Opinion Piece by John McCain in the Springfield News-Leader

by John McCain

Springfield News-Leader

November 2, 2008

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081102/OPINIONS0...

Today we are seeing how, in so many ways, Washington is on the wrong track. We need change and I know how to deliver it. The status quo is not on the ballot. Change is coming. The question is: in what direction will we go?

As president, I will help to create jobs for Americans in the most effective way a president can: cutting taxes, giving small business owners the tools to create new jobs and protecting your life savings. I will lead reforms to help families keep their homes, help every citizen afford health care and lead America to reclaim its energy independence.

My plan to cut capital gains taxes on investments will make sure that those families forced to sell assets during this downturn aren't penalized. We will also suspend the rules to prevent our seniors from being forced to sell off their IRAs during a weak market. These initiatives will have a real effect on working men and women of Missouri who look to pension and retirement plans in the future.

In tough economic times, higher taxes are the last thing we need as a nation. Sen. Obama's plan will raise taxes on business that generate more than half of the income of all small businesses in America. They are the backbone of our economy, and will lead us to recovery. While Sen. Obama wants to control wealth and spread it around, I want to create wealth and spread opportunity.

Having visited Missouri often, both Gov. Sarah Palin and I know how important mainstream values and enjoyment of the outdoors are to you. When she visited Springfield and saw the Ozarks, Gov. Palin felt at home with the area and the people who share our values.

Gov. Palin and I know that there is no greater nobility than to sacrifice for a great cause and no cause greater than protection of human dignity.

Decency, human compassion, self-sacrifice and the defense of innocent life will be the guiding principles of a McCain-Palin administration. It's about changing the culture of America. I am pro-life. We need to tell young American women who are faced with this terrible decision that we will help them have the courage to bring a baby into this world and we'll have the compassion and help them in every way that they can address it.

Gov. Palin and I both know what sportsmen mean to conservation efforts. Everyone who spends time in a stand or a blind or in waders knows how much the environment means to us. We enjoy the natural blessings God has given our country, and we know how important it is to share it with our children.

Sen. Obama tells us that the "tradition" of gun ownership is one which must "be respected." It is obvious to Gov. Palin and I that he just doesn't get it. A tradition is one thing; a constitutional right is another. Sen. Obama has a record of not supporting the Second Amendment, including support of the D.C. gun ban, which was ruled unconstitutional.

A president doesn't get to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution he gets to enforce, and I view the right to own a gun as sacred as our right to free speech.

I have been upholding my oath to support and defend the Constitution, putting my country first, since I was 17 years old about to enter the United States Naval Academy. I have had the great fortune of defending her liberty in uniform and defending the rights of her citizens in the Congress.

I believe my experience will inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than their own self-interests.

We cannot afford to spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change. We have to act immediately. We have to stand together and fight. I ask that you stand together with me on Nov. 4, so that we can truly change to a new direction -- one that puts our country first.