Issue #1: National Security

Interestingly, national security has taken a back stage despite it being the number one issue in this political race.



Logically, if our nation is attacked and our physical security is threatened, then it follows that the issue of our nation's security will out shadow the economy, abortion, gay marriage, and any other such petty issue. If we are sitting on a pile of rubble, the importance of these "other" so-called "issues" pales and recedes into aesthetic preferences.

Why has national security taken a back seat? Simply put, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have been successful in maintaining the conflict between the democratic free-market world and the radical theocratic socialists away from our land. Unless you have a direct link to the conflict by either being in-service or having a family member or close associate involved in those conflicts, this issue will simply not register on one's radar.

And this is exactly an issue that we must not ignore. Because of the sacrifices of our brave soldiers overseas, we have enjoyed relatively boring times since the horror of 9/11/01. The fight was taken to them and it has been highly successful in grounding enemy combatants into that geographic region. Furthermore, we have now had a static cultural exchange between our nation and that region for almost eight years. The time we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan may seem small, but the many years of cultural isolation that Iraq faced under Saddam Husein's Cult of Personality and the years that Afghanistan had suffered under the Taliban have been eroded by our physical presence in the region.

Contrary to the opinion of some, our presence has been mostly appreciated. The work our soldiers do is good work and, beside a few loose cannons, mostly well received by the populations of Iraq and Afghanistan. They have had a chance to meet us and to learn of our faults and our positives. Underneath it all are US men and women who believe in their mission and who believe in freedom, justice and democracy as not just a political soundbite but as worthy ideas for which they are willing to sacrifice themselves.

John McCain, having himself served this nation and having withstood five long years as a POW, knows what it means to be handed a knife to join a gun battle. Our hackneyed and half-assed policies in Vietnam cost many US citizens their lives. It was John McCain that lobbied hardest for the increase of troop levels and equipment in Iraq and lobbied for "the Surge." It was John McCain that was willing to throw away his presidential aspirations because of his unwavering support for our men, women, and mission overseas. It was John McCain that was correct in his analysis of Iraq.

From Obama... pessimism, defeatism, and an arrogance that, to this day, has kept him from admitting he was wrong about the surge in Iraq. I may be old fashioned in this line of thinking but to be Commander in Chief one should have served this nation's military. I believe this not due to some "Masonic" way of viewing the presidency or seeing military service as a fraternity ritual necessary for public office. I simply believe this because in order for one to make a military decision it is necessary to have been anywhere between the Oval office and the trenches. Only by being enrolled in the Armed Services and having served our nation do you really know the value of our soldiers and how the soldier will be affected by your decision. It's awfully easy to make decisions from a suburban enclave without having a clue of what your decision means to our troops.

Obama has also said (and for God's sake, don't you dare try to say that he didn't say it) that he will sit down with Castro (Raul), Ahmadinejad, Chavez, and Jong Il with "NO" preconditions. In this time of crisis a president should not waste his time speaking with those that do not listen: period. To give this sordid list of losers a second of your time in a public forum is foolish and dangerous. It doesn't take a genius to remember that giving press to a declared enemy of our nation and our allies was best carried out by Deladier and Chamberlain in Munich. Need I point out Ahmadinejad's constant provocation along with Obama's replication of the "let's sit down and talk" school of diplomacy. Inexperience, youth, hubris, or pain and simple stupidity is what shapes Obama's foreign policy.

Without security, all other issues are moot.