Bully For McCain – August 2008

Bully! Bully! So said Republican President Teddy Roosevelt whenever things were going well. What would he say now 100 years after the end of his two Presidential terms? How would he use his so-named Bully Pulpit to answer Democratic “the sky is falling” campaign tactics?

And can Senator John McCain who is running to join Teddy Roosevelt in that exclusive club of Presidents say Bully! Bully! as he defends attacks from Barack Obama on today’s economic, foreign policy and social issues?

Senator McCain recently said that he considers himself in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt who was known for tight fiscal strategies, big stick foreign policies, and leading environmental views. From what I read and hear about John McCain, he truly does share many of Teddy’s philosophies.

He, like Teddy, does not like to spend your federal tax dollars and he has rarely requested funding for wasteful government projects. Even his vote against the original Bush tax cuts was because of pork loaded onto that bill by others in Congress. Barack Obama, on the other hand, has proudly pushed for $ 930 million in pork in his brief 3 years in the Senate.

While the Democrats have tried to lampoon McCain for his economic knowledge, he fully understands the importance of not raising taxes on the middle and upper classes as Obama plans to do. McCain correctly believes that once the Bush tax cuts are made permanent, capital investment in the economy will soar while McCain will cut back the size of the federal government which grew fatter the past 8 years. Increased tax revenues from those investments combined with less government expenditures will help bring the federal budget closer to balance.

On foreign policy issues, Senator McCain has demonstrated Teddy Roosevelt’s big stick philosophy by being the leading proponent for the surge strategy in Iraq which turned the momentum towards victory resulting in the Iraqi Prime Minister saying it is almost time for the U.S. to start drawing down its troops. Senator McCain recently toured Central and South America to demonstrate his belief that NAFTA has been good for our county and to lobby for the Columbia free trade agreement with one of our best allies in Latin America. Obama was against the Iraqi surge and he is against NAFTA and the Columbia trade agreement.

In 1902, Teddy Roosevelt created the first national park at Crater Lake, Oregon. The current day Environmental Defense Fund calls him the greatest conservationist president. Will Senator McCain live up to that reputation? The EDF praised Senator McCain for his efforts to pass the Climate Stewardship Act regarding global warming. Senator McCain also continues to hold firm on his vote against expanding domestic drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. I believe that Teddy would be proud although I personally do not agree with either of those McCain positions. But at least Senator McCain will take a pragmatic approach to environmental issues as opposed to Obama who will always parrot the beliefs of the liberal media and activists.

John McCain was not my preferred Republican candidate for the Presidency but he will be a far superior successor to Teddy Roosevelt’s White House than will be Barack Obama whose policies and beliefs more closely follow the failed strategies of former President Jimmy Carter.