John McCain offers GOP best hope for leadership
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The nomination of the Republican candidate for president is almost certain to be set in stone before Hawai'i's 20 national GOP delegates are chosen at the state convention, set for May 16-18.
Arizona Sen. John McCain already has far outpaced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the delegate count. It's easy to see why; McCain's pragmatism and ability to work across the aisle has broader appeal than Huckabee's narrowly defined conservatism.
Weighing the credentials of the two, The Honolulu Advertiser endorses McCain as clearly the stronger candidate in the Republican primary.
If elected, the decorated Vietnam War veteran and prisoner of war would become the most militarily experienced president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. For a nation at war, the value of that perspective can't be overestimated.
The primary-election skirmishes, however, have partially obscured the candidates' positions on the more contentious issues. For example, in jockeying for votes from the Republican Party's most conservative sectors, both candidates have shifted their position on immigration policy.
McCain, co-sponsor of a bill to provide limited legal status for undocumented immigrants working in the U.S. — a proposal The Advertiser supported — has sought to appease his critics by pledging to focus first on securing the border.
His shift in stance will need to be explained in more detail. But so far, McCain remains convinced that the solution will have to involve some more practical means of addressing the estimated 12 million already in this country — that's a reasoned approach.
McCain has staked out some strong positions on other key national and global concerns, and does not shy away from controversy. Among those issues:
China is certainly one of the targets in another McCain proposal: to create an independent agency that would take charge of a revitalized international diplomacy.
On the global issue that seems to consume him the most, McCain considers Iraq the "central front" in the war on terror and believes it's still possible to "succeed."
"The consequences of failure would be horrific," McCain wrote in an essay published by Foreign Affairs last fall. "A historic loss at the hands of Islamist extremists who, after having defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and the United States in Iraq, will believe that the world is going their way and that anything is possible."
McCain's position, while steadfast, remains unclear about what would constitute success in Iraq and how to achieve it, including paying the enormous cost. And he must face counterarguments that America's regional deployments need to be rebalanced, particularly with problems resurfacing in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
That may be easier said than done, given the changing partisan landscape in Congress. He'll need to explain how a pledge to balance the budget by 2012 squares with his defense strategies, which are sure to be costly.
The senator has a reputation as a fighter. But that can come with a cost. He has aggressively confronted the most recent published allegations that he maintained an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist. That plays well with some of his harshest critics within the GOP, but gives pause to less partisan supporters, who haven't forgotten his involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal and surely are questioning his judgment, if not his ethics.
These are rough seas that McCain will have to navigate carefully, controlling his legendary outbursts of temper.
Overall, however, the senator continues to be viewed as a pragmatist rather than an idealogue, fiscally conservative but socially moderate. This has enhanced his appeal with independents and many centrist Democrats, who are gauging the outcome of their own party primary before pledging their votes.
He has shown himself willing and capable of finding accord with other leaders across the political spectrum. Without a doubt, a president will need that capacity in the difficult years ahead. Republicans should recognize the imperative for compromise and confirm John McCain as their nominee.
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