a preference for McCain

I normally don’t like to talk about my specific political preferences. I find that more often than not, people are distracted when the word “Republican” or “Democrat” is injected into a conversation. They hear one of those buzzwords and then they hear nothing else. Their mind associates the word with feelings, good or bad. The feelings take over the rational part of the mind and there is no conversation to be had, only an awkward back and forth that usually involves a serious attempt to change the subject. Of course, sometimes this problem can be overcome, but usually not. I therefore avoid mentioning the R-word or the D-word until some basic common ground is established.

That said, I have recently argued that the upfront disclosure of political preferences is a good thing. I then realized that I haven’t really disclosed such information in this forum. So, I will attempt to make such a disclosure right now.

I will probably hold my nose and vote for John McCain this fall. I believe republican (small 'r'), limited government is in the best interest of the country. McCain at least occasionally agrees with this idea. Obama, never.

Even if I don’t vote for McCain, I will be actively campaigning against an Obama presidency. While Obama is a charismatic, even possibly hope-inducing kind of fellow, I do not think these qualities alone are those that make a good president. A good president will have good ideas; he will practice prudence; he will lead by the example of his good character. But if a president doesn’t have, in the first place, good ideas, then his other virtues do not matter so much. Politics is, in the first place, about ideas. Politics is not primarily about charisma or smiles or ability to lead (although the latter is certainly a big component). Thus, one must consider the ideas of the candidate as being more important than whether or not he or she is a nice guy. A president’s ideas will be of more consequence than his personality.

And I think Obama’s actual policy ideas are, for the most part, bad ideas. John McCain’s ideas aren’t much better. But they are slightly better. And sometimes, in politics, this is all we can expect to get. Additionally, we should not be surprised when the candidates of two national parties do not line up with our idiosyncratic policy preferences. Obama and McCain represent a nation of over 300 million people. You shouldn’t agree with them about everything – such agreement would be unhealthy for American political life.

I should add that the best reason to vote for John McCain is the Supreme Court. This next term, it is virtually guaranteed that a few key justices will be retiring. They will be replaced by the new president. These new justices will control the jurisprudential character of the court for probably the next 30-50 years. With a president Obama, there is absolutely no chance of getting a justice who would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. With a president McCain, there is a good chance of such a thing. It’s not a sure-shot, but it is definitely non-zero and has many significant liberal thinkers worried, including law Prof. Jeffrey Toobin.

There are other reasons to vote for McCain, but I think the Supreme Court is the best one. Without it, I would probably not vote for him.