In the end, after following this political race very intently for the past year, I feel, in my heart, that these were two men who genuinely like, and respect one another. You could almost see it in their eyes that the last thing that they truly wanted to do was to belittle the other. This wasn't a campaign where you could sense a tangible feeling of hatred, such as Clinton vs. Dole in 1996. This was a campaign where, if you asked each one of them off the record, they would in all likelihood tell you, "Hey, I did what I needed to do to try to win." And for that, and especially after hearing the concession speech of Mr. McCain (He deserves that kind of respect to be called Mr. McCain) where he said that he will continue to reach across party lines to get the job done, and he is one Senator with whom I truly believe that he will do just that, and help his president, and to hear President Obama graciously complement Mr. McCain for all he has done in the past, and will continue to do so as a Senate leader, which upon hearing this from President Obama warmed the heart of this Center-Right Conservative, really brings me a sense of hope, and that he, along with leaders such as John McCain, can bring this country back to its glory.
I am an American. I am proud to be an American. I not only love my country, I am in love with my country. A country that gave my father, who came here with no money, a trade school education, and a couple of years of english classes under his belt, the opportunity to live out his dream. A dream that he could bring his fiance, soon to be his wife, and later my mother to whom I adore and will always be my hero, to a new land, start off with nothing, and have the freedom to choose his path in life.
A country that rewards its people for hard work, where the sweat of your brow can lead you and your children to a better tomorrow. A country which has always been the unquestioned leader in the free world, where the ideas of democracy can once again be a beacon for those countries who are striving to be one, and an example to the rest of the world on how things can get done in the right way when the people of a country have a common goal.
To Senator John McCain:
Unfortunatley sir, and this is my one regret, you did not have the financial wherewithall in 2000 to be the Republican nominee for President, because sir, the John McCain of 2000 is the John McCain that I miss. I have long been a believer in you, but somewhere along the lines of this campaign, your ideologies had changed. I can understand why you did it. You needed to do what needed to be done in order to secure the nomination. But in my opinion, you lost a little of yourself along the way, and there will always be a tinge of disappointment in my heart towards you because of this. You fought hard, you did the best you could, but unfortunately you had to pay, in a figurative sense, for the sins of the father, whom in my opinion, even though I am a Republican, is the worst president I have seen in my generation. I voted for you, Bush, in 2004, only because of the fact that you were running against a limp noodle, and 4 years of John Kerry, could have been, and most likely, would have been, a true disaster of Biblical proportions. You've let the country down. I don't give a shit if you've let the party down, because it isn't about the party, its about the people. THAT, George Bush, is the difference between you and John McCain. Although you will go down in history as a President, if you dare to comapre yourself to John McCain, the MAN, you will lose that battle 100 times out of 100.
So Mr. McCain, I applaud you for a hard fought race, and for the way you handled yourself with grace and dignity in your concession speech, and I truly, in my heart, believe that you will follow your ongoing path of putting country over party first, in order to look out for our best interests. You keep ruffling the feathers of Government, you keep on keeping on working with your good friends Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, among other democratic constituents that you have had long and fruitful partneerships with. I look forward to seeing you leading the way in the Senate.
To President Obama:
Congratulations. Although race should have, and in my opinion, never was an issue, your victory in this election is the equivalent of the first man on the moon. It is truly an historic event, and I am proud as an American to say that I have lived to see this happen. You handled yourself with grace and dignity, and although I did not vote for you like I voted for Bill Clinton twice, I can sense in your eyes that you have our country's interest at heart. I hope I am proven right in this. But I am concerned, and I won't hide that concern. I hope, and pray, that you will surround yourself with people, and a bi-partisan cabinet, that truly have the experience, and wisdom to which you can draw from.
My main concern, President Obama, is that I don't know you. You have a very limited track record as a junior Senator, and I hope you realize the magnitude of the task at hand. You will be leading us into a new era, a paradigm shift unlike any other that I have ever seen in my 20 years of being a voting citizen. You have the future of generations in your hand, Mr. President, please don't let it fall through your fingers like our last President did. I pray for you sir, that you will lead us in the right direction, because it breaks my heart to see what this country has become.
I didn't want to do this for my 7500th post. I truly wanted to make a high-brow, satirical, and often biting dedication to all my friends here.
However, I realize that this is about more than me, or my friendship and respect for RObert, Vincent, Nicholas, Andrew, Michael, Greg, and others whom I have come to know over the past 5 plus years.
I wanted this post to be my message of hope, concern, and prayer for the sake of our country.
So God bless my friends on this forum, God bless President Obama and Senator John McCain, and God bless the United States of America and the World.
Thank you for your time.
