The American Spectator

(7) As with other “moderate” Republican Presidents, JM will be able to do his damage with no opposition from the stupid party. As we all know, Republican politicians are hardly profiles in courage.

(8) JM’s lack of charisma will further diminish the Republican brand and leave him with little base of support. You can expect many stories about how he deals with problems with anger rather than with solutions (he can never give in enough to the Dems to avoid this). I think we can all agree that JM’s temperament is hardly Presidential.

(9) JM is old at 72 years and getting older by the day. He will lack the energy to fight effectively. The Dems and their allies in the MSM will carve him up and have him for appetizers.

(10) This could be the biggest reason not to vote McCain/Palin. If Sarah Palin does as well off script and in debate as she has done so far, she may be “the natural” we have all been waiting for since Ronald Reagan. Such politicians come around once in a blue moon. If McCain wins, she will be tagged with his failures and her political career will be over. If McCain loses (and she continues to perform well), she can be our candidate of the future.

p>Certainly neither I nor you should cast a vote for Barry Obama. However, we should blank the Presidential line. If Obama is who I think he is, he will be easy pickings in four years. Plus, he will stimulate some Republican resistance that will not exist under a McCain Presidency. Spend your time and money on down ballot contests to protect as many Republican governors and legislators as possible. Don’t sign onto the McCain “straight talk” disaster. br> — Stephen Zierak br> Kansas City, Missouri /p>

Mr. Klein’s article carries a warning that it would be premature for Conservatives to too heartily embrace Sarah Palin. And while this is sound advice, it should not be taken as justification for Conservatives not to vote for a McCain/Palin ticket.

Governor Palin was brought on board to get the Republican Conservative Base to the polls. For, once there, most of them will pull the lever for John McCain, if only to thwart Comrade Obama. This strategy seems to be working. An unintended bonus is the fact that the Obama campaign and the media have now made this an Obama-Palin race. And that is a race that Obama can not win. And the tactical error of running your Presidential Candidate against your opponent’s Vice-Presidential candidate, while intriguing, is staggering.

Mr. Klein warns Conservatives that not enough is known about Governor Palin for them to assume that she will accurately reflect their values when in office. In this he is correct. Not enough is known about Sarah Palin the person or about how she would perform as President. I have to disagree with him in the case of G.W. Bush, however. His stands and feelings on issues were readily available to anyone who wished to investigate a little. He had governed Texas as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate with liberal leanings. That is how he governed from the White House. That Conservatives may have been disappointed that he was not a Conservative is understandable, but irrelevant. The choice in 2000 and 2004 was either G.W. Bush or a liberal wacko.

p>Now the choice is the same. And while John McCain is unpalatable to most conservatives, it is either elect him or say welcome to the People’s Republic of North America. Sarah Palin will not inhabit the Oval Office in January unless something untoward happens. So her governing ability is of a lesser importance in this contest. What Conservatives see is a woman who appears to be in step with their own values who will be a front runner for the Presidency in 2012. That is why they will go to the polls and vote for McCain/Palin in November. If she should turn out to be a disappointment in the next four years; well, we have lived with disappointment for twenty years, what matters another four. But, simply put, this Presidential election is the same as it has been since 1988; a moderate [give or take] versus a liberal socialist. The only difference is that there will be a significant Conservative turn out with Palin on the ticket. br> — Michael Tobias