A while back, I posted regarding a basic, but profound, logical flaw in Mike Huckabee’s thinking. One reader asked me where I stood then (since I’ve criticized every political candidate out there). Another seemed to possibly interpret the anti-Huckabee sentiment as also being pro-McCain (heavens to betsy).

So for the one or two people out there who actually care . . .

Short answer: Barring an epic miracle, the likes of which would have even Chris Hitchens on his knees, we are about to elect the worst president that this country ever had.

Long answer: Here are the fundamental problems that I have with the remaining candidates.

John McCain

One word before I start this: I find it amazing that there are so many people out there that assume that any anti-McCain sentiment must have originated from Rush Limbaugh. OK, maybe I’m not as amazed at the thought (or even its near-ubiquity) as I am at the wide variety of people that espouse such idiocy. I don’t listen to Limbaugh at all and in the last year, I’ve listened to maybe 5 hours of folks who hold the same opinion as he does on McCain.

The biggest source that I have for information on McCain are his supporters. Their arguments are usually so paper-thin, that they do most of the legwork for you. But regardless, all of this came out of my own little warped brain.

My biggest problem with McCain is that he is simply not conservative. Any attempt to dispute that fact is just plain silly. His supporters point to his overall voting record, citing an 82% conservative rating. They fail to note two things: (1) his most recent annual rating was a sad 60%, and (2) he’s been in Congress for a quarter century and people change.

My second biggest problem (and perhaps this should be my biggest) is that, when it suits him, his policy seems to be “. . . and the horse the American people rode in on.” He voted against the so-called “Bush tax cut” because he was allegedly principled and wanted to see spending cuts to go along with them. The desire to see spending cuts is a very laudable thing. But the tax cut would benefit the American people regardless. McCain put his principles ahead of what was best for the country.

But, but, but Brendt. He now supports the continuation of the tax cuts. Yeah, and he’s also running for President. Wasn’t it Walter Mondale who promised that, if elected, he’d raise our taxes? That went over like a pregnant pole-vaulter. McCain’s no dummy — he’s not going to repeat that fiasco.

Granted, this whole thing probably stems from how out-of-touch he his with the American people. His “Americans wouldn’t pick lettuce for $50/hr” crack left Bush Sr in the dust for “out of touch-ness” when the latter marveled at grocery store scanners.

Mike Huckabee

The logical flaw that I referenced before is actually pretty minor, in and of itself. However, it does strike me that it is representative of how Huckabee’s brain works. But let’s cast that aside.

Mike Huckabee sees his faith as requiring works to back it up. This come straight out of James, and is quite laudable. Unfortunately, he sees it as his responsibility to use the power of government to perform those works.

As a person with more than 3 brain cells, it insults me that anyone would espouse the notion that involving government improves anything. As a Christian, it angers me to hear Huckabee using God to bolster his push for bigger government. He may not be saying “God or “Jesus” as profanity, but he is certainly violating the third commandment.

Now, at first blush, Huckabee’s recent appearance on SNL seems pretty self-deprecating.  And if you know me, you know how much I love self-deprecation.  But in retrospect, when you start laughing at yourself for the same reason that everyone else is already laughing at you, that’s not really self-deprecation.  That’s just fatalism.

As part of that appearance, when it was pointed out to him that he has already been mathematically eliminated from the race, he said that he wasn’t a “math guy” but a “miracle guy”.  Coming from anyone else, no big deal.  But considering how much Huckabee has always relied on the kindness of strangers — er um, I mean — the evangelical vote and the importance that he places on his faith, his use of the word “miracle” carries more weight.  So basically, what he was doing was purporting the age-old myth that faith and science are mutually exclusive.

Perhaps most disturbing, though, is his endorsement by James Dobson. I’ve already illustrated on this blog that Dobson is no longer pro-life. The endorsement of someone willing to sacrifice the lives of the unborn for his own political gain makes Huckabee very suspect.

Barack Obama

I’m, admittedly, not going to spend too much time on the Democratic candidates. I’ve already said that McCain isn’t conservative. The Dems are even less so, so what’s the point?

But there are a few things worth noting about Obama.

1. He has the overwhelming support of Oprah Winfrey, who is almost as psychotic as Dobson.
2. Other than the mantra of “change” (not that any of his supporters can tell you what we’re changing from or to), one of the biggest arguments for Obama is that he is the uniter that the people of this country want. My initial reaction to that is that the people of Israel wanted a king. How’d that work out for them?
3. This YouTube video pretty well exemplifies the majority of Obama supporters — note that this is a legislator, not just some schmo like you or me. (Granted, some of the luster comes off this video when you realize that it’s in support of Clinton, and even more comes off when Keith Olbermann decides to interject his “wisdom”. But laying those two issues aside, it’s pretty funny.)

Hillary Clinton

Besides the fact that she’s the anti-Christ?

When Bill was running for president, she kept touting her own resume and telling the American people that we would be getting a 2-fer. So she’s already been president for 2 terms. The US Constitution says that she can’t run again. I can’t knowingly cast a vote in violation of the Constitution — I have too much respect for the rule of law.

Ron Paul

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bring him up, but since his name was raised in the comments of this blog, I’ll address him. Besides, I’m sure that his supporters will still consider him in the race on Wednesday, November 5.

Fiscally, this guy rocks. If we made him temporary dictator, this country would be in the black in less than 6 months.

But, his isolationist views — and, I’m sorry, but that’s what they are — will not work in today’s society. As much as I loathe the UN and recognize that Paul would probably make John Bolton look like Kofi Annan, this is 2008, not 19-aught-eight.

The most troubling thing about Paul, though, is his stance on Israel. The Bible is chock full of warnings from God not to mess with Israel, not to divide His land, to be good to Israel, etc. Paul’s stance ignores all that.

Now I realize that not everyone believes that the Scriptural references to Israel refer to the country that was re-formed in 1948. And for many of those of that persuasion, I have a great deal of respect. I disagree with their interpretation, but I can respect it. But seeing how there is nothing definitive in the Scriptures regarding this, I have one question for you, regardless of your eschatalogical or dispensational views (or lack thereof):

WHAT IF YOU’RE WRONG ?

Summary

Of the remaining candidates, even those who have no shot at the election, I find McCain to be the least detestable. But I will, quite literally, hold my nose when I cast my vote for him.