:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

As I begin phase one of my experiment to dig into the reasons an Evangelical may vote for McCain or Obama, I’d like to add the qualifier that I’m merely offering my own justifications and reasoning, which means I don’t speak for all Evangelicals. I’m merely presenting scenarios in which an Evangelical could feasibly vote for either of them. You’re welcome to play along in the comments. I’m especially interested in seeing McCain supporters to pretend they’re voting for Obama and vise versa. I’m trying to be as hypothetical as possible.

So if I, an Evangelical Christian, was going to vote for McCain…

Health Care

It is not possible for our government to provide health care for every single person. McCain is a pragmatist who knows this. A common theme for many of these issues is the need for the government to let nonprofits, including churches, address some of these concerns. We don’t need a bigger government, especially since some of the funds for health care may very well end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians and those who play the system to their advantage.

Economy

McCain’s weak point is the economy, though his advisors have developed simple plans to keep regulators away from business growth and allowing our economy to fix itself. It’s not the job of the government to fix all of the injustices that happen in our world. Christians should be involved in addressing injustices, and hopefully McCain will beef up the Faith-Based Initiatives to help them accomplish this goal.

Energy
The science on global warming has been called into question, though it can’t hurt to gradually regulate some of our greenhouse gas emissions. McCain’s plan to boost nuclear power is basically sound and is the best option in a narrow field of choices. As a good steward of creation we need not give climate change and our energy options too much consideration since all we have are speculative computer simulations.

Taxes
McCain’s commitment to continue middle class tax cuts is appealing, and even if the tax cuts to the wealthy may strike some as unjust, we need to encourage growth, investment, and spending. This is the only way to keep the economy running at a healthy pace.

Iraq
McCain is a strong leader who has a sense of duty, in particular that Iraq is a mess we made from our own mismanagement and incompetence. Instead of a vague plan for withdrawal, McCain is committed to seeing Iraq emerge as a stable democracy. It is immoral to consider withdrawing from Iraq after we destabilized it.

Moral Values
McCain is no angel, but he is committed to supporting the pro life cause. Even if we may not expect too much from him, at least the pro choice movement will not gain ground under his watch. McCain needs Evangelical support, and so we will find him a ready ally in keeping America on a moral course.  

Illegal immigration
McCain is once again a pragmatist on this issue trying to provide a compassionate and fair approach. In my concern to be kind to foreigners, as commanded by scripture, I find McCain’s bi-partisan approach a feasible path forward.

Terrorism

While McCain’s war record is commendable, I take a slightly different angle. I basically agree with Wesley Clark’s main point, even if I would never have said it the same way. McCain was not part of the high command in the military (such as George Washington, US Grant, Eisenhower, etc), and so he really has not been trained to be “commander in chief” per se. However his military experience shows his strength of character and commitment to his country. Also, the fact that he was tortured may be a helpful guide in the decisions he makes in the war on terror.

So there you have my hypothetical scenario: If I voted for John McCain. You’re welcome to play along, listing your reasons for voting for McCain.

Up next, I’ll look at Barack Obama on the same issues.