By Susan Heathfield

Dr. Thomas Sowell, who has always been outspoken in the face of wrong decisions, calls Sen. Barack Obama, in his most recent column, a man “whose only qualifications are ego and mouth.”

“Barack Obama has the kind of cocksure confidence that can only be achieved by not achieving anything else,” Sowell writes. Waltzing through this election, doing anything necessary to win, Mr. Obama, in Mr. Sowell’s view, has demonstrated “self-righteous self confidence” and “self-centered immaturity,” all of which he would bring to the White House should he win.

He would also bring the most socialistic agenda in the history of the Republic, and despite the words of my fellow bloggers, I don’t believe that many Americans know the depth of the change for which they are considering signing up.

But, America has a choice. His name is Sen. John McCain.

He is a known quantity. He is an American patriot and hero. He is a man of character; he has experience that will work well for America when all around us everything is shifting. He has consistently demonstrated that he is willing to form coalitions and reach across the aisle. Mr. Obama’s attempts to portray Mr. McCain as another George Bush don’t work if you know the history of Mr. McCain’s political career and experience. Mr. Obama’s attempts to paint himself as the great unifier do not work if you observe his history and his actions. He would be the most divisive president since the Civil War. Mr. McCain would be one of the most inclusive.

I recognize that the economy has raised its ugly head as the issue America is concerned about in the waning days of this election. But, for me, and many Americans, keeping our citizens safe is the real issue in a world where millions of “supposedly peaceful” people have called for our destruction because they hate us: we are not like them, and we don’t profess their religion.

I don’t believe for a single heartbeat that talking with them with no conditions established in advance will work. Our global presence and our ability to safe keep our citizens is the only election issue that matters to me. If Americans are not safe from terrorists, all of the rest of it doesn’t matter.

I trust Mr. McCain on foreign policy. He was right about Iraq, right about the thirty year war on terror, right about the surge, and right about funding our troops. He understands the nuances necessary in foreign negotiations; Mr. Obama is dangerously naïve and his statements during this campaign have alarmed me, not reassured me.

His rock star journey through Europe alarmed me even more. Europe, with its socialist-leaning governments, failing economics, and its need to be regularly rescued by America, should not be our national model. The fact that socialist and terrorist nations are rooting for Mr. Obama for president are not cause for rejoicing; they are cause for a national pause.

The economy is important and I am repelled by how our elected officials in Washington have dealt with both the looming tragedy and the meltdown. Mr. McCain made serious efforts to avert this economic collapse, as did Pres. George Bush. By one report, they were blocked from averting the current problems 26 times by Democrats. Yet, they get the blame?

The presidential election, in which voters may favor Sen. Barack Obama on the economy, is a mystery to me; he’s made almost no executive decisions in his career and his economic plans destroy the cornerstones of America’s greatness. Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama are both capable of hiring esteemed advisors but Mr. McCain will make decisions that return America to a free market economy.

His economic approach, while not as conservative as I might like, will fight over-regulation, under-regulation and over-interference by Congress, whose actions led to this economic crisis. Mr. McCain does not promote a socialistic economy that favors wealth distribution; his economic policies will favor job growth and productivity. Mr. Obama’s will not.

While Mr. McCain favors continuing the Bush administration tax cuts, this economic meltdown will require him to raise money despite his wishes and plans. To fund his socialistic agenda, Mr. Obama will raise taxes much higher. He will further burden, by the largest percentage of increase, the small business employers who provide the majority of jobs in America.

Mr. McCain will fuel job growth; Mr. Obama will extend the current recession. Mr. McCain will block the passage of the “card check law,” that blatantly hands unions power over citizens in unionizing workplaces. Mr. Obama favors it and will further eliminate job growth, American freedom, the rights of citizens to a secret ballot, and the rights of employers to negotiate with unions.

Mr. McCain is pro-life and he has said he will not attempt to overthrow Roe vs. Wade which should alleviate the fears of pro-choice voters. Mr. Obama has such a liberal view on abortion that he favors allowing potentially viable babies from late term abortions to die. He has said that passing the Freedom of Choice Act will be his first priority. This act eliminates all restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy.

Mr. McCain picked Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, and despite supposed conservatives such as Peggy Noonan and the other media elite who take perverse delight in skewering her, without a conservative addition to the ticket, the Republicans had no chance to win. Much of middle America – that sea of red on the election map – rejoices in her selection; the northeast elitists and the west coast left of lefts have no conception.

We praise Mr. McCain’s insightfulness and bravery in selecting her. And, gender matters, too. The Democrats lacked the courage; the Republicans role modeled valor and gave Republicans the power of a strong, successful woman: reformer, elected governor, mother, gun advocate, outspoken plain talker, and quick learner. A vice presidential candidate who, when all is measured and presented, has more experience than Mr. Obama, the presidential candidate the Democrats present to the American electorate as the “messiah.”

Mr. McCain’s proposals on health care shift the tax break from employers to individuals. His plan gives citizens the opportunity to shop around to find the plan that is best for their family. Broadening rules for who can insure whom gives individuals more choice for better health care. Mr. Obama’s plan makes health care government-centric and will enable employers to drop current health care plans in favor of throwing workers into a government pool. This is similar to Canada’s health care system in which workers wait 26 weeks for some surgeries and several months for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Ours is the best health care system in the world. Don’t mess with it.

Mr. McCain favors some limitations on immigration and securing our borders to limit future illegals first. I do not support all of his stands on current illegal immigrants but, in contrast, Mr. Obama will give 12 million plus illegal immigrants drivers licenses and more. The Democrats favor the steady stream of immigrants to continue building their voter base.

Most importantly, Mr. McCain supports our Constitution. He understands that it is the foundation for the Republic that is our nation. He will appoint judges who make rulings based on the tenets expressed in this cornerstone of our success as a nation. Mr. Obama thinks our Constitution should be a fluid document and that Supreme Court judges have not done enough to influence law in our nation. Mr. McCain and I don’t think the judges should be making laws at all; their role is to interpret the Constitution.

Finally, Mr. McCain is not Barack Obama, a man whom I fundamentally don’t trust and who will bring socialism to the land of the free and the brave.

Okay, Pennsylvania, you may be the deciding factor in this election. Do you really want to elect a candidate who believes that you are a bitter, gun and God clinging people?

This week's previous posts (most recent first): Accepting Personal Responsibility