A Man of Character, McCain Has Everything It Takes (Rep. Chip Pickering)

Experience. Competence. Independence. These are the requirements for President. These are the watchwords of John McCain.

Experience. Our nation battles the enemies of freedom. They seek to impose their radical ideology through terror and torture and murder. Our American soldiers fight in Afghanistan. They fight in Iraq. They fight in the deserts and mountains and jungles across the globe, so we do not have to fight our enemies on the streets and malls and schools here at home. John McCain will be a commander in chief with the foreign policy credentials and steel resolve to win our Global War on Terror and finish well our war in Iraq. His wise, experienced decision to support the Surge has proven the proper course in Iraq. John McCain will command the respect of our troops and allies, and he will pursue our enemies to the gates of hell. He has the scars to prove it.

Competence. America needs a politics of results, a principled pragmatism that steadfastly maintains our values, and effectively achieves our goals. When Democrats filibustered conservative judicial nominees, John McCain brought competent leadership to the Senate. His Gang of 14 strategy forged a path to the Supreme Court for John Roberts and Sam Alito. While not a permanent nor perfect solution, McCain enabled a conservative President to place conservative judges in lifetime appointments on the federal bench. He has a record of conservative success.

Independence. Voters repudiated Republicans in 2006 because they perceived our party had become what we fought against: tied to lobbyists, bound to special interests, chained to the status quo. John McCain earned the mantle of reform by defying the Washington establishment. He will challenge entrenched special interests and bureaucracies that make government less effective. The federal response to Hurricane Katrina teemed with waste as each layer of bureaucracy siphoned off needed federal funds, until sometimes only a quarter of what Congress appropriated reached the victims. John McCain’s dedication to a smaller government through cutting waste and restraining unnecessary spending will create a government more responsive to tax payers. John McCain’s allegiance is to the American people, not to lobbyists, special interests, or government bureaucracy.

John McCain’s conservative credentials are intact: fiscal responsibility, balanced budget advocate, a 24-year legacy of consistent pro-life votes, a commitment to traditional marriage, a proponent of a reformed and smaller government, supporter of 2nd Amendment rights, school choice. McCain has the experience, competence, independence, reputation, character, and resolve to best protect our country, improve our government, and provide meaningful results for the American people.