Jamie

Weinstein

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March 21, 2008

John McCain and Barack Obama: Two Inspiring Stories, One Clear Winner

Even those who are ardent opponents of Barack Obama's candidacy must admit his March 18 speech on race in America was, at least in parts, exceptional. You can agree or disagree with aspects of the speech, even dismiss segments of it as his standard stump speech, but it is hard to deny the speech as a whole was well thought out and well executed.

The most inspiring part of his speech for me came when he discussed his background.

"I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas," Obama told the assembled crowd and the television audience.

"I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave-owners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."

Yes, it is only in America that a man with Obama's background could seriously be considered for the highest office in the land. The Illinois senator went on to say that his story helps support the notion that the United States "is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one." Amen.

In most years Obama's remarkable background and story would make him the most intriguing candidate in the race for the White House. But this is no ordinary year.

John McCain's story is surely as inspirational as Obama's. McCain comes from a family of American warriors who, generation after generation, have stood at freedom's wall, ready and willing to lay down their lives for America's security. His father and grandfather were both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. McCain himself famously endured horrific acts of torture as a POW in Vietnam. When he was offered early release because of his father's prominent position as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, McCain refused the offer unless his other comrades who were captured before him were released as well. His reward for such a display of character was five more years of wicked sadism at the hands of his North Vietnamese tormentors.

Today, both of McCain's sons are following in their family's honorable military tradition. One has just returned from fighting in Iraq as a U.S. Marine, and the other is currently at the Naval Academy. The Arizona senator has so far shied away from talking about this very much in interviews, but it is certainly worthy of note.

A Barack Obama vs. John McCain presidential match up will provide America with two stellar candidates, each with a different vision for America, but each an able proponent of the policies they seek to pursue. This means we would have real choices with real contrasts.

One clear contrast will center on the main reason Obama's speech on Tuesday was necessary. Obama was prompted to make his speech about race in America after his pastor and spiritual mentor was accused of anti-American animus and racism. For all his speech achieved, he failed at putting that incendiary issue to rest.

"We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God," Reverend Jeremiah Wright has preached. "America's chickens are coming home to roost," he has said, suggesting America was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

I don't know if Wright is a racist, but he certainly seems to harbor anger at white America. More disturbing are his Churchillian comments (as in Ward, not Winston) blaming America for 9/11.

I honestly doubt that Barack Obama shares much of his former pastor's despicable views, but it shows terrible judgment that he not only tolerated Wright, but considered him like a family member. If you add in the recent comments by Obama's wife, saying the first time she had reason to be proud of America was her husband's campaign and Obama's association with an unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist, well, you can see where Obama has at least a perception problem.

Contrast this with McCain. McCain would not have associated himself with such an America-hater for 20 seconds, much less 20 years. His love affair with America is whole and pure. Despite all the service and sacrifice he and his family have already provided to this country, McCain says he owes more to America and "will never, never tire of the honor of serving her."

In this particular battle of contrasts, McCain is the clear winner.

Obama's deep and close association with Wright undermines the Reaganesque rhetoric he pushes on the stump, not to mention his message of unity. Poor decisions have consequences, and Obama will rightly be haunted by his pastor's words if he ultimately wins the Democratic nomination.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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