Strange Legacy

Does God Want John McCain to be President?

This is a strange world we live in, but sometimes things happen which seem to transcend the boundaries of reality and compel us to acknowledge the possible hand of Providence in their occurrence. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the implausible ascent of John McCain to claim the Republican nomination for president.

Shortly after announcing his candidacy, John McCain declared himself the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. For a short while even the press played along; however, it wasn’t long before several challengers emerged and knocked the Arizona Senator off his pedestal. McCain quickly fell behind Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and even Mike Huckabee in pre-primary polls. McCain’s support for the war and initially unpopular “Surge” alienated independent voters, while his reputation as a maverick in the Republican Party troubled the conservative base. Serious cash flow problems and campaign downsizing appeared to be harbingers of certain doom for the senator. Yet, in spite of all this, McCain is now the Republican candidate for the presidency. What the…? Think about all of the things that had to happen in order for McCain to win the Republican nomination:

• Mitt Romney’s failure to gain momentum in early voting states where he was highly favored to win.
• Mike Huckabee’s failure to carry the momentum from his victory in Iowa into the South, where he was presumed to have an advantage with evangelical voters.
• Rudy Giuliani’s complete and total implosion.
• Fred Thompon’s inability to capitalize on the early excitement surrounding his candidacy.
• Mike Huckabee’s decision to stay in the primary through the voting on “Super Tuesday”, despite dubious odds of success, thus blocking any potential comeback by Mitt Romney.

Like a soufflé all the ingredients had to come together just right. If even one of these elements had been missing it’s unlikely John McCain would have stood a chance. Now, we look toward the general election and again see the work of some invisible force guiding McCain to the oval office.

Let’s face it; the 2008 election belonged to the Democrats – at least it was supposed was to. An unpopular war, a flagging economy and strong dissatisfaction with the current Republican administration seemed poised to give this election to the Democrats on a silver platter. And yet, the Democratic nomination has devolved to what TV talk show host Stephen Colbert flippantly describes as “Democralypse Now!” Senator McCain’s money problems are largely offset by fact that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are spending vast sums of money attacking one another. Some have even gone so far as to say that John McCain was real winner of the recent Democratic debate in Philadelphia! As the Democratic nomination wears on, with no quick end in sight, Senator Clinton’s attacks against Senator Obama’s experience seem to be working – but not without diminishing her own image with the American public in the process. Thus, the Democrats are tearing each other apart and McCain hardly needs to lift a finger.

If John McCain wins the presidency his victory will be chronicled as one of the most improbable comebacks in political history. The most strident atheist will have to reexamine his/her paradigm when attempting to explain this astonishing event. The hand of Providence seems clear; now whether one believe that the Arizona senator is destined to be our savior in troubled times, or the harbinger of the Apolypse whose true purpose is to hasten the end of civilization as we know it and instigate the Rapture, probably depends on whether you are a Republican or a Democrat.

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