I consider myself a supporter of John McCain and have considered him one of the few honest people in politics for years now.  He has consistently shown himself to be a person who says what he thinks and means what he says – a rarity in society much less Washington D.C. Now I have seen a new side to him: proud, but understated family man.

We all know that John McCain proved himself in the Vietnam war to be a true patriot.  He is a man who defended his country while putting his life at risk and faced time as a POW as well.  There is no doubt that he faced hellish treatment while prisoner and still bears the scars of his time there.

Now imagine this scenario: around 30 years later, this same man is now a father and his son, who is in the military, might go to Iraq.  Does he do what the Bush clan did (use his political connections to squirrel away his kid in some safe stateside posting)?  No. He watched as his son went off to an unpopular war.

To make the matter even more impressive to me, during all this time in his candidacy, we have not heard him ONCE utter something regarding his son's presence in Iraq.  Not once.

If it had been Billary's kid in Iraq, we certainly would have seen him or her campaigning in the desert and had a reporter embedded with the soldier to see what it was like. Of that I have no doubt.

But not John McCain. He is just happy to have his son back in one piece and made small mention of it the other day at a gathering of politicians.

One more example of a person who deserves our respect and admiration. One more example of a person who deserves our support for the nation's highest office.

I did not think it was possible to feel more respect for John McCain.  But today I feel more than respect – I feel, as a father myself, empathy for how difficult having his son in harm's way must have been and how he faced this situtation with so much integrity.

I have been surprised lately at the number of so-called conservative pundits who have littered the airwaves with talk of voting for a Democrat instead of voting for John McCain.  While I support the right to vote the way one may desire, I find it laughable that these ultra-conservatives are so spiteful of not having a "true" conservative in the mix, they would rather turn their backs on their beliefs than do what is right.

First, let me say that I understand how the base would be upset at having a moderate Republican as the clear front runner right now.  It must seem to these folks that the world is changing right under their feet and that is, by definition, what a conservative person dislikes most – change.

But at the same time, the only thing we can count on in this world is that it is always changing.  Quite often that change does not follow suit with our perspective.

But the sour grapes I am hearing from some people ring of childish attitudes that you would expect to hear from my 5-year-old daughter and not grown people who help shape the political landscape via the media.

Today on Fox I heard Joe Pags say that he would rather write in a vote for Ronald Reagan than vote for McCain.  This man must have lost his marbles – a  vote for a dead man? 

Ann Coulter said on H&C the other week that she would vote for Hillary before McCain.  Hillary!  Jeez, Ann, do you ever think of filtering things in your brain before they pass to your mouth?

What is insane – yes, insane – about all this is that for those of you out there who speak of ideals and values, for those of you who talk about the importance of appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court, to those of you who want the US to be a safer place to raise your children, to all of you out there who hold conservative values dear, you must vote for whomever the Republican candidate is or you are selling out everything you believe in.

That is what makes Joe Pags, Ann Coulter, and some others stupid and childish.  They are willing to sell out 80% of their values in order to stamp their little feet and pout for the camera (or the mic) over the 2 or 3 issues they have trouble with regarding McCain's views.

Let's see if Hillary wins and the Supreme Court gets stacked with a bunch of liberal judges if Ann and Pags are pleased with themselves.  What a bunch of self-righteous morons.

Like it or not, McCain WILL be the nominee and conservatives will need to throw their support his way if they truly practice what they preach.

You cannot throw out the baby with the bath water folks.  Plain and simple.