Thursday, February 7, 2008

John McCain begins the healing process with conciliatory speech to conservatives at Conservative Convention

Today John McCain addressed the Conservative Convention in Washington DC. This speech was carefully nuanced and set clear blue water between him and Clinton/Obama.

His warm tribute to Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee aids the healing process in the Republican Party. He emphasized his determination to unify the party and to run on conservative principles. He stressed that he was a conservative. Liberty is a right conferred by God. A political party must stand for clear-cut political beliefs and cannot be all things to all men. Here he was invoking the legacy of Ronald Reagan. He stressed small government, fiscal discipline, low taxation and the right to life of the unborn. He opposes big government mandated health care. He opposes expensive entitlement programmes. He favours low company taxation. He supports the maintenance of the Bush tax cuts.

He expressed strong support for the surge. He alluded to the problem of illegal immigration. He understood the opposition of conservatives to his stance on illegal immigration. Here he was booed by some of his listeners. However he quickly won over the dissidents. He attacked Senate Democrats for blocking surveillance powers designed to fight Jihadists. He stated that he would reduce big government and reduce taxes. He declared that Clinton and Obama would increase big government and raise taxes. He would appoint judges who respect the rights of the people. He attacked the Clinton/Obama decision to set an arbitrary withdrawal date from Iraq. He warned Iran and stressed his support for Israel.

The speech set the right tone. It had sufficient humility and humour to mollify the doubters. It addressed the major issues from a conservative perspective. It outlined in sharp relief major differences between McCain and Clinton/Obama. It is a major contribution towards the healing process within the Republican Party.

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