“I will vote for Republicans down-ballot because I want to have some divided government….” – DS

Right diagnosis but wrong prescription, Dennis. We cannot get to divided government this year by voting GOP down ballot. The Dems are going to expand their majorities and possibly have a filibuster proof super majority in the Senate. The only way to re-elect Divided Government in 2008, is elect John McCain for President. It is the right thing to do. Obama can take another shot in 2012 with a Republican Senate.

Obama also has negotiating skills which are absolutely necessary when dealing with other countries, both our friends and our enemies. We've seen time and time again how McCain will conduct himself. When McCain hears something he doesn't like he scowls. McCain also has a tendency to jump first, then ask questions. Might be great training for a fighter pilot, but not an impulse that I want in a man with his finger on the nuclear trigger. McCain is a trained soldier. Obama is trained in negotiations, debating findig consensus, etc. Obama clearly has a supple mind. McCain has also chosen as his running mate a woman who is a strong supporter of a political group (the Alaska Independent Party) which wishes to break America up (the Alaska seceding issue). I don't know how McCain can seriously claim that he believes in protecting America when his hand-picked chosen successor is someone who believes America should be broken apart.

Obama has always talked about uniting America and Obama has attracted leaders of business, politics, science, etc. who belong to both parties and independents as well. People as diverse and well-respected as Warren Buffet, Christopher Buckley, Muhammad Ali, etc. And of course there are those Republicans, like Crist of FL who support McCain, but aren't actively campaigning for him… And then there are Republicans like Terry in NE who re trying to link themselves with Obama to carry them into office. McCain, on the other hand, does not have the same broad support that Obama has. Nor has McCain made any effort to seriously woo those who are not part of the Republican base.

(Here's the link to an article with a Terry ad: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/13/nebras… )

These lists are interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_endorsements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_John_McCai…

I wish you the best of luck in your quest to find the right candidate for you. For me Obama is clearly trying to bring America together and is supported by people of all backgrounds all across America, whereas McCain seems to be appealing only to his base, many of whom are uneasy with him to begin with. Obama is running a smart campaign, whereas McCain seems to be shifting strategies from one day to the next. If McCain can't run a campaign, I doubt that McCain can run the US government.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESdA52S4Dbg

And their primary reason? McCain's choice of Sarah Palin.

Entire endorsement here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-…

“McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate–but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

Obama chose a more experienced and more thoughtful running mate–he put governing before politicking. Sen. Joe Biden doesn't bring many votes to Obama, but he would help him from day one to lead the country. … We do, though, think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect.”

And yet, out of the entire Republican field, the only one that I would have considered voting for this time around would have been McCain. More specifically, I would have eagerly voted for the 2000-version of McCain, but the 2008-pander-version troubled me.

But the one thing that made me indifferently-against McCain to actively-against McCain was his disastrous pick of Palin. From that point on, I could *never* vote for McCain under any circumstances, period. Unlike you, I have absolutely *no* favorable opinions of her – even if she had a dozen more years of experience under her belt, she would still be about five cans short of six-pack on intelligence.

For me, McCain's age *is* a factor – and the likelihood that he would become incapacitated or (heaven forbid) pass away is palpable. The very thought that someone as clearly unqualified to run the government (much less the local quilter's bake sale) as Palin would be so close to running the entire country is just too much for me.