RNC Day 4: Reflections On John McCain's Solemn Acceptance

John McCain--genuine humility, a record of service to his country, solemn and understated.

Barack Obama--his ego writes checks his record can't cash.

The stark contrast between the two acceptance speeches by the respective candidates can't be stated in any easier terms or demonstrated in a simpler manner than to compare how McCain reached out to Obama in a gesture of respect, while only a week earlier Obama's hostile criticism appeared to reveal a bitterness that did little to represent "hope and change." Obama's cynicism was exceeded only by the sense of true optimism and real hope and change that a McCain administration would bring.

McCain's message and that of the RNC the entire week--freedom and responsibility, service and sacrifice.

Obama and the DNC? Government, government, government. Not "you're on your own" but "we own you."

The land of opportunity vs. crisis and criticism.

Policy specifics are overrated. It is the comparative vision of each party and each candidate that creates the path that each candidate will follow on the campaign trail and after the election. The destination matters, but so does the route by which the destination is reached.

Liberty and open-mindedness vs. dogged reliance on outdated philosophies that have been recycled again and again by a party that relies on a sense of victimization rather than an admiration for the ability to achieve and to go one's own way.

Washington insiders, government handouts, and pork barrel spending.

Mavericks, tax cuts, fiscal responsibility.

McCain envisions a future for America. Obama chooses to wallow in the past.

Of the two candidates, only one offers real hope and change.

And I just watched his acceptance speech tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota.