The Generals, by the most part, will still be running the war so long as they aren’t fired and the orders have been cut.

Relationship and visits to Vietnam probably will get depressed, but that was never important in the first place to national security.

When he starts raising taxes, imposing a ‘carbon tax’ and unreachable CAFE standards, I can only say “I told me so”.

Then I’ll mope around with a McCain hung around my neck.

As I said, I’m actively working on this decision. Maybe I’m a bit slow. Certainly my stepchildren have complained about being unable to get immediate decisions from me, unlike their mother, but they’ve also remarked that, also unlike their mother, I rarely vacillate once I have decided. Once I do decide, I’ll stick by my choice, and I’ll have solid reasons for doing so, but please don’t begrudge me a little more time to think this through. Neo, I don’t mean to imply that you, personally, begrudge me that time, but it does seem that many people do.

I’d never considered the values that I hold to be of the extreme right-wing variety, but it may be that they are, and I welcome the opportunity to examine them against my fellows on the right. I don’t think it’s necessary to conclude that my philosophy, or anyone else’s, is extremist or irrational in order to make a case for voting for McCain, but it seems that that belief bubbles under the surface of this debate, so maybe it’s time to examine the differing viewpoints under this big tent as part of a discussion separate from that of this election.

I don’t think it’s possible to sum up my core values in a comment, at least not without sucking up even more bandwidth than I usually do, so I’m not sure how to proceed. I recently summed up my views on immigration in a comment on another blog that was concerned with a similar issue, in that it involved two groups of conservatives that disagreed on whether they should support certain other people/groups who, though fighting for some common goal, held to core beliefs that were repugnant to many others. In that case, the issue was about the issue of racism, and whether those who supported fighting Islamofacism should welcome or refuse the assistance of various European nationalist groups who opposed the existence of Muslim immigrants in their communities in the name of racial purity.

Those who espouse working with those factions offer reasons of political expediency and the overwhelming importance of winning a fight that’s vital to the survival of Western Civilization.

Those who oppose these partnerships point to the basic incompatibility of the ultimate goals of these groups, which is rooted in their personal standards of morality.

This issue holds more than a few similarities, though it certainly isn’t identical, and my own conclusions in each dilemma of conscience seems to be in opposition to the other, which bothers me.

Yes, I oppose working with racists who seek to purge all who don’t pass a genetic standard, rather than an ideological one (such as respecting the laws of the country they live in, not requiring that they adhere to a particular party), from their societies.

And yes, I’ll probably vote for McCain, even though his political goals seem to be at odds with my convictions.

And living with the logical inconsistencies of these two decisions continues to disturb me.

Thank you Neo for providing this forum, and I hope you realize that my very presence here conveys respect for you and your decisions, even when I might disagree.

And not voting is not really a way out, in my opinion, since it acts almost the same as a vote for the opposition. Although it is far from easy to vote for a candidate you dislike so much, I think any realistic person knows that voting requires that one do this at times to prevent an even worse candidate from winning.

Actually the writer is a centrist and doesn’t know it, perhaps because he has subconsciously internalized the values and false dichotomy of the extremists on both sides.

The two extremes would to pull out immediately irregardless of the carnage and long-term damage or to kill everyone in our way and ‘steal the oil,’ leaving Iraq a smoking wreck.

The writer is right in the middle with the centrists, which is to stay long enough that Iraq can stand on its own and be a dependable ally.

Right. Imagine being hemmed in by some meaningless arbitrary demand that we stick it out in Iraq. I think we need to be flexible here. If we dont achieve harmonious perfection in Iraq within the “Maverick’s” first term in office, maybe we should reach across the aisle and embrace defeat.

You non-extremists are so hip and today, I wonder why Im such a backwards holdout.

Principles, as an abstraction and in and of themselves, are “sexy” enough, I think, to most people. Extreme principles, maybe not so much. Take immigration, for instance, which has a number of sub-issues, one of which is language.

When immigration from a Latino country occurs the first generation speaks Spanish inside the home and some rudimentary English outside the home. Second generation — mainly Spanish inside the home and English outside the home. Third generation probably speaks only English inside and outside the home, probably doesn’t even know how to speak Spanish at all.

Language takes care of itself and doesn’t require draconian provisions in law, such as requiring all new immigrants to take English classes, yet extremists go ballistic at the slightest compromise on these sub-issues.

McCain, who has a high conservative rating(but not ‘pure’ enough for the extreme right-wing), tries to effect such compromises in order to get much-needed legislation passed and is vilified by the Coulters and Limbaughs, even to the point of urging folks to NOT vote, or vote for the opposition party.

It’s hyperbole, extreme infantile hyperbole, to get so worked up over a good conservative like McCain because he has reached across the isle a few times to get legislation passed. This is what I find so distasteful about the extremists, this rigidity. The good news is that the majority of voters pay little attention to such whining.

Fine. Should a democrat win the general election, not a peep from you we should we hear. Just sit down and shut the hell up.