George Will Says McCain "Not Suited to the Presidency"
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
September 24, 2008 2:51am CST
With friends like this, does McCain really NEED any enemies? Read what conservative columnist and commentator George Will had to say about John McCain:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202583.html
Here are two brief excerpts from Will's column, actually the beginning and the end, which I think sums up his thoughts:
"Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama."
"Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.
It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?"
(End of excerpts)
If you're a conservative, chances are one of the pundits whose opinion you respect the most is George Will. What I've posted here is not the work of some liberal blogger, it's that highly respected conservative's own words. Let's discuss it; do you agree with George Will? Do you think other top conservatives share his views and if so do you think that will harm McCain's standing with his base and therefore his chances to win the election? Or do you think Will has changed his stripes and is betraying his own party and should therefore be ignored?
Annie
2 people like this
9 responses
@bleuerain (26)
• United States
25 Sep 08
For full disclosure purposes I am a liberal and I am voting for Obama. That said, I have always been objective enough to look at another point of view that was different than mine. Sometimes I have found myself agreeing with George Will. I totally agree with him on this issue. McCain scares me. The decisions he has made have seem to be predicated on gut feeling. I see nothing wrong with listening to your gut, but I feel that as the President listening to your gut has to be tempered by calm, rational thinking as well. McCain seems all over the place. Case in point, his picking of Palin as his vp. That has turned into an insult to women, Republican, Democrat, and otherwise, everywhere. If you go back and look at his economic stand over the years it's the opposite of what he's peddling now. I believe there are other top conservatives that share Will's views, but the problem is will they be honest and admit it. This might shake some of McCain's base but not all of the hardcore Republicans. I think this will help validate those Republicans who never liked him much anyway. I don't look at George Will as being a trader to Republicans. I look at it as him being an honest journalist who is true to himself and his opinions, not just following the party lines.
3 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Sep 08
I agree entirely. George Will is a rare breed from either ideology - someone who is totally honest whether it goes against his own party or not. I've often seen him on TV or read his Newsweek columns and one minute I'm totally disagreeing with him and the next he says something that makes such complete sense I'm shocked, because that's something we don't get from journalists too often.
Annie
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
24 Sep 08
Well I've never heard of him and no, I don't agree with him. This is a financial crisis and right now, nobody knows exactly what the "right" way is to deal with it. There may have been some people who thought Woodrow Wilson or Herbert Hoover knew the right way to get out of the Great Depression, but clearly they were wrong.
I choose the candidates based on my opinions and not George Will's or anyone else's. I doubt this would do any noticeable damage to McCain since I have never heard of George Will and don't know what kind of following he has.
1 person likes this
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
24 Sep 08
I don't doubt any of that Lloyd. I have read many Washington Post articles over time, but I honestly don't usually look at who has written the articles so it's likely I've read his articles before and simply not known it was him. I don't really watch much TV and that's especially true on Sunday mornings so if that's the only time he's on TV, I'm sure I've never seen him. If you and Annie say he's a true conservative with a huge following, I have no reason to doubt you. I'm just saying that I'm not familiar with his name.
1 person likes this
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
24 Sep 08
Glad I'm not the only one that doesn't/didn't know who he is. From what I have read he is a conservative. I surely wouldn't claim him as a liberal lol.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Sep 08
Sadly, George Will may be right, however, we only have a choice between the ones running. As unsuited as McCain may be, he is still the most suited of a poor pack of candidates... and it is a pretty poor pack.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
24 Sep 08
OMG, good morning to a fellow night-owl, or are you an insanely early riser...lol? Actually, I'm not sure off the top of my head what time zone you're in but it's after 4 AM here.
Thank you for responding at this ungodly hour and for being honest and objective. Believe it or not, while as a liberal I certainly disagree with much of what Will has said through the years I have agreed with him from time to time and I do respect him. Now I think I respect him even more, not because he's said something against McCain, who you know I'm not crazy about, but because he didn't hesitate for a minute in giving his honest opinion. We both know that many columnists and commentators from both sides will more often than not just go with the flow to support their own party or ideology.
Annie
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
24 Sep 08
Being retired, I really don't have any kind of schedule. I've also never really had what would be called a healthy "sleep schedule". 2am and 2pm are all the same to me.
Yeah, it has entertained me to hear the commentators warming up to McCain after being so hard on him for years now. I still don't think any better of McCain than I did before but after reading up on the other candidates who will be on the Wisconsin ballot, he is still the better of the bunch. But as I said, it's a sorry bunch, which I think is why it has become Palin vs. everyone else. Like her or not, she has emerged as the one to beat.
1 person likes this
@platinum601 (276)
• United States
24 Sep 08
i think McCain isnt suited for presidency at all. He hasent focused on the key points and huge problems we are facing with today. I remember he went on and talked about a whole entire speech without once mentioning the economy. The economy is the most critical part of the US today. If we dont fix it, then every thing will fall. Food prices will soar, along with taxes and gas and many many jobs will be completely lost. The economy is what we should focus on. I dont think Obama is 100% suited for presidency either, i really dont. I think this year we have a very poor choice of candidates.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
25 Sep 08
I have no idea what this is about except from what your discussions you are trying hard to get Obama elected and will stop at nothing. I think it is Anniepa's idea of who should be the president and she has done all she can to make McCain look bad and also Palin and has searched for those links that help her point of view. McCain's moralism does make him suited for the presidency more than Obama. Actually no one is suited for the presidency they grow into it. The only way to be suited is for the presidency to be like a monarchy and be born into it.
I would believe if most of the conservative columns said it, but this is just one man.
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
25 Sep 08
Wow, Suspenseful, do you think I have that much power, that I can help get Obama elected? I sure didn't have to search for this link or the links for any of the other items I've posted throughout the campaign, I simply try to be as informed as I can and I listen to and watch numerous news programs as well as read some news online. I was actually rather surprised when I heard of Will's column about McCain's suitability to the Presidency.
I really haven't had to go searching to find things that make McCain or Palin "look bad"; depending on one's personal point of view there has been lots of them within plain view, it's not necessary to look for them.
I tend to agree with your statement that "Actually no one is suited for the presidency they grow into it," if you mean it in the sense that it's not a matter of what "experience" someone has had in "running things" but rather a matter of having good judgment and skills in leadership and diplomacy coupled with intelligence and a real intellectual curiosity, something our current President is very much lacking.
Your last sentence, "I would believe if most of the conservative columns said it, but this is just one man," doesn't quite make sense to me since this was one man's opinion so it's not something to believed or not believed. If you're saying you'd go along with Will if most other conservative columnists said the same thing doesn't say much about your own convictions.
Annie
@LovesTravel (303)
• United States
24 Sep 08
McCain is a genuine hero. He has taken some courageous political stands in the past. He is deserving of our respect and admiration. He is apparently a good father and man of faith and principle. He is not, however, the leader I want to see sitting in the White House. He is also not the John McCain I would have considered voting for 8 years ago.
