What McCain Needs to Say

When John McCain is given the opportunity to make an opening statement at the third and final Presidential Debate scheduled for this coming Wednesday evening, this is what he should say.

Thank you, Bob Schieffer, and thanks to the fine people of Hofstra University for inviting us to your excellent campus this evening. My friends, the topic of this evening's debate is the economy, an excellent choice given the grave problems currently confronting our nation and the world. I have a comprehensive plan for dealing with the current economic crisis, and am most anxious to have the opportunity to share the details with you.

However, as I have travelled across our country recently, talking to thousands of good, hard-working Americans about their concerns and the trials they face, they have expressed other concerns that trouble them even more than the economy. I could not responsibly present myself as an advocate for the American people were I to turn a deaf ear to these concerns.

Senator Obama, the American people are troubled. They feel that you are not being fully honest and forthcoming about your past, your beliefs or your associations. They fail to understand why you have not released your birth certificate, college publications and transcripts or medical records. They want to understand how you could champion an organization like ACORN that they believe is cheapening their most basic right, the right to vote. They do not have friends like Weathermen terrorist Bill Ayers, or clergymen who express radical anti-American views like Jeremiah Wright. They do not do business with convicted felons like Tony Rezko.

Americans are troubled by your votes against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, and the more than one hundred times that you voted present while in the Illinois Senate. They understand that a President does not have the luxury of voting present; a President must make tough, often unpopular decisions to protect the people he leads. They are uncomfortable with the lack of judgment you have shown in crisis, as when Russia invaded the sovereign territory of its free and democratic neighbor, Georgia, and your lack of understanding of the need to reign in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before they could lead to today's economic emergency.

They have pleaded with me to ask you these questions, Senator, and I gave them my word that I would. So, while I sincerely hope that we can devote this evening to an in-depth comparison of our ideas on turning the American economy around, it is incumbent upon me to put forward these issues that are of such paramount importance to the voters. With all due respect, Senator, the American people would like to hear your explanation for these things.

Thank you.