Choose Wisely

I’ve said that Obama is “impossible not to like.” Well, I’ve been wrong before.

Obama lost me when he promised to be easy on Iran and tough on Pakistan. Emboldening your enemies and weakening your allies just doesn’t strike me as sound policy.

Obama sealed the deal when he promised to screw over our best trading partners — Mexico and Canada — by insisting on “revisiting” NAFTA.

Then there was Obama’s promise to tax the oil companies back to the Stone Age, just when we need them drilling the most.

The worst? Obama’s statement that taxes ought to be punishing, rather than being geared towards raising revenue.

And I haven’t even mentioned that Obama has taken 50 grand (at last count) from the people behind Code Pink and the defacing of a Marine recruiting office. Or that the two most important people in his life, his wife Michelle and his pastor Jeremiah Wright, both harbor deep (and sometimes poisonous) grievances against the very country which has made them so successful.

So I won’t be voting for Obama in November. (Shh — it’s because he’s black!)

Does that mean I’ll vote for McCain? Hardly. At last weekend’s blogger bash, I put it this way: Since I’m not a resident of Arizona, I’ve never had an opportunity to punish McCain for the McCain-Feingold Voter-Muzzlement/Incumbent-Protection Act. And I’d dearly love him to suffer for it. But should the nation suffer more under an Obama Administration than it already has under McCain-Feingold? Good question.

On taxes, McCain is clearly the better candidate. On domestic policy in general, things become less clear. Some kind of socialized medicine is coming to this country in our lifetimes — that’s the sad truth. I’d rather it come later than sooner, which might be a point in McCain’s favor. Then again, who’d have thought a Texas Republican would massively expand Medicaid?

But what about judges? Look. McCain has promised to appoint more Supreme Court justices in the mold of Roberts and Alito. But could the co-author of McCain-Feingold recognize a truly conservative judge if he saw one? It’s tough enough (as many justices have shown) to appoint real conservatives even when you think you know what you’re doing. And McCain seems pretty clueless on the Constitution and judges. Best case: He gets one or two right by accident. Likely case: The Democratic Senate happily confirms Justice Souter, Justice Souter, Justice Souter and Justice Souter.

Foreign policy and military readiness are McCain’s strengths. His instincts are solid, although likely out of sync with America’s mood these days. However, McCain wouldn’t gut the Army as Obama seems likely to do, and would likely gut Tehran if necessary. And McCain isn’t prepared to stain the Oval Office carpet with the blood on the shoes of Raul Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or Kim Jong-il.

And that right there is almost enough to seal the deal.

Almost.

Someone (I drank lots and can’t remember who) at the blogger bash suggested a sensible compromise: If your state if up for grabs, vote McCain. If there’s no doubt which way your state is going, vote Bob Barr. If you can’t stand Barr, then don’t vote for President at all — there’s no reason to give any of those jokers any more of a mandate than they’re likely to get.

And that’s my endorsement this year: None of the above, if you can help it.