Reason #7 Temperament

Christopher Buckley-son of the 20th century's leading conservative voice, William F Buckley, wrote an insightful and funny piece on why he will for the first time in his life, vote for a Democrat. He cites Obama's intellect and temperament as the reasons for his endorsement.

"Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.
So, I wish him all the best. We are all in this together. Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship. And so, for the first time in my life, I’ll be pulling the Democratic lever in November. As the saying goes, God save the United States of America."

Buckley also laments that McCain has changed and lambasts his campaign.

"A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget “by the end of my first term.” Who, really, believes that? Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis. His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?"

So my reason #7 is Obama's temperament and how it looks in comparison to McCain's. When I started my list of 30 reasons to vote for Obama I promised myself that at least 25 of the reasons would be about Obama's positions and characteristics and that a maximum of five would be critical of McCain, Bush or the Republicans. So reason #7 is about Obama and how he compares to McCain.
Buckley quotes his father as saying,

“You know, I’ve spent my entire life time separating the Right from the kooks.”
The behavior of some of McCain's supporters (screaming insults and taunts) demonstrate that the kooks are increasing in number and McCain's campaign has attracted them in droves. Finally, yesterday, McCain has rebuffed some of his more vociferous Bubba supporters who are "afraid" of Obama and insist that he is an "Arab" or a "Muslim," but it is too late---these people have become the McCain base. So while Fox news and McCain campaign representatives continue to focus on Ayers and Wright McCain is loosing ground. Here is what Buckley says,
"All this is genuinely saddening, and for the country is perhaps even tragic, for America ought, really, to be governed by men like John McCain—who have spent their entire lives in its service, even willing to give the last full measure of their devotion to it. If he goes out losing ugly, it will be beyond tragic, graffiti on a marble bust."

I have been an Obama supporter since Jan. and my partner has been sending in donations since Jan. 07 but we are both saddened to see the destruction of McCain's positive legacy.