John McCain at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group

I had the privilege if attending the Silicon Valley Leadership Group last Friday for their annual policy lunch. The main speaker was Sen. John McCain. Now, McCain is a great American. He is nothing short of a hero due to his time in the Hanoi Hilton and his refusal to be bowed by it.

My sense is that I would like him as a person. So, as he started talking, I was willing to listen to him and put my partisan cynicism away. He started out by doing something remarkable; he welcomed Anna Eshoo (CA-11) and Bill Lockyer (CA State Atty Gen.). I thought this was a magnanimous gesture that the first folks he welcomed were from the other party.

The set up was a question and answer session with Cisco CEO John Chambers. When asked what the most important issues were facing the high tech industry, he and Chambers responded that H1B and universal access to broadband we on the top of the list. The Broadband issue struck me as self-serving towards Cisco, but as someone who has to deal with hiring, the H1B issue is serious. The fact of the matter is that the people we hire are high-skilled, earn more than the US Median salary and pay taxes. So its a net win for everyone.

With regard to Iraq, McCain reiterated that "the next 3-6 months are critical", and that we need to "take out Sadr and get control of Iraq". He would like to see an increase in Army and Marines in the region. Interestingly, he also made the point that North Korea is not as dangerous as Iran.

He also said that we have to try anything, including vouchers, to improve the public education system. That's where he lost me. He said that bringing competition to education would help to improve it. Not a position I necessarily agree with. It would probably do more harm that good.

John Chambers closed with a discussion of the Lebanon Partnership, which is a private partner to help rebuild Lebanon, which is a worth goal indeed.