I can’t but help to wonder how a man with the intellectual challenges of John McCain could even make it to the point of being a candidate for president from one of the two “major” parties of the US. I can only imagine what this process looks like to the rest of the world. Today, the thought driving my wish to express my opinion comes from recently McCain saying something like “I’m willing to lose an election in order to win a war while my oponent, Senator Obama, appears to be willing to lose a war in order to win an election.” At first, when I first heard him say this and then saw him break into his cheshire cat grin upon completing the sentence was to think where does this guy get off? Does he really think that because he managed to get shot down in Viet Nam, that makes him uniquely qualified to be president and some kind of “commander in chief?” The implication that Senator Obama is willing to “lose the war in order to win an election” is about as over the top unethical and ridiculous as anything I’ve heard in my 40 some years of following American politics. I mean this is coming from a man who doesn’t yet know that Chechoslovakia is no longer a country, that Al Qaeda is Sunni and not supported by Iran (in fact they are funded mainly by our “friends” the Saudi’s), and that Iraq and Pakistan do not have a common border, just to name a few of the “gaffes.” I have watched McCain shift his position (I’m being nice here because we all know the political correct term is “flip-flopped”) on one position after another and then try to portray Senator Obama as a flip-flopper – today it was because of some pictures of his daughters! This is almost laughable to me, except that I fully understand that there are many Americans who are too busy trying to just get by to be paying close attention to what I consider the most important election in the last 50 years in this country. McCain, should he somehow fool enough people into voting for him, is the perfect stooge for the people that are behind the last 35 or so years of “Reaganomics” in this country, the people who have been robbing the middle class blind and seem to have no end to their greed, the people who believe the oil in Iraq is more valuable than the lives of the American heroes who have volunteered to serve in our armed forces. I hope the tide swings so dramatically that the people of this country send a loud and clear message to the republicans that they have to come up with someone who at least has a clue as to the real needs of this great nation. We do need at least two viable parties to make our system function and McCain, following the disastrous GW could turn the republican party into an afterthought. In my opinion, the wisest thing for the republicans to do would be to change their minds as to their “presumptive” candidate and come up with someone who can carry on a legitimate debate on real issues and prevent a total blow out in November. While I am a supporter of Obama, I fear the results to too much “democrat.” The democratic congress have not proven themselves to be courageous in dealing with the far reaching abuses of power perpetrated by bush. They are the ones who are constitutionally compelled to “check” the power of the executive branch of government. As much as I like Obama, it is not his job if he’s elected to restore the executive branch to it’s rightful position in our system, it is the job of the congress. We need the give and take of the two party system. I believe Obama will be a uniter, but if the dems have too tight a grip on congress there won’t be any need to unite. Republicans, if McCain stays in this election, I fear Obama’s “coattails” will reduce your position in congress to one of spectator and complainer. You might think of finding a way to get McCain to step aside and at least get someone like Romney in there who could make this a real contest, if it’s not too late. The bottom line to me, John McCain, as a presidential candidate, is pitiful!!!!