including yourself, went through.
I question your truthfulness because of one direct quote from Mr. Day:
“Well, you have no way of knowing (what techniques were used on McCain). The only way anybody could really confirm this stuff was if you were in the room next door. But if I don’t see or hear, it’s totally on the individual’s own word. And we didn’t talk about it.”
Mr. McCain, you do have the scars and visible wounds to show that you were tortured, but why did you survive while so many of your fellow soldiers were killed, such as Lt. Col. Earl Cobiel, who Mr. Day actually saw get tortured? You seem so willing to tell people you are a POW, yet why do you never get into the specifics that Mr. Day is so willing to describe?
I question your sympathy for your fellow soldiers due to a few questions I have never heard asked of you by a member of the media. It is common knowledge that the U.S. Armed Forces Code forbids members from accepting parole or special favors from the enemy. Yet even while this is Code, your familial contacts arraigned for your release. If this Code is sacrosanct, why would they even attempt to get you released? Were they not breaking the Code by even suggesting your release? And frankly, if they were so willing to have you released, why did you not ask if any of your fellow soldiers who were more wounded than you were to be released in your place? Isn’t a true mark of a leader to put others first? Your denial of your familial contacts’ attempts to release you could have been the ticket stateside for any number of other American soldiers being tortured.
Now, Mr. McCain, I would like to tell you about the registered Republicans and once-undecided voters who will be voting for Mr. Obama. These are people from every age group, religion, gender, and race. They are all from the state of North Carolina, which has not voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976. On a side note, you must agree with then-President Carter’s non-violent decision during the Iran Hostage Crisis. No blood was shed in a purely diplomatic action. Are you to now say that this time around when dealing with Iran we should ignore them completely in the hopes that they will go away? Do you think President Carter should have led with a sword instead of a pen? Tell me when the last time a Republican won a Nobel Peace Prize.
The first woman I would like to tell you about is a retired grandmother of twins, one boy and one girl. She lives for them. And she hates the idea of having Sarah Palin as vice president. This grandmother cannot imagine the hypothesis of her granddaughter being raped, but not able to have an abortion because Ms. Palin says it is against HER own beliefs, even if those are not the beliefs of the grandmother or the mother of the children. This grandmother also believes that if you were looking for a woman with executive experience that Meg Whitman was easily a more suitable choice.
This grandmother knows executives well. Her husband was CFO for some major companies. Her husband and I have had many heated discussions about the state of our economy and how we should recover from our economic problems. What this former CFO and I do agree on is that you are correct when you said you know nothing about the economy. Your failed attempt at looking like an experienced statesman during the continued talks between Democrats and Republicans this past week has made you look inexperienced and unwilling to share the spotlight with your fellow members of Congress. You are not on any Finance or Banking committee, yet you were willing to suspend your campaign to assist in the discussions. A true leader knows how to delegate responsibility to people who know issues better than he does. This former CFO has never met a successful micromanager.
I hate to continue to harp on your decision to nominate Sarah Palin as your vice president, but I know of three other people who will be picking Mr. Obama because of this choice. Your choice was one of pandering, not one of picking the best person for the job. If you cannot reach an agreement with members of your own party, how can you do so with members who are not of your party.
Mr. McCain, I would like to close this letter with a quote from the show The West Wing. The episode is from the second season called “In the Shadow of Gunmen, Part 2.” Leo McGarry is having a discussion with then-presidential candidate for president Jed Bartlet about why Leo wants Jed to become president:
“Because I’m tired of it. Year after year after year after year. Having to chose between the lesser of who cares. Of trying to get myself excited about a candidate who can speak in complete sentences. Of setting the bar so low I can hardly look at it. They say a good man can’t get elected president. I don’t believe that.”
Mr. McCain, you don’t talk specifically on how you will change things in America. You just say you will change things. You pander to the right instead of caring what happens with the rest of this country. You do not symbolize hope, just doubt. You ARE a maverick though. A maverick against the best interests of the American people: the American people want the Iraq war to end. They want universal healthcare. They want less taxes. They want you to look at us in the camera instead of at the moderator during a debate. They do not want privatized Social Security. They want a good man to lead this nation.
And you sir, with all due respect, are not a good man.
Sincerely,
A Voter