Can we, yes?

The last several weeks have seen a significant drop in the number of serious presidential candidates, with John McCain all but nominated on the right and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama tied on the left. Any of these would be a fantastic improvement over the current administration, although some have correctly noted that not everything will change with a new president.

It is also important to note that I consider myself an independent. Although I lean libertarian, people like Ron Paul are pretty much insane and don’t have a chance of being elected, much less of enacting any of their policies.

McCain was my favorite Republican candidate from the start, though I incorrectly assumed his cash flow problem would end his campaign last year. His courage as seen in numerous departures on principle from party dogma is admirable, and I have no doubt that he would continue to antagonize neocons and liberals alike as commander in chief. What scares me about McCain is his insistence that the current war (on terror, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, maybe in Iran) will be without end. This one point is unacceptable to me. It would reinforce the tragic error of the Bush administration: an ignorance of the facts coupled with a preference for subverting the checks and balances inherent in our political system. So long as McCain continues with this rhetoric, I cannot vote for him.

Much has been made of the supposed electability advantage of Clinton. While I agree that this is overstated:

Clinton hasn’t convinced me that she is capable and willing to tackle the corruption (in the sense of monied interests influencing policy, not direct bribing, though I’m sure that happens too) that pervades Washington. Though she talks of change, she has supported an erroneous war and aided and abetted media conglomerates and other interests. On the other hand, Obama has spoken of, and acted on, real change:

The choice for me is becoming increasingly clear. Even if Barack’s only contribution is getting people motivated about their government, he will have changed something.