by Martin W. Schwartz

Created on: October 21, 2008

Comparing Senator Barack Obama to Senator John McCain is akin to comparing apples and elephants. The two men could not be more different, aside from their ethnic mix and ages. John McCain has been a man in service to his country since the age of 17, when he joined the U.S. Navy. Barack Obama is a neophyte when it comes to both public service and politics. While well-spoken and highly intelligent, the senator from Illinois has less of a record than did John F. Kennedy when he sought the presidency, and even fewer accomplishments than George W. Bush, who - love him or hate him - was a highly popular and successful governor of Texas.

Senator Obama, while serving in the Illinois state legislature, voted "present" more than any other member of that body. Casting a "present" ballot, which is not permitted in the U.S. Congress, is a way for a legislator to avoid taking a position on a controversial issue, and Mr. Obama used that tool way too often. As a result he has a very spotty record in Illinois, with no major legislative accomplishments to his credit. And now, in his fourth year as a U.S. senator, one would be hard-pressed to find any bills he sponsored, nor any votes he cast that did not support the left-wing agenda of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. In fact his left-of-center voting record is more pronounced than the Senate's "Liberal Lion" Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. And Mr. Obama has no credentials in security or foreign policy matters, which showed when he repeatedly stated in public that he would unilaterally send military forces into Pakistan, if he thought he could capture or kill Usama bin Laden in that nation's tribal areas. For this remark he was widely criticized by foreign leaders with whom the United States is allied, condemned by Pakistan's president, prime minister and legislature, as well as members of his own party.

Senator McCain, who is a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, and who served in the military both before and after that conflict, has nearly thirty (30) years of experience as a U.S. Congressman and Senator, and has been the sponsor of much legislation, most notably the McCain-Feingold Bill, a bipartisan piece of legislation, which endeavors to stop some of the most corrupt practices by lobbyists and politicians in buying influence and elective federal political office. While Mr. McCain made some very bad choices in the Keating savings and loan scandals of the 1980's, for which he was chastised by his colleagues and the media,

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