Marketwatch: McCain would be a mediocre president

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Rex Nutting, the Washington bureau chief of Marketwatch, wrote a commentary asking if McCain has the right stuff to be president. As a financial writer, Nutting is apparently unhappy with the frivolity that McCain has taken to being his platform. While McCain asks Is Barack Obama ready to lead this country?, Nutting asks Is McCain fit to lead America?

In short, Nutting feels McCain would be a mediocre president because:

Lack of accomplishments:
Like the current occupant of the White House, McCain got his first career breaks from the connections and money of his family, not from hard work.

McCain hasn’t accomplished much in the Senate. Even his own campaign doesn’t trumpet his successes, probably because the few victories he’s had still rankle Republicans.

Every senator who runs for president misses votes back in Washington… But between the beginning of 2005 and mid-2007, no senator missed more roll-call votes than McCain did, except Tim Johnson, who was recovering from a near-fatal brain aneurysm.

Shallowness:
McCain says he doesn’t understand the economy. He’s demonstrated that he doesn’t understand the workings of Social Security, or the political history of the Middle East.

McCain has done one thing well — self promotion. Instead of working on legislation or boning up on the issues, he’s been on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” more than any other guest. He’s been on the Sunday talk shows more than any other guest in the past 10 years. He’s hosted “Saturday Night Live” and even announced his candidacy in 2007 on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

No Leadership:
McCain has frequently taken on near-impossible missions that go against the grain of his party. It’s the basis of his reputation as a maverick. But McCain has never been able to bring more than a handful of Republicans along with him on issues such as campaign finance reform or immigration.

Living in the 60’s:
McCain is still fighting the Vietnam War. But he’s not fighting the real historic war…Instead, McCain is fighting an imaginary Vietnam War, where a sure victory could have been achieved with just a little more bombing, just a little more “pacification,” just a little more will to win at home.

Most of the other high-profile politicians who fought in Vietnam — Colin Powell, Chuck Hegel, John Kerry, and Jim Webb — aren’t stuck in the past, and they don’t view the Iraq War as a chance to get Vietnam right.

No Principles:
After years of honing a reputation as a guy who’ll say the truth regardless of the political consequences, McCain has crashed the Straight Talk Express. On almost every issue where he took a principled stand against the Republican line — taxes, immigration, oil drilling, the Religious Right — he’s changed his views.

We ought to like politicians who change their mind when the facts change; it shows maturity, judgment and flexibility. But politicians who change their mind to suit the prevailing winds show the opposite.

The Bottom Line:
He’s neither a dreamer, nor a detail guy. His major accomplishment, in Vietnam and in the Senate, has been merely to survive.

Just surviving doesn’t make you’re a hero, or a decent president. America needs to do more than survive the next four years.

That pretty well sums it up. We need strong leadership to get us out of yet another mess that the Republican’s have gotten us into. We do not need four years of a wing and a prayer that something might go our way. And we do not need a leader who wants to bomb bomb bomb Iran and is spewing anti-Russia comments as recklessly as Bush did about Iraq. Senator McCain, the cold war ended. Stop living in the past! McCain’s Neocon handlers have started to endorse bombing Russia! How many wars would that put us into? Let’s see: Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia. This isn’t a game of Risk, for crying out loud.

McCain not only has no concept of economy or many of the other concerns that American’s are facing, he doesn’t have a grasp on reality as to anything concerning these multiple wars he seems to want so badly; where will the money come from? What men and women will fight? Will he institute another draft? How long can our fighting soldiers be Stop-Gapped? And those are just the most basic of questions he needs to understand.

Be sure to read the whole article (and the comments. Remember, this is a financial website and Nutting is a financial writer. I think that when one thinks of markets and finance, conservative comes to mind – right or wrong. The comments might be a little insight into electorate parsing.) I think it’s worthwhile.

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Filed under Economy & Finance - Business, Election 2008 - Presidential

Tags: Business, Economy, Finance, McCain, MsJoanne @TPZoo