This is the presidency, not American Idol

By Dan Foley

I write this knowing it will provoke a response from my fellow columnists. I’m happy to help get those creative juices flowing because God knows there’s nothing worse for a liberal than to have nothing to complain about. (Considering liberals, maybe I shouldn’t even use the term “God.”)

As we’ve seen lately, if there’s nothing to complain about liberals will make something up, even if it ends up exposing their own hypocrisy on issues. I say this because I have to take a few minutes to talk about Barack Obama and the liberal response to the surge and the current success we are having in Iraq.

As we move closer to the November election, I’m amazed by the nerve of Barack and his left-wing supporters and their already revisionist perspective on the war on terror, as well as their continued opposition to protecting Americans and our economy. It is so disgusting that on Barack’s world tour — with stops in such friendly countries as Germany and France — he couldn’t help bashing our country and the very office he is seeking.

And people actually had the unmitigated gall to compare that speech in Berlin to such notable speeches as those given by Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy. I beg to point out one huge difference: Both men mentioned above delivered their speeches without attacking the United States in any way whatsoever. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same thing about Barack.

Barack Obama seems to think the only way to win this election is to destroy the very credibility our country has taken centuries to build. Barack and his merry band of far-left advisors believe that if they spend any time talking about the successes of this country, it will hurt their candidate and their chance to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Now, don’t get me wrong: I believe candidates should try to win, and do everything in their power to do so. But this win-at-all-costs and destroy-everything-in-your-way strategy is a recipe for disaster. And the problem is it isn’t only a recipe for disaster for Obama if he wins. It is a disaster for the next president, regardless of who wins.

I for one believe elections should be about issues and what you have done and will do if elected, not about feel-good slogans like “change.” I guess this leads me to ask Obama: What is his “change”? Oh, nobody knows because he refuses to elaborate. So far all we’ve gotten from him is that he very badly wants to leave the impression that our country is bad — evil, racist. He has essentially told us that the sum total of his whole life’s experience has left him and his wife embarrassed to call themselves Americans, at least until very recently.

What does that mean? I’ve never been embarrassed to call myself an American. As a matter of fact, I’m thankful every day to God (uh-oh, I used that three-letter word again) that I am an American.

Thank you, John McCain

But I need to get back to my main theme: Elections should be about issues and what you have and have not done. John McCain isn’t right on all the issues. As a fiscal conservative I have to tell you his stance on cutting taxes and his immigration stance worry me. But he is right on the most important issue, and that is the surge and the war against terror.

Barack is wrong on the fundamental issue of national security. Remember, if we are wrong on the war on terror, all the other issues don’t much matter. Who cares if you are right on fiscal issues — and Obama’s redistributionist approach isn’t by the way — but are so wrong on national defense that we end up victims of an attack that renders our country completely incapacitated? I emphasize this point because Barack is wrong on the very issue that trumps all others right now: securing the safety of this country and our citizens.

While Barack travels around the world acting like a rock star and bashing America, John McCain is working to fund our troops, protect our country and make sure the men and woman in uniform understand that not all politicians — no, let me rephrase that: not all Americans — are against them. McCain appreciates the job they are doing to keep this country safe both physically and economically.

Thank you, John McCain. And I hope for the safety and for the future of the entire free world that people wake up and realize we are electing a president, not the winner of American Idol.

Foley is the outgoing minority whip in the New Mexico House of Representatives and a Republican from Chaves County.