Stand Up For What's Right

I've been maligned John McCain on and off since he's been pandering a lot to the GOP "Base" with comments about the Bush admin and the Iraq War, but deep down, I've always known that he's still a stand up guy who would do what's best for the nation (rather than what's best for the GOP and "the base")

Yesterday's lame-o GOP debate was an example of where my confidence in McCain grew by the way he answered a question basically asking if the candidates would okay torture.

Before I get into his answer let me first say something about how ridiculous public discourse has become when a question like this is considered legitimate. Since when has the question of torture even been a topic of discussion? I'll tell you since when: Since we got an admin so intent on maintaining its grip on power and expanding it's control in any way possible. Thank You Dick Cheney.

So moving on to the question itself, here's the summary of the question from Fox News
(which ran the debate):

The candidates also were asked to respond to a hypothetical scenario — homicide bombings at three shopping centers near major U.S. cities. With hundreds dead and thousands injured, a fourth attack is averted when the attackers are captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay to be questioned. U.S. intelligence believes another, larger attack is planned and could come at any time. How aggressively should the detainees be interrogated about the where the next attack might be?

The question is obviously talking about torture and how tough these candidates would be in this ridiculous hypothetical pulled from "24". The funniest answer definitely came from Congressman Tom Tancredo who said he'd be looking for Jack Bauer. His answer just referred back to how ridiculous it is to offer up these scenarios and being so possible that we need to know the answer to it.

But it was John McCain who stepped up to the plate and hit a homer in terms of providing a meaningful answer, but also standing up for all that is right and just about the concept of America. In short:

When I was in Vietnam, one of the things that sustained us, as we went — underwent torture ourselves — is the knowledge that if we had our positions reversed and we were the captors, we would not impose that kind of treatment on them,” Mr. McCain said. “It’s not about the terrorists, it’s about us. It’s about what kind of country we are.

I'm offended that this ridiculous question is brought up. I'm worried that stupid responses like Rudy Guiliani's "every method short of torture" are even in the dialouge. But I'm happy to see McCain getting back to saying what needs to be said.

This "War of Terror", when it comes down to it, is a test of the American character. As far as the Bush admin's activities go, they have basically showed their character in their willingness to stoop to any means to support their end goal of supreme GOP power concentrated in the Executive Branch. There has never been any concern about what it means to be American, or even a human being....unless it's been as a snarky comment to make a Dem. look bad. Doesn't matter if it's torture, firing attorneys, or skirting every law imaginable; they've made it all too clear that character for them, means winning. At any expense.

I've said it before and I'll say it here....If I were ever vote for a Republican, the only person I could see doing the right thing for this nation now and in the future is John McCain. Let's hope GOP voters see to it that he's the GOP nominee coming out of this morass of GOP candidates.