My vote goes to John McCain

I second Peter Robinson.

For good measure, here are a few other points which I hope will serve to ease my guilt when several months or years from now I find myself asking, "What in the world were you thinking?"

1) Crafting a foreign policy and defense policy will be among the most important issues facing the next President. John McCain's experience and ideological leanings make him the best candidate to deal with the many challenges that we will face in those areas over the next four years.

2) I am convinced that John McCain will be able to restrain the growth of federal spending more effectively than any of the other candidates. His years of service in the Senate have proven him to be a spending and budget hawk. After the Bush years, that may prove to be a welcome change.

3) If he is elected, John McCain's "loyal opposition" will consist not only of Democrats, but also of conservative Republicans. Everyone should know by now that conservatives part ways with John McCain on a wide range of issues. Those of us who are worried that McCain will somehow taint the conservative message should keep that in mind.

4) Due to his age, it's very likely that McCain will be a one-term President. If he does intend to seek a second term, it will be in his political interest to heed the concerns of his party's conservative base on the issues most important to them - judges, taxes, and the War - since a challenge in the 2012 primary will be almost inevitable if he doesn't.

5) The power of the presidency is limited. In McCain's case, the conservatives in the U.S. Congress who will be much more willing to stand up to him than they have been to President Bush. That will be particularly important on issues such as immigration and climate change.

6) In spite of what some of his opponents have said, McCain is no liberal. He may not be a Ronald Reagan, but he's not a Nelson Rockefeller, either. Conservatives will have considerable influence in a McCain presidency. Much more than they would have under a President Clinton or Obama.

7) McCain stands a very good chance (and probably the best chance of any Republican) of beating either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the fall. Voters who are fed up with President Bush and who would be unlikely to vote Republican in the fall may find the fact that McCain has basically served as the Republicans' anti-Bush to be quite attractive.