Third and Final Debate

I thought Sen. Obama was on mission tonight; didn't get rattled, as did his opponent. I have always respected John McCain so much, but the last few weeks of the campaign have diminished him in my eyes. For one thing, he should remember that folks didn't take kindly to Al Gore's eye-rolling and looks of disdain in the debates with GW. I thought McCain came across condescending, temperamental, and sarcastic---characteristics surprising to me and characteristics that don't look "presidential."

Sen. Obama remained focused and so my choice for the last 18 months has not wavered. At one point in late summer, I waited to see who Sen. McCain would choose as a running mate and after the debacle of Sarah Palin to the ticket, that clinched it for me because it told me he made a hasty decision under pressure and God only knows, her "gee whiz," "golly Joe Six Pack," and winks aren't qualifications. The woman can't answer a question without a script, showed so much irresponsibility on the campaign trail with her inferences to Sen. Obama's being a terrorist, etc., hasn't a clue about foreign policy and thinks shooting endangered wolves from an airplane is okay.

Sen. McCain is a good man but being a war hero and a P.O.W. are not qualifications for the presidency. Like Bush, he has not focused on domestic issues until the economic crisis forced him to do so. Eisenhower was a great general but a mediocre president, and our own Jeremiah Denton, a P.O.W. for seven years, never succeeded as a U.S. Senator. Just like great ballplayers don't always make great coaches, an awe-inspiring, honorable service to one's country doesn't automatically make one a great president. Our nation is full of great warriors who sacrificed their lives and blood for us, but that doesn't mean they would be a choice for president on those credentials alone.

I have prayed and researched my choice since this race first started. Originally, I was leaning toward Joe Biden and was thrilled when he was put on the ticket with Sen. Obama. And I am so proud to live in a nation where finally a man who is the son of a Kenyan and a white woman from Kansas can not only run for president but more than likely be elected. We are God's people and we all should realize that Heaven has no back door. I truly believe he has the best economic policy, the best healthcare policy, the best ideas on education and the environment, and is a supporter of the Constitution, regardless of what his personal beliefs may be, and I think he has shown in interviews and in these three debates that he is capable of leading, that he is cool under fire, and that he will do everything he possibly can to prove his critics wrong and that is why I think he is the better choice.