In a time of economic crisis you don’t raise taxes on business or tend toward isolationist trade policies. Those were the failed policies of the Great Depression.

Eventually leave Iraq, but not in a way that jeopardizes the chances of a reasonably stable sustainable Iraqi government. The remaining concern here is not just Afghanistan, but the declarations by both candidates that they will not permit Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, when it is obvious that Iran has every intent to do so.

We need to promote all of our domestic sources of energy including drilling, nuclear, and clean coal as well as the renewable sources and energy conservation to confront our the energy crisis. This is both an economic and a security issue.

To address health care one needs to equalize the tax structures and offer alternatives to all inclusive state mandates that drive up the cost. Sen. Obama’s plan with its open ended costs is not feasible in a time of economic crisis.

The greatest advances in health care, education, employment, and public safety have to do with personal responsibility and the President can put these issues on the agenda to change the climate of opinion. One could start with the issue of drugs, which are now also a security issue and contributing to seriously deteriorating conditions in Mexico.

Most of the most significant advances are done through cooperation rather than competition. This is done by actually working across the aisle domestically. In foreign affairs it needs to be based on a moral vision of our common humanity and a respect for human dignity which is more than just freedom.

"No, what disappoints me about the McCain campaign is it has no central argument. I had hoped that he would create a grand narrative explaining how the United States is fundamentally unprepared for the 21st century and how McCain’s worldview is different. McCain has not made that sort of all-encompassing argument, so his proposals don’t add up to more than the sum of their parts. Without a groundbreaking argument about why he is different, he’s had to rely on tactical gimmicks to stay afloat. He has no frame to organize his response when financial and other crises pop up."

First, Sen. McCain’s best strategy would still be to put forth a moral vision based not just on freedom, but also equality, a respect for human dignity, and justice. He is a military hero and he has supported human rights and the Geneva Conventions. Sen. McCain, however, has not used his campaign to explain the moral foundations of constitutional democracy or to put forth a moral vision for a global community. He intuitively understands, but has yet to fully explain in his campaign why American ideas are as important as American power in foreign affairs.

Further negative campaigning by either side will be interpreted in the context of the financial crisis as more of the same. Sen. McCain needs to continue to focus on reform, transparency, accountability, and a control on congressional spending. He then also needs to be able to convey the strengths of his own positions on such issues as the economy, jobs, health care, energy, and education.

The chances of a tie are significant.

Paulson opposes any ‘punitive” elements directed toward executive pay in the bailout package. Apparently he doesn’t consider putting a $700 Billion liability on the tax payers as “punitive.” Paulson is concerned that any restriction on executive pay could mean that they may decide not to participate. If that would be supported by a board of directors, why should there be any bailout.

Sen. McCain has proposed some constraints on executive pay as part of a bailout. The Motley Fool and John Gapper at the Financial Times have expressed their concerns.

Seymour Martin Lipset wrote a book entitled American Exceptionalism.

In the concluding part of the final chapter Professor Lipset quoted from a work of my own, The Moral Foundations of United States Constitutional Democracy: An Analytical and Historical Inquiry into the Primary Moral Concept of Equality:

An emphasis on individual morality is an elemental component of the American polity. As political theorist James Rutherford notes, “The free and equal individual with moral responsibility is the basis of community solidarity.”

This is in contrast to most countries where nationalism and group solidarity have historically been based on a common culture, ethnicity, religion, and/or language.

Exceptional does not necessarily mean better, but a moral foundation which is based on a respect for individual human dignity and our common humanity does have at least the capacity to accommodate both human rights and pluralism in a global community.

Read more at MoralFoundations.com, and more here on What Medical Ethics has to Offer the Larger Fields of Moral and Political Philosophy

He can then start to clarify his own positions on the issues. In a financial crisis, the country is just not in a mood for more negative marginally true campaign attacks from either side. It is not a time to risk your credibility.

Read more at Real Clear Politics

Why should I contribute more to McCain’s campaign for this type of drivel. McCain has the advantage on most of the issues but he still hasn’t put forth or been able to articulate a moral vision. He intuitively knows that both breaking the Geneva Conventions and that giving in to terrorists are both wrong, but he can’t convey to us and the global community why. Like President Bush, the academics, and the media he talks about freedom, but not about responsibility, a respect for human dignity, justice, equality and our common humanity. Instead of focusing on good government and a moral vision for a pluralist global community, he is now running a lousey campaign controlled by political hacks.

And this is from someone who still thinks he is the better candidate.

"But any decent person who looks at the McCain record sees that while he has certainly faltered at times, he has also battled concentrated power more doggedly than any other legislator. If this is the record of a candidate with lobbyists on his campaign bus, then every candidate should have lobbyists on the bus."

Sen. McCain should be able to win on this issue if he can also put forward a positive moral vision of equality, human dignity, justice, and freedom in the ideological debate with the Muslim terrorists.

WP -- Two Winnable Wars

"The support of supply-siders Jack Kemp and Phil Gramm has not been enough to reassure some economic conservatives about the direction of economic policy in a McCain administration. Yet a look at Mr. McCain's record in Congress over the past 25 years demonstrates a tax-cutting pedigree at least as strong as, if not stronger than, Mitt Romney's or Mike Huckabee's (they both raised taxes as governors)..."

"IT IS NOT news that much of the conservative base bitterly opposes John McCain and is appalled that the man they consider a Republican apostate could soon be the GOP's presidential nominee. From talk radio to the blogosphere to the conservative press, many on the right are outraged that what Mitt Romney last week called "the House that Reagan Built" - the modern Republican Party - might anoint as its standard-bearer the candidate who by their lights is the least likely to follow in the Gipper's footsteps..."

McCain can win on national security and foreign policy. He can win on taxes, fiscal responsibility and reforming government. He can even win on health care. He can win on the issue of judicial nominations. McCain can also hold his own on in a general election on immigration and the environment. He can even win on the issue of change if he can put forward a more accurate vision of American values as being based on equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom. He can speak to young America about values the way he has written about them. He can focus on the role of individual and cultural responsibility as well as government policy in education, health, and a civil society.

His biggest challenge will be the economy. The electorate will see a need to address the growing divide in income distribution. Will McCain be able to address the very complicated issues on fair trade as well as open trade and the trade balance? Will he be able to understand and address the anxieties of families about jobs, health care, housing and energy prices? Will he be able in temperament and vision to elevate himself to the role of statesman?

The far right media pundits, however, continue to criticize Sen. McCain for not adhering to the litmus tests of their own philosophy. Pat Buchanan, as a typical example of these pundits, however, got just o.4% of the votes in his last national election

Sen. McCain could have talked about combating the loss of jobs overseas with fair trade practices. On the other hand, he could have talked about combating the loss of skilled jobs to illegal immigrants in the construction industry, for example, with a crack down on employers. He could have talked about making health care more accessible and affordable. He could have talked about the government providing some type of economic stimulus package and lowering some taxes. He could have discussed the independent role of the Federal Reserve, but also that the economy is a little like a pillow in that if you push it down in one place it is likely to pop up in another. Very low interest rates, for example, caused a lot of hardship for those retired on a fixed income and contributed significantly to the speculation that has now led to the housing crisis. He could have noted that Greenspan was just wrong in describing 4 ˝ % unemployment as inflationary when you are also trying to revise welfare to workfare. Sen. McCain did not have to offer false promises to demonstrate that he has also been listening to all of those hands he has been shaking.

Sen. McCain should read, reread, and study this speech and the way it conveys our values to the world. Sen. McCain, of all the candidates, has come closest to approaching this level of statesmanship. Sen. McCain should also begin to convey our values as equality, human dignity, and justice as well as freedom.

Sen. McCain also has developed positions on health care, energy independence, fiscal responsibility, the ending of pork barrel spending and transparency, global warming, education, immigration, social securtity, and tax policy. Sen. McCain has demonstrated leadership in trying to address the most difficult problem in a bi-partisan manner. These issues are all interrelated and required long term strategic planning. They are also, however, very immediate and personal because of the economy, a budget and trade deficit, a falling dollar, high gas prices, a mortgage crisis, the outsourcing of jobs, 43 million people without health insurance, rising unemployment, and the real possibility of a recession.

For these reasons, Sen. McCain will need to be have well-developed domestic policy positions that address these immediate concerns and anxieties of the voters concerning the economy. Hopefully he will also be able to direct the debates in the general elections toward some serious in depth discussion and education on these complicated issues, and begin to search for and emphasize where there may be some areas of agreement. There are some real areas of difference, but the electorate is also clearly tired of gridlock.

This respect for human dignity is a forward looking moral vision that at least has the capacity for accommodation in a pluralistic global community. This is in sharp contrast to the terrorism and totalitarianism of the radical Islamic extremists. It is indeed the military people such as General Petraeus and Sen. McCain who understand how damaging the events at Abu Graib and waffling on the issue of water boarding and the Geneva Conventions have been to the standing of the United States in the Middle East.

This is intuitively understood by most Americans. The populist campaigns of Sen. Obama and Gov. Huckabee have been successful by calling for a higher moral vision and a unity that transcends the gridlock of special interest groups and the status quo. Sen. McCain has more than an impressive record as a maverick who has opposed special interests groups. He is the candidate who has understood the global threat of radical Islamic terrorism and been the strongest on national security. He has also, however, demonstrated in both his writings and his career that he understands the importance of ideas and moral values in both domestic and foreign policy.

There is also, however, going to be a populist part of his election which is going to emphasize change and moral vision. Sen. McCain also has the credentials for “straight talk” on the values that can unit us beginning with our sense of equality based on a respect for human dignity. He can relate individual, family, and cultural values to such pressing issues as education, health care, and financial security. The oldest candidate can tell the young people who value freedom that there two ways that you can lose your freedom in our society -- one is to commit a crime and be placed in prison and the other is to become addicted to drugs. He can point out that graduating from high school is important in part because, as Woody Allen pointed out, the most important part of a job is showing up. The most important improvements in health care would also come from changes in individual behavior. And although there are many types of loving families, those who are married before they have children on average do much better in many ways including financially. McCain can become the statesman on both domestic and foreign policy.

Senator McCain, with his stance against torture as a means of interrogation and support for the Geneva conventions is perhaps in the best position to convey our primary moral concept of equality as a respect for human dignity and our common humanity. This is a forward vision for accommodation in a pluralistic global community.

“With the success of General David Petraeus’s counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq , even some conservatives have taken to arguing that foreign policy and military policy will become less important in 2008. We doubt it. This is still a post-9/11 country, and voters know they will be electing a Commander in Chief in a world that is as dangerous as it was during the height of the Cold War. In an election against any Democrat next year, Mr. McCain would have little trouble winning the security debate.”

During more than five years as a POW in Vietnam, John McCain experienced the worst assaults on human dignity imaginable. Yet each day he also saw in his fellow prisoners the power of human compassion and the will to prevail against unimaginable evil. It is this experience, and a life dedicated to public service, that has imbued in John McCain a fundamental commitment to the protection of human dignity that will shape his presidency.

Is advocating doing away with farm subsidies and ethenol programs in an Iowa debate honest "straight talk", or is this just careless without also explaining the nuances? Are farm subsidies an all-or-none proposition? Are more efficient biofuel programs worthy of support?

Sen. McCain has some natural advantages as a candidate based on his experiences and his record, particularly in foreign policy. He also has to be able, however, to convey a detailed understanding of policy issues in such domestic areas as the economy, education and health. So far Gov. Huckabee has assumed more of the "bully pulpit" on values and Romney and Guiliani have been more detailed on policy.

"But the more comprehensive difference between a wartime election and a postwar election is that there is a shift in values. In wartime, leadership traits like courage, steadfastness and ruthlessness are prized. Voters are willing to vote for candidates they distrust so long as they seem tough and effective (Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani).

In a postwar election things are different. When Wall Street Journal/NBC pollsters asked voters what qualities they were looking for in the next leader, their top three choices were: the ability to work well with leaders of other countries; having strong moral and family values; bringing unity to the country. Those are cooperative qualities, not combative ones. They require good listening skills, openness and the ability to compromise.

It’s clear that voters are not only exhausted by the war, they are exhausted by the war over the war. On the Democratic side, Obama captured the mood exactly with his Jefferson-Jackson Day speech of a few weeks ago. In that speech, he asked voters to reject fear, partisanship and textbook politics. He asked them to vote instead on the basis of their aspirations for a new era of national unity. As a result, Obama has pulled ahead in Iowa and approached parity in New Hampshire."

Although Sen. Clinton has not as yet made such issues a major part of her campaign, consider this related recent statement from Sen. Clinton:

“Teen pregnancy has damaging effects on teen parents and society. Teen parents are more likely to live in poverty, to drop out of high school, and to rely on public assistance. The sons of teen mothers are more likely to end up in prison; the daughters are more likely to themselves end up as teen parents. According to a report by Dr. Saul D. Hoffman and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, teen childbearing in the United States cost taxpayers at least $9.1 billion in 2004”

These are not partisan issues and they transcend the concerns of both the moral majority and liberal group politics. One of Sen. McCain’s strengths has been his willingness as a statesman to address the larger issues in a bipartisan way. The Presidency has been described as having a “bully pulpit.” Sen. McCain should lead, but also work with the other candidates (including Sen. Clinton), to put these cultural and individual behavioral issues on the agenda concerning economics, education, and health.

Senator McCain could also find important common ground with Sen. Obama in basing our respect for each other in universals terms and emphasizing those things the unite us. Sen. McCain has a chance to clarify and convey that our primary moral concept of equality, the moral assertion of human dignity, and individual rights and freedoms all in some way relate to an understanding of our common humanity.

1. Iraq -- Sen. McCain has been right in his criticism of Rumsfeld’s policies. It is McCain who has both supported the troops and the “surge” which has seen some significant success. This is in contrast to both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama. He has opposed torture as a means of interrogation and supported the Geneva Conventions.

   McCain now needs to begin to expand that position to a concept of equality understood as a respect for human dignity as the primary moral concept of American constitutional democracy. Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, and Lincoln all considered equality to be the primary moral concept of our government. The great reformers such as the women suffragettes and the Rev. Martin Luther King did not repudiate this moral concept but urged us to live up to it.

2. Immigration -- Although it is apparent that the public wants border security as a priority, there still is and there will continue to be a need for a comprehensive approach to illegal immigration issues and this will need to be bi-partisan. Sen. McCain unabashedly now promote both of these objectives.

3. Fiscal Responsibility -- Sen. McCain has well-established and known positions on this issue.

4. Social conservatism – Despite Sen. McCain’s long consistent conservative position on most social issues, the religious right has not forgotten his chastising some of their leaders for being intolerant and his willingness to reach a bipartisan consensus on difficult issues. Sen. McCain should continue to address his social agenda to the country as a whole. He should begin by addressing young people on crime and drug addiction, which are the two ways that you can easily lose your freedom in our society. Then, with a recognition that there are now many loving non-traditional families, that statistically there are still very practical economic and social advantages of education and having children within the context of marriage.

5. Health Care – Sen. McCain has a good start on health care, but he will still have to address in the debates to come how he would find a way to include some of those that may still not be able to get coverage or affordable coverage under his plan as compared to a more centralized universal approach.

McCain at this juncture needs to put forth a moral vision for a pluralistic global community. That moral vision should be based on a respect for human dignity. This is the concept of equality that Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Lincoln, the women suffragettes, and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. all considered to be the primary moral value of American constitutional demcracy. This is close to his positions against torture and against abortion.

China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States account globally for 90% of the capital punishment cases. We are thus to some degree providing cover for the killing and capital punishments that are sometimes the arbitrary tools of dictators, tyrrants and terrorists. One way for McCain to put this issue on the agenda and to focus attention on a respect for human dignity as being our primary moral value, would be to advocate the eventual abolishment of capital punishment. In a state like Ohio the issue of capitol punishment could be on the ballot in Nov. 2008. It is such a bold proposal that would associate McCain with the concept of a respect for human dignity. It is the type of proposal the would demonstrate the thought and leadership of a statesman and connect him to a larger moral vision.

McCain needs to begin to show some breadth in addition to just showing more commitment to his position on Iraq. The concern is whether he has the capacity to do this. He basically blew through 25 million dollars on polling and fund raising and didn't develop a health care policy. This will be one of the major issues and the Republicans should embrace this because, they can put together a better plan. McCain just has to combined the best of the ideas that have already been put forward and be able to understand and promote them as a package. The Republican candidate will probably have to extensively debate Hiilary on this issue.

It is time for McCain to stop jesting about being the fifth from the bottom of his class at the naval academy. Voter's are looking for someone more articulate than Bush and all of McCain's rivals are very capable and intelligent. I think that McCain can prevail on the war in Iraq, fiscal responsibiliy, health care, and even putting immigration on the agenda, which has led to addressing it in a serious way. He is in the best position to define our moral position in terms a respect for human dignity and to clarify that our government is a constitutional democracy that also protects minority rights as well as voting and majority rule. He will not be successful, however, unless he broadens his agenda and demonstrates a detailed understanding of most of the issues. including health care.

McCain at this time needs to be able to articulate a health care policy and be able to defend and promote it. This doesn’t require a lot of development as a combination of The positions of Romney and Giuliani is probably the best response to Hillary care. The major point from Giuliani, which is not in Romney’s proposals is that consumers should be able to choose a policy from any state, and not be required to get a policy only from their own state that may require that a great deal of unnecessary and expensive services be included. Health care will be a major issue with voters.

Now, a radical proposal. McCain should encourage a reconsideration and debate on capital punishment. In a recent survey, 90% of execution as capital punishment occurred in four countries – China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. We are providing cover for for one of the most effective tools of terrorism and totalitarianism. Capital punishment is also ineffective against suicide bombers who consider themselves martyrs. It diminishes our standing in the court of world opinion. We are actually losing the battle of ideas in the Middle East to a cabal of terrorists. We need to do all that we can to distinguish ourselves from their atrocities. This doesn’t even include the many domestic arguments that can be made against capital punishment.

McCain is the candidate best positioned to educate the public that the primary moral value of United State constitutional democracy is equality understood as a respect for human dignity and worth and a respect for our common humanity. This was the belief of Jefferson, Madison, Tocqueville, Lincoln and the great reformers such as the women suffragettes and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Encouraging a reconsideration and debate on capital punishment is a idea that displays intelligence and strength in the battle of ideas. It is the appropriate balance to his strong support for the military and the battle against terrorism.

1. Equality as an Affirmation of our Common Humanity concerning our difficulties in understanding and conveying this primary moral concept.
2. The Moral Foundations of United States Constitutional Democracy: An Analytical and Historical Inquiry into the Primary Moral Concept of Equality to understand the several historical roots of this concept in the liberal tradition of Western Civilization.
3. An Ecological Organic Paradigm: A Framework of Analysis for Moral and Political Philosophy and What Medical Ethics has to Offer the Larger Fields of Moral and Political Philosophy to understand the nuances of this concept when human nature is understood to be multidimensional.

Senator McCain, based on his writings and his opposition to torture and support for the Geneva Conventions, is perhaps the best suited at this time to put forth again what Lincoln called this “central idea” as the primary moral concept of our government. It will not come, however from his staff that is concerned with “micro” rather than “macro” issues or his advisors who are concerned with polling and fund raising. It should and will have to come from McCain’s intuitive understanding of the history and larger purpose of American constitutional democracy and the ideas on which it was founded. The other candidate who may intuitively understand and be able to convey the importance of Brzezinski’s advice is Senator Barack Obama, who has spoken of civil rights in a universal context. This “central idea” of equality as a respect for the dignity and worth of our common humanity can help provide cross-cultural understanding and enable ethical dialogue. It has at least the capacity to accommodate pluralism in a global community without the use of coercion or alienation.

As he faces down the perplexing issues of war in Iraq and immigration reform at home, it's fitting that Arizona senator McCain, a contender for the 2008 Republican presidential bid, would spend time reflecting on principled stands that either "win a hero's welcome or indefinite pain and suffering." McCain and co-author Salter follow the blueprint of their previous book, Why Courage Matters, to provide readers with a series of character-as-history profiles of the men and women who shaped seminal moments in 20th century political and cultural history, from the integration of professional baseball to the pardoning of Richard Nixon to the end of the Cold War, as well as seemingly trivial accomplishments like the invention of the disposable razor ("Sell the shave, not the razor"). Throughout, an insider's view provides keen insight on the caprices of history and more than a few echoes of current events, most importantly the interplay between personal experience and national destiny. Meticulously crafted, this collection will appeal to those who respect McCain's reputation as a maverick for whom "faith and courage" ranks among the most important forces in human history.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

His support for the military combined with an advocacy of human dignity and rights in foreign affairs, has been mature compared the politics of the far left which is driving foreign policy in the Democratic Party.

His attempt to address the immigration issues in a bipartisan manner put this difficult issue on the agenda rather than ignoring it. If preliminary conditions related to identity and security need to be addressed before a this can be resolved, then these preconditions are what the Congress and Senator McCain should be working towards as that issue will not just go away by ignoring it or doing nothing. Senator McCain rather than backing away from the issue should stay the course.

The same goes for campaign finance reform. Even after the Supreme Courts reversal of part of McCain-Feingold most it remains intact. Although it will now be seen as a matter of necessity rather than principle, Senator McCain should commit to Federal funding for the general election. Something he should have done from the start. Most voters, and particularly independent voters, remain concerned about the role of big money in politics.

Fiscal responsibility and the control of earmarks, K street lobbying, pay-to-play, and budget deficits, all remain strong topics for Senator McCain.

Senator McCain’s credentials on conservative social issues also speak for themselves. He should not pander to an uncompromising far right, which has very little general support. He should again not be dismissive, but stand his ground. He can’t prevent that far right from possibly shooting itself in the foot.

At this time Senator McCain does need to do more to address the issues in health care and outline an approach that is both progressive and fiscally responsible.

Finally Senator McCain needs to curtail some of the frantic activity of fund raising and take on more of the role of a confident statesman who sees the larger picture and who has a moral vision. That vision should be based on the affirmation of the dignity and worth of our individual and our common humanity. Senator McCain has come the nearest to approaching this moral vision in his support of the Geneva Conventions and his understanding of the importance of ideas in foreign affairs in a pluralistic global community.

This election will not be about fund raising but about the issues and the moral vision of the candidates. Senator McCain should stay on message.

McCain can still win on the issues by not taking the short term easy way out. His long term perspective and agenda is what remains sound and what may again become popular as opposed to wishful thinking, partisan politics, and the appeasing of factions.

McCain is running against some very intelligent people and some who have proven to be very good politicians. His only chance to reverse course and to be successful is to be perceived as the more accomplished statesman -- the one who has a broader vision and purpose, a moral compass and yet a practical realistic approach, and a capacity to be above partisan politics and to work for common goals. McCain has the firmness of character and the generosity of spirit to do this. The message is more important than money.

…Muslims have got to understand that a death cult has taken root in the bosom of their religion, feeding off it like a cancerous tumor….If Muslim leaders don’t remove this cancer – and only they can – it will spread, tainting innocent Muslims and poisoning their relations with each other and the world.”

I would add that for years there has been a war going on against moderate Muslims by the radicals. It has been not only dangerous, but life threatening, to be a moderate in Palestine or elsewhere in the Middle East. The conflicts have forced many of the most talented to leave. And yet, the moderate global Muslims have provided a secondary climate of opinion which has allowed the radicals to continue to operate in a way that Freidman describes as a cancer that is “erasing the basic norms of civilization.” There has most often been a qualifying excuse if not a blind eye to a terrorism which is not only destroying Muslim communities, but as Freidman states “poisoning their relations with each other and the rest of the world.”

Civil war, it also turns out, has nothing much to do with the legacy of colonialism, or income inequality, or the political repression of minorities. Three things turn out to increase the risk of conflict: a relatively high proportion of young, uneducated men; an imbalance between ethnic groups, with one tending to outnumber the rest; and a supply of natural resources like diamonds or oil, which simultaneously encourages and helps to finance rebellion.

This all applies to terrorism, radical versions of Islam, and the world in which we live.

Rather than informing with his knowledge of history and philosophy, however, Senator McCain seems to take pride in graduating fifth from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. His major opponents in both parties are very intelligent people. Intelligence, however, is not always the same as wisdom. The question is where Senator McCain from his experiences, his writings, and his time in Congress has the wisdom to be President.

The recent actions in the United Nations provide an opportunity for this discussion. The year old UN Human Rights Council has ignored the real human rights abusers in places like Sudan, Russia, Iran, Egypt, North Korea, Vietnam, etc., etc. and attacked only Israel. There have been nine resolutions condemning Israel -- but none of any of the other 191 members of the international community. A recent vote to condemn Israel was 47 to 1 with only Canada standing up to this attack. Who is going to place this on the agenda of the presidential campaigns?

McCain can garner support from moderate Republicans and independents by continuing to educate and advocate on the difficult issues. He deserves the support of many of the religious coalitions which have not been reflective or critical of their own history or appreciative to date of McCain’s conservative record. Senator McCain already has name recognition, and any negative campaigning would be poison to his own support. His understanding and policies on such issues as health care will count for more than fundraising from big spenders and business as usual.

He could unconditionally declare that he would accept federal funding and commit to Newt Gingrich’s proposal for a series of 90 minute debates on the issues. Without such a change in his own campaign, Senator McCain will continue to be seen not so much as a maverick and principled statesman but as doing business as usual. He will neither become President nor make an impact on campaign reform.

Senator McCain should do this, particularly by pointing out to teenagers, that there are two ways that you give up your freedom and independence in this country. One is by committing a crime and being put in jail or prison and the other is to become addicted to drugs, because addiction means that you have lost control. Teenagers, who are often anxious to exert their own independence, need to understand the ways that they can lose their freedom. There is nothing desirable or admirable about that. It’s time that our political leaders, perhaps starting with Senator McCain, help to mobilize public opinion on these issues by saying just that.

Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton scored some points in the first Democratic debate when she said, “This is not America's war to win or lose. We have given the Iraqi people the chance to have freedom, to have their own country. It is up to them to decide whether or not they're going to take that chance.”

The electorate appears to understand that Senator McCain is the strongest candidate on national security, support for the military, and on foreign affairs. Senator Clinton started out as perhaps at least the most moderate democratic candidate concerning Afghanistan and Iraq, because she probably best understood that if she eventually becomes President these problems will still have to be dealt with in maybe an even more difficult environment. She has been forced primarily as result of Democratic primary politics, however, considerably toward the Pelosi/Reid/Dean left on Iraq. Her proposals now appear to many, including independents, to be premature and unsound at least at this time.

The other major candidates say that they want campaign finance reform, but are also hedging their bets. McCain needs to be the leader and by example help to create a voluntary principled tradition. The campaigns will then more likely focus on a series of debates on specific issues and volunteer activity. There would also probably be less negative advertising and fewer personal attacks by the candidates. This course of action a will not come from campaign advisors who are also the primary beneficiaries of the current system. Yet, without such a move now, McCain will continue to lose independent voters, and independent voters will probably determine the next election.