Don't Worry, Be Sad

It occurs to me that the thing that annoys me about Hitchens' recent flipflop is that somewhere in his logic is some need for charisma. It occurs to me that without question John McCain is the boringest character to run for President since that other paragon of virtue Bob Dole. My answer. So what?

As much as I like the thrill of a fiesty press conference, I can't bring myself to believe that the most important thing about my electing of a president is the feeling I get in the voting booth. I'm not supposed to vote for the candidate that makes me happy. I'm supposed to vote for the candidate who is going to do the best job in the White House, the one I trust with the boring job of running the government of the United States. Not whom do I like in the campaign, but whom do I trust in the job.

In the end, there's nothing I've seen that makes John McCain a spectacular anything. He's a determined bipartisan workhorse who focuses on the serious issues. Somehow everybody has managed to find reasons to dislike him because he can't pick VPs who excite the public on both sides of the aisle. He can't manage to suppress the odd lunatic anywhere they speak ill of his opponent. He can't change the perception of people determined to associate him with Bush. These are things that people wish he would do, it would elevate their mood - it would get them charged up to support him, or give him the benefit of accumulated doubt.

But when it comes to core values, McCain is my guy. Always has been, always will be - so long as he is a moderate conservative. It's really that simple. I cannot see why anybody who calls themselves conservative has any excuse to vote for someone who is not, especially given the fundamental conservative principle that it is not the government's job to provide happiness. That pursuit is on you, bub. So don't worry, be sad, and do the right thing.

Hitchens has decided to raise the properties of character and temperament over values and direction. He sees McCain as dishonest and Palin as a 'sick joke'. I don't see McCain as dishonest, I see him as running a sloppy and lackluster campaign. But I'm not voting for the best candidate, I'm voting for the most trusted president.