Respect/Respeto

From the start of his campaign, the question asked by editorial pages and cable news talk shows is whether Senator John McCain can reconcile his frequent departures from current Republican positions and solidify the party’s so-called base.  Most argue that without a strong turnout on Election Day from conservative, gun-owning, church-going and tax-cutting suburbanites, we’ll be saying hello to President Obama.

But we shouldn’t necessarily be looking at how McCain will differ or agree with George W. Bush or other Republicans.  We should instead look at the Republican presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt for insight as to how McCain would approach his own presidency.

In the midst of the Civil War and with his first term nearing its end, Lincoln was a lonely man.  He was facing a steady stream of criticism from Democrats, his own party was fracturing, and Lincoln was seen as too politically wounded to do anything about it.  The Lincoln presidency, it seemed, was headed to the history books after only one term.

Early in the election year of 1864, it didn’t look good for Lincoln, something to which the John McCain of 2007 can easily relate.  The chances for Lincoln’s re-election seemed bleak, all the while Democrats were crafting their convention platform that used language that would make Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid proud, calling the war against the south, a “failure.”

But Lincoln held steady.  He didn’t hold focus groups.  He didn’t commission a poll.  He didn’t worry about what the pundits were saying.  He led.

Lincoln, like McCain, was putting country before self.  Better to lose an election than to lose a war.  Come Election Day, Lincoln won all but two states, capturing 212 of 233 electoral votes.

Theodore Roosevelt on the other hand was the Republican Party’s resident maverick before the term had even entered the political lexicon.

Corrupt corporations were under the microscope when the trust buster TR moved into the White House and this perceived tilt to the left made TR no friend of his party’s conservative leaders.  Sound familiar?

McCain has ruffled the feathers of big business throughout his career.  Just ask executives in industries as varied as tobacco, cable television and even boxing whether they’re fans of John McCain.  Ask big money party donors whether they like McCain’s crusade in favor of campaign finance reform.

Flash forward to 2008.  Roosevelt’s image is on Mount Rushmore and John McCain is the Republican Party’s nominee for president.  Not bad for two guys once considered to be too maverick for the GOP.

We know where John McCain stands.  He was the lonely voice calling for the surge in troop levels when things were at their bleakest in Iraq and he was the only Republican candidate in the 2008 field to speak with the consistency of someone who understood not just the costs of not fighting, but also of not winning a war.

So while the political winds shift this way and that, John McCain is right where he’s always been.  He’s continually confounding his critics and the pundits and he’s giving our nation a dose of straight talk when we need it more than ever.

And he’s harkening back to presidents like Lincoln and Roosevelt and a time when presidents truly led with courage and conviction, and when the interests of the nation came before the interests of the party.  Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt were visionary leaders that inspired generations of Americans long after their Presidencies had come to an end.

Senator McCain is in the same mold as those leaders and provides the Republican Party with another visionary leader that can inspire our generation, as well as future generations, to achieve greatness.  Sen. McCain’s story is one of courage and dedication to American values and our country would be privileged to have him as a leader.  So on Election Day, let’s choose a leader that can inspire our country to new heights and   lead the United States into a future we all deserve.