McCain Frustrates Young Conservations.

According to CNN.com, John McCain Frustrates Young Conservatives [CNN.com].

Yes. Yes, he does.

I'm certainly no Obtamatron, but to say McCain frustrates me (too) is an understatement. At this point, I'm quite certain that Obama will not be receiving my vote in the fall, but what is up for decision is whether McCain will get it.

Apparently, as a "young voter," I'm not alone in that voting quandary.

I mean, this candidate appears to come from an old standard, and seems to not possess the mental acuity my generation expects in our leadership. For example, McCain consistently still refers to Czechoslovakia as if its still a whole country.

There's the PR job in the Iraqi market in which John McCain attempts to make a statement in favor of Iraqi progress and safety on their streets; what isn't seen in the camera frame is that McCain was made safe by 100 troops, 2 black hawks and enough body armor to break a camels back -- all apparently off camera for the major speech and photo ops.

There's also his apparently befuddled insistence that Iran is training al-Qaeda operatives.

Now, Ronald Reagan was a charming grandfather figure, and got away with similar slips. But John McCain doesn't get the same treatment. Maybe that isn't fair, but I could continue with further examples of misquotations, missteps, etc. I won't.

On a related note, Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. That bears some application in this instance too, I believe, as I see where the country (or at least the conservative portions) spoke fairly clearly 8-years ago on the subject of John McCain's candidacy. Maybe the conservative voters got it wrong then, but I think at least some of the general malaise in the republican camp now may be related to those earlier feelings. Is McCain the "meh!" candidate?

And we all know the republican candidate for president simply isn't a rock star. His competition is, and I think that may be finally dawning on some people on his staff. In that respect, I hope McCain can find a way to energize his young base soon and convince some of us to cast votes in his favor come November. If he doesn't, it will be a run away in his opponent's favor.

Even then, the competition may still win the election, but the open discourse and competition will allow for a more thorough evaluation of both candidates. I don't see the close examination taking place now; what I do see is a lot of hot air and glittering generalities being tossed around in speeches. A closer competition would help to cut through some of that smoke screen.

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Update:
From another CNN.com article, this quote really brings it all together for me:

But all of this points to a larger point: We've become a country that continually chooses the sizzle over the steak. McCain may not get my vote, but he gets my admiration for at least offering some substance and new ideas when he speaks. Obama, meanwhile, is like the rock star who's realized that he can just scream unintelligible words into the microphone between songs, and the entire stadium will still scream.

In counter point, some of what McCain says will be factually incorrect, but he does, at least, give some substance to what he says. I will give him that much.