What this election is about

There are any number of reasons why someone might not want to vote for Barack Obama.

I get that. But I also agree with Andrew Sullivan about what’s at stake in this election.

We need to think about: Who best can win the war on terror? Who best can extricate us from Iraq? Who best can handle Pakistan? Who best can manage the financial meltdown? Who best will rid us of addiction to foreign oil? Who best can unite the country? Who best can tackle the enormous debt the Bush-Cheney years have landed us with? Who best can restore America’s core abhorrence of torture?

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In this campaign, Obama is trying to lead a national discussion about Sullivan’s questions. A public, serious discussion. Four years ago, John Kerry did the same. Four years before that, Al Gore did the same.

You may disagree with their answers, but at least they had the integrity and gumption to first think deeply about the questions and then honestly explain their answers to the American people.

John McCain, Sarah Palin, their party, and their party’s operatives are doing everything humanly possible to avoid this discussion altogether. Four years ago, George W. Bush did the same. Four years before that, ditto.

What does that say about John McCain and his party?