I was reading this column by David Brooks and it basically summed up what I wanted to say about John McCain.

Do I want him to be president? No, because he does not believe in the things in which I believe. But will I wail and beat my breast in anguish if he does get elected? No, because he is a much better man than many people who have been President of this country.

Cmon, of course he abandoned the whole candidness, straight talk express thing. He tried that already, and it got him nowhere. America does not reward that sort of behavior. But he does have 25 or so years as a man who took the business of legislating seriously, someone who honestly worked to pass bills he thought were right, work with the other side, and address uncomfortable issues (like global warming and immigration) head on.

Does Barack Obama have that? Does any candidate for president, in recent memory, have such a record? Most of them have a record geared towards running for President, and nothing else. If McCain has proven anything, it is that, while he has ambition, he also cares just as much about governing and solid competence. And a McCain presidency, while it won’t be the sort of transformative experience that an Obama presidency will be, will at least be something we can be proud of.