Don’t get me started on the gigantic heap of bullshit contained in this letter.
Because someone writes something in an email doesn’t make it true. “John McCain has sex with sheep.” There, I wrote it in an email, it must be true. “John McCain is a child molester and what’s worse is that he faked his incarceration and conspired with the Viet Cong to bring a disgraceful end to the war in Vietnam.” Wow, who knew? The mainstream media must be really biased toward McCain to not be reporting this stuff.
These bozos all claim that the mainstream media and historians are so biased that no authoritarian source of news & information can be trusted, except of course the blogs of former GOP staffers and militia members in Montana (and FOX news, which is the same thing). This would be funny, except some people actually go along with this.
What’s more, you hear their complaints of “Obama thinks he’s so smart!” I am going to go out on a limb here: As former editor of the Harvard Law Review and Professor of Constitutional Law at University of Chicago, he’s probably kinda smart. You also hear “He acts like he is going to be President!” Well, I am no mathematician, but as the Democratic nominee, I would say there is a 50-50 chance, maybe even better given the mess that the GOP has made over the last 8 years.
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Dear Friends:
My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign , Illinois . I’m 46 years
old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business
owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don’t consider myself to be either
conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or
Democrat. I don’t believe there are “two Americas ” – but that every
person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if
they’ll just work to get there – and nowhere else on earth can they find
such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are
legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America
first.
The purpose of this message is that I’m concerned about the future of
this great nation. I’m worried that the silent majority of honest,
hardworking, taxpaying people in this country have been passive for too
long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics.
They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their
kids,and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and
consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the
political pundits and so-called “news”, thinking that what they hear is
always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can’t understand how
elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork
barrel spending. They don’t want government handouts. They want the
government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government
programs.
We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders.
It’s a privilege to do so. I’ve never found a candidate in any election
with whom I agreed on everything. I’ll wager that most of us don’t even
agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into
that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my
vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I’ve hired
a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that’s what an election
is – a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working
for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?
I’m concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply
don’t get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can’t explain, and
calling it “change”. Change what?, I ask. Well, we’re going to change
America , they say. In what way?, I query. We want someone new and
fresh in the White House, they exclaim. So, someone who’s not a
politician?, I press. Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff
changed, so we’re voting for Obama, they state.
So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has
enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education,
raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his
party’s nomination for the White House – that system’s all wrong? No,
no, that part of the system’s okay – we just need a lot of change. And
so it goes. “Change we can believe in.” Quite frankly, I don’t believe
that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent
months, I’ve been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they’re
voting. I live in Illinois , so most folks tell me they’re voting for
Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why – only that he’s going
to change a lot of stuff. Change, change, change. I have yet to find one
single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man
is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful
nation on earth other than the fact that he claims he’s going to implement
a lot of change.
We’ve all seen the E-mails about Obama’s genealogy, his upbringing, his
Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let’s ignore this for a
moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to
be my president? That he’s a brilliant orator and talks about change?
CHANGE WHAT?
Friends, I’ll be forthright with you – I believe the American voters who
are supporting Barack Obama don’t have a clue what they’re doing, as
evidenced by the fact that not one of them – NOT ONE of them I’ve spoken
to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can
explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible.
Foreign relations? Nonexistent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who
wants to unite the country? If you haven’t read his wife’s thesis from
Princeton , look it up on the web. This is who’s lining up to be our
next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama’s constant
harping about change is that we’re in for a lot of new taxes.
For me, the choice is clear. I’ve looked carefully at the two leading
applicants for the job, and I’ve made my choice.
Here’s a question – where were you five and a half years ago? Around
Christmas, 2002. You’ve had five or six birthdays in that time. My son
has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a
half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of
sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take. John McCain spent that amount of
time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.
When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to
be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held
longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was
offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and
torture began.
Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a
foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your
fellow man? I submit that’s a quality of character that is rarely found,
and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.
Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military
service is questionable or nonexistent, you will not find anyone to
denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of
Annapolis , during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze
Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now
serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying “We
honor John McCain’s service…BUT…”, which to me is condescending and
offensive – because what I hear is, “Let’s forget this man’s sacrifice
for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more
about change.”
I don’t agree with John McCain on everything – but I am utterly
convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him
to do what’s right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of
our country in mind. He doesn’t simply want to be President – he wants
to lead America , and there’s a huge difference.
Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A
man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change
can’t hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service
to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the Senate
in 1982.
Perhaps Obama’s supporters are taking a stance between old and new.
Maybe they don’t care about McCain’s service or his strength of
character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe
“likeability” is a higher priority for them than trust”. Being a
prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the
United States of America – but his demonstrated leadership certainly
DOES.
Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking
Americans to say, “Enough.” It is time for people of all parties to stop
following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep
America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a
dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they’re voting
for, and why. There’s a lot of evil in this world. That should be
readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as
we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on
his citizens. I want a man who puts my family’s interests before any
foreign country. I want a President who’s qualified to lead. I want
my country back, and I’m voting for John McCain.
At this point, I want to add that I don’t want a First Lady that has to
be shown how to really love America. I want a First Lady who thinks
more about people beyond herself and takes on tasks like Cindy McCain
does. Have you read about her trip to Rwanda and Zaire? Look it up.
She thinks far beyond herself and her people. She would be a very
important asset to the presidential office also!!
