I’ve had my eye on John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” as he travels around the country preparing for the Republican nomination. Here’s some straight talk from me, John- ” I’ll still vote for you over Obama, pretty much no matter what. In fact, I’d walk several miles to the polling place to vote for you if I had to. That’s mainly because I’m voting against Obama.” I think a lot of Americans share my feelings.

McCain has demonstrated an admirable devotion to duty, he was a P.O.W. in Vietnam (for anyone who has somehow missed hearing him recite this), and he has a strong desire to reform wasteful government spending. Luke –warm Republicans, however, have never shined in the annuls of history.

Gerald Ford finished out Richard Nixon’s second term with a notable lack of achievement before losing his re-election bid. George H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton after straddling the Republican fence in 1992, following his first term during which he reneged on his promise not to raise taxes. Bob Dole lost to Clinton in 1996, when the famously boring veteran Senator failed to garner enough support for a victory while campaigning as a compromiser who could reach across party lines. Republicans were not meant to be fence sitters!

Ideologically solid Republicans like Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and George W. Bush were all elected to two terms, and each left an indelible mark on American history. Not that McCain cannot be a good President, but I was secretly hoping he would pick Mitt Romney for his running mate, beat Obama, and then die shortly afterwards of old age.

I read a news excerpt today that made me reminiscent of this years’ primary races. After praising Sarah Palin, Romney stated with his usually clarity and self-assured conservative zeal, that “As you stand back and look at Joe Biden, you see someone who has spent 30 years dealing with foreign policy but has usually been wrong.”

He pointed to Biden’s opposition to the arms race Ronald Reagan pursued to choke the Soviet Union, Biden’s opposition to the first Gulf War, and Biden’s opposition to the troop surge, “which has led to our success in Iraq.” Romney also referred to the excessively blustery Biden as “an impenetrable thicket of words”, saying he was not sure if anyone was ready to debate him.

Love him, or accept him begrudgingly, John McCain is our man this time around. His foreign policy instincts appear good. This was underscored for me by his swift and strong response to Russia’s invasion of neighboring democratic Georgia. McCain immediately condemned the Russians, called for Russia to pull out, and stated “I know I speak for every American when I [say] … today, we are all Georgians”. On that same day, as Georgian villages were being raided and burned, Barack Hussein Obama urged “both sides to use restraint”.

On election day, I will gladly swallow the warm glass of water I find in John McCain, and vote for him in order to defeat the threat to our liberties and way of life I see in Barack Obama. In an election that should have been an easy win for democrats, McCain may have found his perfect moment as a compromise candidate.

McCain may just do a good job!