My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign , Illinois . I'm 46 years old,
a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a
veteran, and a home owner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative
or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't
believe there are 'two Americas ' - but that every person in this country
can be whom ever and what ever they want to be if they'll just work to get
there - and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I
believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden,
and should always put t he interests of America first.

The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this
great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working,
tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks
I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their
daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can
to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred
trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called 'news',
thinking that what they hear is always spun by whom ever is reporting it.
They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public
trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They
want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more
government programs.

I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on
everything. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at
the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified
for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially
that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom
do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?

I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't
get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it
'change'.

'Change what? ' , I ask.
'Well, we're going to change America' , they say.
'In what way? ', I query.
'We want someone new and fresh in the White House ', they exclaim.
'So, someone who's not a politician?' , I press.
'Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for
Obama', they state.
'So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has
enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise
incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's
nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?'
'No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change.'

And so it goes. 'Change we can believe in.' Quite frankly, I don't believe
that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent
months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting.
I live in Illinois , so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack
Obama. But no one can really tell me why - only that he's going to change a
lot of stuff. Change, change, change. I have yet to find one single person
who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be
President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth -
other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change.

We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his
Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a
moment. Put it all aside then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to be my
president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?

CHANGE WHAT?

Friends, I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who are
supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced
by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell
out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he
should be elected.

Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent.
Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you
haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton , look it up on the web. This
is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean
from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new
taxes.

For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading
applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.
Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around
Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has
grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half
years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep.
6, 000 meals, give or take.

John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North
Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. When offered early release, he refused it.
He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and
insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you
get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A
regimen of beatings and torture began.

Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a
foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your
fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found,
and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.

Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military
service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to
denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of
Annapolis , during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze
Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now
serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq .

Barack Obama is fond of saying 'We honor John McCain's service...BUT...',
which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, 'Let's
forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership
abilities, and talk some more about change.'

I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced
that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's
right. (ed. note: Can any Democrat say this about Obama?) I know in my
heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't
simply want to be President - he wants to lead America , and there's a
huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two
candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on
about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public
service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the
Senate in 1982.

Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe
they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his
unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe 'likeability' is a higher
priority for them than 'trust'. Being a prisoner of war is not what
qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America -
but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.

Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans
to say, 'Enough.' It is time for people of all parties to stop following the
party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who
wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their
friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.

There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all
of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who
knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who
puts my family's interests before any foreign country.

I want a President who's qualified to lead.

I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.

It is not a black and white issue, it is a right or wrong issue.