"He said that if the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan were to die, he would carry him around like in Weekend at BernieÍs: how could I not vote for the guy?" said actor Jason Woliner, best known for his role as the small child who buried Bernie in the sand in said movie.

When the "Straight-Talk Express" comes to town, everyone wants to get on board. McCainÍs maverick, "say it like I see it" take on politics is refreshing to people who are used to the back handed dealings of current office holders. McCain looks to enact policies that are just, as opposed to those that are just to fit party policy.

McCain wants to put honor back in the White House, but will electing him accomplish that?

Is McCain a real stand up kind of guy? How do we know? He told us so. However, there are others that donÍt feel the same way. He is a vet, but his most vocal adversaries are Veterans. He is a Republican, but his greatest opponents are Republicans. He is Pro-life, except when that gets him into trouble and he needs to be Pro-Choice. He always has an answer, but it is seldom the one we expect to hear. When asked why he did not correctly represent his policies on tax-reform to an audience member in Concord NH, McCain said, "Because thatÍs not what he wanted to hear." Not something one might expect to hear from the Straight-Talk Express.

McCain has tried everything to separate himself from the common politician. His campaign is based solely on character, and he has held his opponents to his high standards for moral responsibility. At the beginning of the race, he shook fellow Republican George W. BushÍs hand, making a pact against slanderous campaign tactics. Then, when Bush ran a campaign ad that pointed out McCainÍs policy weaknesses, instead of reponding to BushÍs valid points, McCain called the ad negative and slandered BushÍs moral judgement.

When McCain heard that someone from BushÍs campaign made telephone calls defaming him, he said, "I am astonished, I thought Bush came from a good family", and quickly informed his people to stop his own Anti-Bush telephone campaign.

In contrast to the draft-dodger currently in office, McCain has nobly served our country. Not only was he on active duty in Vietnam, but a quarter of his twenty year service was spent as a tortured prisoner of war. Or was he tortured? That is what common opinion says, but the Vietnamese vehemently deny it. What really happened? We know that when he did return from Vietnam, McCain was in pretty bad shape. We have heard that after ejecting from his airplane, McCain sustained injuries that were worsened by torture during his time at the "Hanoi Hilton". Recently, the proprietors of the "Hilton", wanting to clear their name, let us know that no prisoners were injured at the establishment. Many POW/MIA activists also say that McCain was never tortured and even received preferential treatment because he was the son of a top officer in the U.S. NAVY. What does the candidate have to say about this? Surprisingly, he is very vague.

Perhaps his politics are muddled, but if nothing else, he stands behind his name. Interestingly, though, he is not the most pristine of characters. He cheated on his first wife. He was involved in a cover up of the "Keating 5" scandal. He is close with alleged members of the mafia. When his second wife stole money from the non-profit organization she founded to feed her painkiller addiction, McCain bribed witnesses to protect her.

In Congress, McCain has been feverishly attacking the smoking industry. In response to an ad run by the National SmokerÍs Alliance, he affectionately said, "You jerks, you're the guys who addicted our children."

Surprisingly, he has done nothing in regards to the alcohol industry. No one can say why, but it might have something to do with his father-in-law being the number two beer distributor in the nation.

These things are by no means jaw dropping. They are things we have all seen before, and almost come to expect from politicians. However, they are not what you would expect from a man who intends to put integrity back into the White House.

McCain is not the favorite of the Republican Party. Presidential legacy George W. Bush was expected to clear the nomination easily. However, McCain is giving him a run for his money. He is the ultimate underdog, and America loves the little guy. We canÍt help but root for McCain in each state he goes to. If he wins the Republican nomination, he might just redefine the party. However, would the "McCain Party" have any policies? Would we neglect to tell nations that we are cutting off aid because thatÍs not "what they want to hear?"

John McCain speaks in broad terms about his ideals, and he is not a big fan of specifics. Also, the contradictions that abound in his philosophies might cause problems when decisions need to be made.

It is interesting that a man who refers to his captors in Vietnam as "gooks" would be so concerned with proper manners in politics. Slanders and accusations can be made, as long as they are not aimed at the good guys. In this election, according to McCain, he represents The Force, while Bush and anyone who does not frequent the ñStraight Talk Expressî represents The Dark Side.

He informed high schoolers in Saginaw of this fact; "IÍm just like Luke Skywalker, trying to get out of the Death Star. IÍm telling you, theyÍre shooting at me from everywhere. EverybodyÍs against me. (Michigan) Governor (John) Engler, Governor Bush, all the governors, all the senators. But weÍre gonna kill ïem, right? WeÍre going to get ïem. IÍm getting out of the Death Star, and weÍre gonna win the election!"

John McCain sees the presidency as a position of honor, requiring a man worthy of representing our fine country. The people agree. John McCain wants to be that man. His straight-shooting mannerisms make him stand out from the crowd, but his actions do not correspond with his rhetoric.