Senator McCain’s Imperfections Spur on Young Voters

I was sitting in Political Science class the other day and a debate between two students about the presidential candidates caught my attention. I turned in their direction; because let’s face it I’m nosey by nature, to listen in on what they were saying. A comment the girl made about Senator John McCain caught my attention.



“I’ll tell you why I’m voting for McCain, because he isn’t perfect.” Now here’s my question. If you are trying to convince someone to vote for the candidate you think is better, why would you say something like that? I’m not a very complex individual, but that thought irked me for a better portion of class.

So when I got home that night I sat on my bed, sifted through my knowledge on the candidates and their campaigning and pondered that comment. The truth is she was right. Sen. McCain is not perfect, but in retrospect that’s what makes him the ideal candidate for presidency.

Lately there has been a lot of media coverage of The Keating Five and the recent publicity of this past mishap has had voters steering clear of Sen. McCain. What is The Keating Five you might ask? It refers to the five senators who accepted bribes from Charles H. Keating Jr., owner of Lincoln Savings & Loan Association. In return the senators pressured federal officials to take it easy on the company.

The information is factual, but Sen. McCain was cleared of all charges and later reprimanded for his poor judgment. So what does this make Sen. McCain? A liar? A deceiver? No, it makes Sen. McCain human. We all make mistakes and though his are more public than ours that doesn’t give us the right to judge only on that one situation. To make an informed decision you need to look at the entire pie, not just one slice.

According to CNN.com 58 percent of the American population is saying that the economy is the biggest issue right now. How the candidate’s policies plan to improve the economy will determine how Americans choose a president. Citizens think that since the Lincoln Association was the most expensive failure in the national S&L scandal and taxpayers lost more than $2 billion on the bailout that history will repeat itself if they elect Sen. McCain, but that’s not true.

Sen. McCain has been working diligently to form new initiatives to rectify the current economic recession. According to johnmccain.com some of the new initiatives he is working on are: Gas Prices: John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday, Student Loans: John McCain Is Proposing A Student Loan Continuity Plan, Middle Class Tax Cuts: John McCain Will Double The Personal Exemption For Dependents, A Simpler Tax Code: John McCain Will Propose An Alternative New And Simpler Tax System — And Give America A Real Choice, Government Spending: John McCain Proposes A One-Year Spending Pause To Evaluate Programs and Medicare Growth: John McCain Believes That We Should Not Subsidize The Prescription Drugs Of America’s Most Affluent Individuals.

Both candidates are uniquely qualified and have their own plans to restore America’s economy. But to me the person I go out and vote for on November 4 not only needs to have great policies and address the issues I feel strongly about, they need to be someone I can relate to. Someone with a strong personality who knows how to lead. Sen. McCain has made his share of mistakes, but he’s not afraid to take responsibility for his faults and come November 4 he’s the candidate my vote will go to.