Concord Monitor:

Concord Monitor: Republicans' Best Choice Is John McCain

Editorial

Like the gyroscopes that keep ships and planes on course, firm principles and a profound sense of honor guide Sen. John McCain. He learns from his mistakes, but he does not abandon long-held beliefs, even when his stands could cost him the presidency.

McCain's willingness to break with his party on issues like climate change and immigration, his honesty and his refusal to pander make him the Monitor's choice in the Jan. 8 Republican presidential primary.

Last summer in Concord, with his campaign broke and his unwavering support for the war in Iraq costing him politically, McCain said he would rather lose the presidential race than lose the war. No one in the room doubted that he meant exactly what he said. Since then, he has earned the support of New Hampshire voters by attending town meeting after town meeting, where he has invited tough questions and answered them.

McCain advocates an immigration policy that secures the border but stops short of the impossible task of summarily deporting the millions of people in the United States illegally. His attempt to pass immigration reform, McCain says, taught him that the American people won't trust politicians to deal with the issue unless they secure the borders first. This admission is proof that politicians can change for good reasons, not for expediency's sake.

Although his plan to address the nation's growing health insurance crisis is too modest to guarantee care for all, it is more reasonable than the plans of his opponents.

Unlike rivals who hide behind legalisms and caveats, McCain stands front and center to announce that American must never engage in waterboarding or any other form of torture. McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. In one of the most stirring speeches of the presidential campaign, he said:

"We could never gain as much from that torture as we lose in world opinion. We do not torture people. When I was in Vietnam, one of the things that sustained us, as we underwent torture, is the knowledge that if we had our positions reversed, we would not impose that kind of treatment on them. It's not about the terrorists, it's about us. It's about what kind of country we are."

When McCain approaches a decision, his first battle is with his own conscience. He doesn't put his finger into the political wind but runs against it if need be to do what he thinks is right.

In his long career in public life, he has proved to be a fiscal conservative and a strong believer in personal responsibility. But he has also shown that he knows that life can be fickle and people frail, and that there are times when government must help people in need.

We do not agree with McCain on every issue. We doubted the wisdom of committing more American troops to a surge in Iraq, yet events may prove McCain right. Either way, we are secure in the knowledge that in coming to his decision, McCain put the well-being of the nation and the troops above all else.

As a soldier and a senator, McCain has proven that he can lead. His legislative history demonstrates his willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to achieve common ends. And because he has paid the price of war, he more than the other candidates can gauge whether putting troops in harm's way is worth the consequences.

Earlier in the campaign, when McCain was being counted out, a consultant might have urged a makeover: Lose the moral compass on torture and immigration, ditch the vision for a turnaround in Iraq.

Not a chance. John McCain held on to his principles and defended them with dignity.

New Hampshire residents who vote in the Republican primary should reward that integrity with their votes.