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Is John McCain Ready to Lead?

By Abdul-Majeed Azad

 
In his acceptance speech John McCain said: 'I'm ready to lead'. Lead to where? Into the abyss of financial crisis, burgeoning foreign debt, increasing fuel and food prices, ever-increasing job loss and, ballooning home closures? Or, into yet another botched-up and messy war with Iran?
 
Too bad for him, though; the formula of buying illusion of peace by bribing Iraqis (estimated at a whopping $360 million since the so-called Anbar Awakening began two years ago), wouldn't quite work in Iran. First, in contrast to what he thinks, knows and proclaims with an enigmatic Mona Lisa-style smile, there are no Al-Qaeda goons in Iran. Second, if there are, contrary again to what he thinks, they are not Shia!
 
His never-ending rhetoric about his navy experience and POW status tells only one thing: For his service to the country 40+ years ago, he wants to be compensated by nothing less than the Presidency of the United States. Honestly folks, that's an awful lot of ransom demand from your motherland by someone who says he loves his country so much.
 
If elected, President McCain will be absolutely ready to lead us into more of the gross misinformation which was the basis of unprovoked invasion and continued occupation of a sovereign country which had not possessed an iota of WMD and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Though there is no provocation from Iran, but then recall, there was none by Iraq either, 5+ years ago. We attacked her any way and we will do the same to Iran. Pray why? Because just like Iraqis, its people also dress excessively, eat weirdly, speak alien language and pray too much. What was enough for George W. Bush is enough for John Bush...err...John McCain too.
 
Think about it. It is the same party, same ideology and same mindset. Isn't it odd then that now he is conveniently distancing himself from the very President he sided with more times than he can remember during his two terms first in the pursuit and then in the perpetuation of the most poignant blunder of the 21st century?
 
So, if the past eight years of his alter ego in the White House are any indication, this is what he really meant: "I'm ready to lead: backward."
 
For immigrants like me who were enchanted by the greatness of this country and enamored by its moral standing on every conceivable issue of domestic and global importance, becoming its citizen meant a lot. Every time I hear 'America The Beautiful', my heart leaps to my throat. Every time I fasten the American Flag pin at my jacket lapel, my hands tremble in awe and eyes moisten with reverence. And every time I have gone out of the country and returned, I felt like kneeling down on its soil in prayers. For that reason alone, the rapid erosion of her respect at home and abroad in the past eight years, is too painful to bear.
 
It is patriotically incumbent upon all Americans to make the right and rational choice on Election Day. Otherwise we will have to live by the narrow and harrowing definition of patriotism given by John McVerick for the next four years.
 
Try saying, 'John McCain is the change our country needs', in front of your bathroom mirror. The reverberating echo of your own response might surprise you.