The Gun Counter

EDITORIAL: McCain for president

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., greets supporters Tuesday at the end of a campaign rally in Bensalem, Pa.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as he speaks at a campaign rally in Pottsville, Pa., Monday evening, Oct. 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Few doubt Barack Obama's considerable abilities. For many, he represents a final, healing chapter in the nation's long battle for civil rights. And he epitomizes the dreams of many African Americans who identify with him as Catholics did with John F. Kennedy - add to that his confident speeches, his charisma and his charm.

We would urge our readers to step back from the polls and press coverage, and soberly weigh the experiences and stands of Mr.Obama and John McCain.

Experience. We do not hold Mr. Obama's lack of national experience against him. Abraham Lincoln was one of America's greatest presidents and yet he never served in the Army or Navy, and he sat for only a single term in the federal legislature. What concerns us is the kind of experience that Mr. Obama has had. Throughout his adult life, he has sat at a law-professor's desk or a committee table. Never has the mantle of responsibility weighed on his shoulders alone. He has never run a city, a business or even a government agency. As Joe Biden reminds us: "The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

Mr. Obama has never had the kind of heartbreaking failure that steels leaders. Instead, others have cleared his path, from changing the rules for electing the president of the Harvard Law Review to wiping the names of rivals off the ballot in his first state Senate race. He has always enjoyed the hoist of a friendly press and benefited from rivals reluctant to fault him. Is he ready to lead when people or events turn against him and he alone must decide among a cacophony of advice?

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Jered wrote:Point of order:

Abe Lincoln served in the Illinois State Militia and he was elected a captain of his company.

He ran his own business. He taught himself law.

He actually took a stand on something too.