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"The young need old men. They need men who are not ashamed of age, not pathetic imitations of themselves."
-- Peter Ustinov

Once upon a time there was a no-name generation that went about its business and did not call attention to itself. While the Greatest moved offstage and the Boomers ran amuck, it raised and educated families, laying the groundwork for a prosperous future. Overlooked, ignored by those who followed it, and alone among its peers, this generation may soon see one of its members become president.

Of course, the road will not be smooth. The attack on John McCain's age has only just begun. A mere tittering at present, it will be shouted from rooftops come the fall. In our youth-obsessed society, newness trumps experience. Media central casting gives this older generation a thumbs down, favoring the novel and the different. But Sen. McCain, who will turn 72 in August, still goes about his business with the dogged determination that sustained him through long years in a North Vietnamese prison.

Those of us born in the late 1930s retain only a weak memory of the Great Depression. But we noted well the solemn eyes of our parents and felt, in the marrow of our bones, the values of steadfastness and endurance they embodied.

Must read the whole thing here.

Comparing Rev. Wright & Imus: Obama’s Hypocrisy Coming Home to Roost

Incredible. Barack Obama is enabling and justifying the words of Reverend Wright with almost exactly the same logic that Wright uses to justify the actions of Osama bin Laden.

The vice president expressed hope that anti-American sentiment generated by the U.S.-led invasion five years ago this week, was waning—at least in Iraq where the U.S. death toll is nearing 4,000.

"Across this country, the more that Iraqis have gotten to know the Americans—the nature of our intentions and the character of our soldiers—the better they have felt about the United States of America," he said.

[Breitbart]

Apparently dissatisfied with their presidential choices, Republicans are asking, "Why don't we have another Ronald Reagan?" But if we think seriously about what made Ronald Reagan a great leader and a great president, we may find that there's a reasonable facsimile hiding in plain sight. John McCain, although he has failed to toe the line of conservative orthodoxy, has many of the characteristics that the American people admired in Ronald Reagan, including the key elements that made him a successful president. In fact, given his electability, McCain offers a rare chance for conservatives to recapture the essence of the Reagan revolution.

The similarities between Reagan and McCain begin with their extraordinary attachment to principle.

About six months ago, I was having lunch with a political consultant and we were having a smart-alecky conversation about the presidential race. All of sudden, my friend interrupted the flow of gossip and said: “You know, there’s really only one great man running for president this year, and that’s McCain.”

The comment cut through the way we pundits normally talk about presidential candidates. We tend to view them like products and base our verdicts on their market share at the moment. We don’t so much evaluate their character; we analyze how effectively they are manipulating their image to appeal to voters, and in this way we buy into the artificiality of modern campaigning.

My friend’s remark pierced all that, and it had the added weight of truth.

[...]

And now he pushes ahead, building momentum, but desperately needing a miracle win in New Hampshire. Everyone will make their own political choices, and you might plausibly argue that the qualities John McCain possesses are not the ones the country now requires. But character is destiny, and you will never persuade me that he is not among the finest of men.

That human point seemed worth remembering, even amid the layers of campaign pretense.

Sen. McCain has slowly fallen in national polls throughout 2007 as other candidates entered the race. After firing a chunk of his staff and downsizing, many media outlets were ready to write off his campaign because of his support of the Iraq War, comprehensive immigration reform, and the "surge."

In the past week, McCain seems to have found his groove, mollified some of his detractors, won new friends, and began a possible surge of his own.

About a week ago, Sen. Brownback endorsed McCain, Charles Bird and Jerry Zandstra announced their support for McCain here on RedState, and I asked the question whether this surge was for real.

A week later, Sen. McCain has seen CNN attack him unfairly, a Curt Shilling endorsement, a David Brooks column running around the country extolling McCain as a unique example of character in politics, and a new poll showing him up 2 points on Hillary (which helps answer this lady's question).

That is the first polls with any Republican ahead of Hillary in a few weeks. The trends now show McCain, not Rudy, as the most electable Republican in a head-to-head match-up with Hillary.

It has become obligatory for both pro- and anti-war commentators never to mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that anti-war people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of success, perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow.

But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year, the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq war. In five years, we will have overturned Saddam Hussein's government, killed, captured or driven out almost all al-Qaida terrorists, suppressed the violent Shiite militias, induced the Sunni tribal leaders and their people to shun resistance and send their sons into the army and police and seek peaceful resolution of disputes -- and we will have stood up a multisectarian, tribally inclusive army capable of maintaining the peace that our troops established.

[...]

...on Thursday, The New York Times noted: "American forces have routed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood in Baghdad, a top American general said today, allowing American troops involved in the 'surge' to depart as planned." Investor's Business Daily assessed: "Many military analysts -- including some who don't support the war -- have concluded that the U.S. and its allies are on the verge of winning."