John McCain is an American hero. He is the man who is unparalleled in terms of the foreign policy experience needed in order to keep this nation safe. He has been in Washington for almost a quarter of a century. Every "outside Washington" candidate claims that this is a bad thing, but it is for sure a good thing. John McCain is a conservative who can bring this country together in troubling times. For these reasons and more, I, Nic Shayko, endorse John McCain in the general election for President of the United States. 

Some of you may wonder why I have endorsed McCain before the Democrat nominee is even chosen. Those who follow this site often will see that I think very highly of Barack Obama. You may not believe me, but I think highly of Hillary Clinton as well. I think most politicians are good people, trying to help people by being passionate in what they believe. That being said, looking at the record of the 3 candidates left, it is clear to me that John McCain is the best one for our country.

As you probably know, I was and still am a huge Mike Huckabee supporter. I doubt I will find a candidate I loved as much as Mike Huckabee again in the next 25 years. We agreed on almost every issue, and I believe that his personality speaks for itself. The Huckabee campaign was at lot of things, but I think what it did most was show that us social conservatives aren't going to just take scraps from the table of the GOP. Huckabee stepped down last Tuesday after McCain gained enough delegates to officially be the nominee. Huckabee has said that he will support McCain, and has never said anything personally bad about McCain, often citing him as a "man of honor." I concur with these sentiments.

McCain is not only a man of honor, but a man of principle. If you showed the 24 year record of McCain to someone not telling them who it was, they would conclude that he is a conservative. I want to look at some of the common fouls called by conservatives and point out their error or at least justify John McCain.

Some social conservatives say they cannot, and will not, vote for John McCain. Chief among these is someone I look up to, James Dobson, head of focus on the family. While McCain record on social issues is not perfect, on the whole, it is in step with the social conservative movement. He has consistently voted pro-life. Has he went as far as I would like, no, but he is still on our side. His biggest rift is with embryonic stem cell research, which he is for, which is disappointed, but still, on the whole, if some one is with me 80% and against 20%, he is my friend.

Economic conservatives complain about how he voted against the Bush tax cuts. McCain, as a Senator, did what he thought needed to be done. He is a deficit hawk who thought that these cuts would not work unless spending was cut first. It amazes me how these economic types get mad every time someone votes against a tax cut. Sorry folks, but taxes have to exist. The more important question is if government is using our money wisely. If they are, great, if not, as the US government often does not, something needs to be done about that, and John McCain has lead the way in that regard.

Many look to McCain-Feingold and get upset. McCain-Feingold was a bad attempt to solve a serious problem of big money in politics. I personally favor 100% open disclosure. Every campaign should have to post every expense within 48 hrs after it is purchased. With the internet, this out not be hard. The also should post every donor, of any amount, within that same time frame. What McCain-Feingold try to do is take the money out of politics. It is being seen that your can't do that, and that is why the open disclosure idea is a better solution.

Others get appalled by McCain-Kennedy, the so called amnesty bill. Illegal Immigration is a problem, McCain tried a bipartisan solution, which, like basically ever bipartisan solution, was not fully liked by either side. I agree with McCain that it is sad that we have taken this important issue and really used it to bring about the worst in people, it really is sheer scapegoating.

John McCain has independent appeal, and he ought to be appealing to the conservative wing of the party as well. Instead of spitting in his face, we need to be our there working for him. It is going to take a great man like John McCain to lead this nation in these troubling times.