McCain

Suffering the same ideological handicaps as his political bedfellows, lacking a coherent understanding of how a well run government programs such as national health care will benefit us all, John McCain nevertheless exhibits moral strength and good character in public affairs. When you look at the above exchange in the so-called debates, it’s obvious that McCain is a decent person seeking an ethically bounded solution to a complex problem, whereas his opponent, Mitt Romney, is a sleazy scum-bucket of the first water. Remarking on that exchange, Scott Horton at Harpers says,

The moral clarity and vision of McCain’s answer was perfectly balanced by the bankruptcy of Romney’s. In the end, the former Massachusetts governor ducks by saying that he would turn to his ultimate guru for guidance: Cofer Black, the Vice Chair of Blackwater USA. Mr. Black is known for his bravado, including a pledge to the White House that he would send them Osama bin Laden’s head in a box packed with dry ice. But of course it was Mr. Black who failed in efforts to catch bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders as they disappeared into the caves and ravines of Tora Bora. He moved from that high accomplishment to Blackwater, which is now engulfed in a series of scandals reflecting questionable management practices. Moreover, CIA officers complain that Black’s move to Blackwater entailed the privatization of vital national security relationships for personal profit, another hallmark of abuse in the Bush Administration.

It’s possible that once again this year I will be faced with the choice of abstaining or voting for the better person. Of all the candidates lined up on the Republican side, McCain is the only one who qualifies as neither morally repugnant nor absurd.