John McCain

My natural reluctance on John McCain is based on two factors. I realize his story is a heroic one. But I believe his role in the Senate has been less than positive. I do not think his role in campaign finance or in the gang of 14 helped advance a better government, indeed his collusion on the gang of 14 probably limited a couple of very good judges from being confirmed. That was inside DC politics but I think they were fundamentally negative. His prescription on health care is to "bring costs under control." I wonder if he or his team have thought carefully at all about why costs are rising. I am also skeptical about his response to taxes - while the general principle of keeping taxes in line with spending restraint is a good one - the democrats are often willing to raise taxes and increase spending. And I think at times he has been supportive of at least part of that equation.

His support of a strong military and an aggressive foreign policy is a real positive. He certainly would not retreat from our current situation in the world - either in confronting terrorism or in our general approach to markets.

But I wonder about his age and stamina. I voted for Reagan in 1984 and although I am sure he was not the president I thought he was in his first term - even with all the problems he was certainly better than Mondale would have been. But McCain lacks a lot of the grace that Ronald Reagan had.

Would I vote for McCain - a lot depends on who is nominated. I am also intrigued whether he an Lieberman might team up in a third party race. I believe that this electoral season will be a lot like the last college football season - filled with surprises. So that outlandish possibility is not as silly as it would seem at first glance. But for now I am not excited about his candidacy.