Why I am giving up on John McCain

I know, right? I'm not for John McCain - it's tough to believe. But while I often mindlessly ramble about this sort of thing, this is something I really mean, and am really serious about.

I've said over and over that when it comes to Republicans, John McCain is about as good as they come. He does have a record of true bipartisanship in some areas, he once considered becoming a Democrat, and he's an all-around good guy. He's not the smartest guy ever and didn't demonstrate particular proficiency during his military career, but he really did act with honor amid circumstances under which no one is able to say for sure whether they could act so nobly. When it comes to policy his (long-term) record really does differ significantly from President Bush. Plus, in these economic times, it's tough to push the button for a Democrat pushing larger increases in government spending and smaller net tax cuts.

Because of Barack Obama, John McCain never had a chance at my vote this year. But if it were Kerry against McCain, I can't say for sure I'd color my ballot blue. It would depend on circumstance.

But I believe there's finally enough evidence to say for sure what many of Obama's supporters have said for some time - the old John McCain is gone.

We appear to be in a once-in-a-generation crisis. It's a situation that calls for leadership of historic proportions. It's a situation that calls for politics to take a back burner, and for us to put Country First. That John McCain has juxtaposed these actions with that slogan makes this all the more painful. You see, John McCain is the underdog in this election, and he's playing the underdog playbook pretty well.

But everything from the Palin pick to the attack ads to the unwillingness to tell his radical rally supporters to shut up shows that, for even the slightest chance at a comeback in the election, John McCain is willing to take the country down with him as he slides into defeat, at a time when we need unity more than ever. When he raises Bill Ayres, when Palin speaks of pallin', all they do divide us when we need to be united. All they do is increase distrust for the future president. All they do is make the job of repairing our problems that much more difficult.

The glory of the Old McCain is he was one of the few guys in Washington you could count on to never do exactly what he's doing. And that's why I've finally lost faith in John McCain.