The American Spectator

Judy Beumler br> Phoenix, Arizona /p>

“…when it comes to the salutary economic benefits of tax cuts he needs constant reminders. But otherwise he is a solid conservative.”

Really — a solid conservative? I’ll have what Emmett’s having, thank you very much. Or maybe not.

Does a solid conservative vote against the very tax cuts that have proven beneficial to all taxpayers and the economy as a whole? Does a solid conservative repress First Amendment guarantees? Does a solid conservative, while talking about “supporting the troops” out of one side of the mouth, prevent proven intelligence techniques on the battlefield during wartime resulting in lives saved? Does a solid conservative play to the liberal drive-by media for an extended period, at the expense of peers and party during serious policy discussions, simply to burnish centrist credentials? Are these the things that mark a solid conservative?

p>A Maverick? Yes. A solid conservative, or even just a plain ol’ conservative? Don’t bet your life on it; and after 2008, your life is the most precious thing you’ll own. br> — Owen H. Carneal, Jr. br> Yorktown, Virginia /p> p> The big thing against any Presidency by McCain, and Hillary, and Obama is that they are Senators. Only two Senators were elected directly from the Senate to the Presidency in the 20th Century—Harding and Kennedy. From Harding we got Tea Pot Dome. From Kennedy we got the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the US assassination of allied political leaders. I expect McCain, Hillary, and Obama, or any other sitting Senator would provide no more and no less in their presidential achievements. br> — John Gridley /p>