Candidate McCain Disappoints

I actually used to like Senator McCain. Years ago, I heard him speak once at a convention in Washington DC. I was mostly impressed by his decency and compassion. During the Republican debates, when he promised a campaign that would be free of character slandering, I was equally impressed. However, the candidate I am seeing now is very different from the Senator I heard in 2002 and the one that ran during the primaries. It is actually disappointing to me because I was looking forward to an election that focused on honest debates and intelligent discussions around issues and policies important to the American people and the world. Instead, what I see candidate McCain doing is buying into the political tactics that we have seen in the past 8 years. His recent selection for VP just confirms this.

I find it incredibly startling that McCain would choose a person he hardly knows for a job as important as the Vice Presidency of the United States. It is so obvious that he is doing this as a political tactic that it makes me question his judgment. Is that the way he will make decisions about our economy, our security, our well-being as a nation? If, God forbid, Senator McCain dies during his presidency then he will entrust this nation with a person with zero foreign affairs experience, whom he hardly knows to be the Commander in Chief? How irresponsible is that?

I can appreciate that this is a historic moment for women but what is insulting and shameful is that it comes as a result of political tactics and not merits. As a woman, I am insulted. I can't help but asking how does he dare insult the intelligence of millions of women who voted for Clinton with this tactic of trying to appeal to them by choosing a woman with no qualifications as a vice presidential candidate. What does he think, that women are stupid? Or is he implying that people supported Hillary just because she was a woman? People supported Hillary because they thought she was the best qualified person for the job. It just so happened that she was a woman, which made the decision to support her even more exciting.

I have watched with dismay how John McCain has transformed his message from the Primary to now. This VP pick really surprised me because at the very core, I wanted to believe that Senator McCain would come to his senses and run a decent campaign based on respect and dignity. However, now, I agree with Senator John Kerry, who said it best at the Convention last week: "Before [John McCain] ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself."