McCain on Hope
February 14th, 2008 at 09:52am Mark Noonan
NRO’s The Corner picked up on Pat Shortridge’s notice of some of McCain’s words Tuesday in his victory speech. I like them, too:
Hope, my friends, is a powerful thing. I can attest to that better than many, for I have seen men’s hopes tested in hard and cruel ways that few will ever experience. And I stood astonished at the resilience of their hope in the darkest of hours because it did not reside in an exaggerated belief in their individual strength, but in the support of their comrades, and their faith in their country.
My hope for our country resides in my faith in the American character, the character which proudly defends the right to think and do for ourselves, but perceives self-interest in accord with a kinship of ideals, which, when called upon, Americans will defend with their very lives.
To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope. It is a platitude.
When I was a young man, I thought glory was the highest ambition, and that all glory was self-glory. My parents tried to teach me otherwise, as did the Naval Academy. But I didn’t understand the lesson until later in life, when I confronted challenges I never expected to face.
In that confrontation I discovered that I was dependent on others to a greater extent than I had ever realized, but that neither they nor the cause we served made any claims on my identity. On the contrary, I discovered that nothing is more liberating in life than to fight for a cause that encompasses you, but is not defined by your existence alone. And that has made all the difference, my friends, all the difference in the world.
I do not seek the presidency on the presumption that I am blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the presidency with the humility of a man who cannot forget that my country saved me. I am running to serve America, and to champion the ideas I believe will help us do what every American generation has managed to do: to make in our time, and from our challenges, a stronger country and a better world.
For all of Obama’s weaving of religious imagery into his rhetoric, I’ve yet to detect a note of Christian humility in his message - he’s pledged to change America. Has anyone sat down for a moment and thought about the surpreme arrogance required to make such a statement? We are three hundred million people with a vast array of ideas and desires, to think that one man - in four to eight years - can change us is absurd. And, of course, Obama knows it is absurd - but he also knows he’s not going to change America, just select parts of it.
While McCain has the humility to understand that his job is service, Obama seems to see his role as nursemaid to some and knee-capper to others. Nursemaid to those Obama feels have been given the short end of the stick, knee-capper to those Obama feels are responsible for those who got the short end of the stick. He talks about corporate profits as if they belonged to the government, and the corporations must be forced to disgorge - as if he didn’t know that if you confiscated not just Exxon’s profits, but Exxon’s net income, you’d only have enough money to run the government for about 11 and a half hours. He talks about a man who worries how he’s going to pay the bills as someone who needs Barack to come hold his hand - most men I know are a bit tougher than that.
In approaching the office of the President of the United States of America, the requirements are courage, humility and gratitude to God for being so honored. I doubt not Obama’s courage, but I do wonder if he has the humility to be, as he claims he wishes, the President of all Americans or whether, in the end, he’s merely running for President of the Welfare State of America? As for me, McCain’s hope rings truer than Obama’s hope - McCain’s hope is for America, all of America, to advance…Obama’s hope seems to be that some of America will be punished so that other parts of America can flourish. Obama’s hope is the hope of one who seeks revenge, McCain’s hope is the hope which comes from belief in the greatness of America.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Republicans
16 Comments
1. plainjane | February 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
As an added bonus for the Hope of all Neocons McCain voted NO on legislation that would ban waterbording, a technique he himself said was torture. The straight talk express just had a kiss ass moment.
He has won the primary; just don’t see logic in adopting policies of an administration with a 29% approval rating. I can’t wait to hear his reasoning for this flip flop during the general election. How would a Republican phrase it? “I was against torture before I was for it.”
2. Ricorun | February 14th, 2008 at 11:06 am
This might be the first time anyone’s accused McCain of humility, lol! But that’s okay, I don’t want too much of that in my President. Nonetheless, I want to hear what McCain has to say on the issues — in detail.
3. westmich | February 14th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Good points Mark and an excellent speech from McCain.
4. Mark Noonan | February 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am
plain,
Much easier to deal with than Obama’s defeatist statements which will be contrasted with the victory in Iraq…
5. Mark Noonan | February 14th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Ricorun,
We all are troubled with our foolish pride - not for nothing is pride one of the seven deadly sins…and McCain is no different from the rest of us on this, but the fact that he understands the job of President is mostly one of service speaks well of his understanding of the truth. Obama seems very high on himself, in contrast.
6. Some Assembly Required | February 14th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Great Speech, I think these two candidates would put off a great debate.
7. plainjane | February 14th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Much easier to deal with than Obama’s defeatist statements which will be contrasted with the victory in Iraq…Mark Noonan | February 14th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Fine what can you say if Republicans have no problem with their candidate sacrificing their principals for political expediency.
By any chance would you be willing to define before August what a Mark Noonan believes is victory in Iraq? Since you go to the copac meetings we believe you speak the party line
8. bongoman | February 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
How do you reconcile McCain’s apparently filthy temper with this ‘humility’ you speak of? He is prone to fits of rage, easily provoked into uncontrollable fits of anger. That does not sound like a ‘humble’ person to me.
9. GOP4ME | February 14th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
“prone to fits of rage”… um, kinda like Billary you mean?
We don’t even know what kind of “fits” Obama is prone to because he is such a untried entity. But when I look at a candidate for POTUS in these days, an untested and untried person seems fool’s good in the extreme.
BTW, this kind of speech is melting my resistance to McCain. This speech blows away old jug ears.
10. StopJohnLiberalMcCain | February 14th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
McCain said “I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.”
This is something the Dems screamed all the time. But from a member of the GOP against the SecDef in a time of WAR? It is treason.
Yet the sheep on this site have gone over the cliff and embraced this “pay a fine for citizenship”, foul-mouthed, Kennedy-loving, Hillary-loving, trash the first amendment, move the terrorists to Kansas, profane lout.
And why?
Because they want to win this fall.
Sheep. Pure and simple.
11. Joe | February 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
GOP4ME — “prone to fits of rage”… um, kinda like Billary you mean?
We don’t even know what kind of “fits” Obama is prone to because he is such a untried entity.
Good deflection. Don’t answer someone, just say “well your candidate is just as bad”
12. Joe | February 14th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Stop — But from a member of the GOP against the SecDef in a time of WAR? It is treason.
So in your opinion, it doesn’t matter how completely awful a Sec of Defense bungles up a war, you shouldn’t question him? Are you for real?
Do you say the same thing about the President? You can’t question him in a time of war either?
And you people claim Dems are communists??
13. StopJohnLiberalMcCain | February 14th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Joe:
In time of war nothing is more important than to support our leaders. McCain was trashing the senior civ leader of the Defense Department. Our soldiers and Marines are used to the anti-American Dems to bashing the SecDef, President and VP, but when a war “hero” like McCain of the party that supposedly has the backs of the fighting men in the war on Islamic terror, when that traitor bashes their SecDef what are they supposed to think.
And then when that party picks this traitor, who only bashed Rumsfeld to score points against the President and to curry favor with the editorial boards in L.A., S.F, D.C., Boston and NYC, to be their nominee for President then we know for certain that the Grand Old Party is no more.
14. Diana Powe | February 14th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Very interesting. A senior campaign adviser to Senator McCain won’t campaign against Senator Obama if he is the Democratic nominee…
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16. Joe | February 15th, 2008 at 11:38 am
StopJohn — when a war “hero” like McCain of the party that supposedly has the backs of the fighting men in the war on Islamic terror, when that traitor bashes their SecDef what are they supposed to think.
Umm… I think the are supposed to think… heck it is great to live in a democracy where people are free to question authority. If everyone just fell in lockstep and couldn’t question anyone in authority, then we’d be left with inadequate armor, inadequate plans and inadequate leadership.
And then when that party picks this traitor, who only bashed Rumsfeld to score points against the President and to curry favor with the editorial boards in L.A., S.F, D.C., Boston and NYC
Wow… did you put your tinfoil hat on to write that? Do you think just maybe he did that because that is what he believed? Oh that’s right…… no Republican should EVER question a member of the Bush Administration.