Is John McCain ready to lead?

Is John McCain ready to lead? Is he ready to serve as Commander-in-Chief from day one? Does he have the temperament and judgment to deal with a crisis when the phone rings at 3 a.m.?

Directing American military forces is an awesome responsibility. The United States has 5,000 nuclear weapons and 3,000,000 people in the armed forces, active and reserve. The U.S. Navy has 280 ships, including 12 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The combined forces -- Marines, Navy, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard -- have thousands of planes. America maintains troops in 135 countries and ships in all the world's oceans.

We are in two hot wars right now.

Do you want to put John McCain in charge of all this? That is the most serious question.

Or would Barack Obama make a better leader?

For me, it gets down to Obama's stance on the invasion of Iraq. He was against it and I think he was right.

I believe McCain could manage well enough if he becomes President. I am not concerned about his hot temper -- that's a problem his staff and his wife have to deal with. But he was wrong about Iraq. It was an ill-advised war and a squandering of our resources. The surge has been a salvage operation that can give us a decent exit. The surge was the right tactic serving the wrong strategy.

BACK OFF ON PALIN. Leave Sarah Palin's family out of it. Let her speak for herself. She will have the nation's attention on Wednesday night when she addresses the Republican convention. Judge her words carefully and seriously.

I strongly identify with Sarah Palin in this one area -- she's being called a lightweight and not being seriously considered by people who act like they know more than she does. I identify with the man on the street and the woman on the dog sled. Let her speak. Weigh her words, and then respond.

I doubt that I will agree with Governor Palin on most issues, but the critics had better wipe the smirks off their faces.
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