What If McCain Had Won?

Like most Americans I greatly admire Senator McCain personally.  However, I have not been a big supporter of many of his political views and moves.  Nevertheless, though, the thought struck me: what if he had won in 2008 instead of Obama?

For one thing, the TARP bailout, which rescued the financial system that was crashing, would still have gone through, because it was approved by President Bush in October, 2008.  President Obama likes to take credit for it, but it was in place before he became president.  The Stimulus bill, which is considered an enormously expensive failure, (the shovel-ready jobs did not exist according to Obama himself) would not have happened.  There probably would have been some sort of stimulus, but not one aimed at saving government jobs.

First – Iraq and the Middle East.

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that the whole course of events in the Middle East would have been different because McCain would have left a large force of combat troops as a peace-keeping force in Iraq.  This would have saved Iraq from all the terrorism and bloodshed it has experienced, and would have had a calming influence in Syria, Egypt and Libya.

Second – Israel and Iran.

Obama has made little attempt to disguise his hatred for Israel, and this has had a profound effect not only on our relations with Israel, but on any joint venture to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.  McCain would also have responded with encouragement and active support when Iranians took to the streets demanding freedom.  If you recall, Obama was silent, and a defining moment was lost to history.

Third – Obamacare.

There would not be a program called Obamacare to destroy the American healthcare and Medicare systems if McCain had won.  This program was sneaked through the Senate without a single Republican vote, and most of its enrollees are people who lost their previous healthcare insurance due to Obamacare regulations.  I hope the irony of this has not been lost on the voters – particularly since the government- mandated insurance plans are abysmal compared to the plans that were cancelled.

Fourth – Russia.

Does anyone doubt that McCain would have honored Bush’s program to place missile-defense shields in the Czech Republic and in Poland?  Does anyone think that Putin would have invaded the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine if the shields and the troops to guard them had been in place?

Fifth – the economy.

The so-called recovery from recession has been the weakest in recent history, with hundreds of thousands of new regulations and Obamacare requirements and uncertainties, unfathomable executive decisions (i.e. the attempt to stop Boeing  from building a new plant and the sabotaging of the Keystone pipeline) holding down business growth and hiring – especially small business where most new growth occurs.  None of this would have happened had McCain been elected.

There is much grist for the mill.  I have not even mentioned serious scandals like: unconstitutional acts, Fast and Furious, IRS harassment and persecution, Benghazi, Solyndra, treatment of Chrysler bondholders, racial mongering, class warfare, etc. etc. etc.

President Obama is the most dangerous man ever to appear in national politics.  I only hope for the sake of my grandchildren that most of his plans and policies can be reversed once we are rid of him.