I never wanted to vote for John McCain. When I heard several months ago that Dr. James Dobson said that he wouldn’t vote in this election because he didn’t want to vote for McCain, I agreed with Dr. Dobson. Almost. I would have never said that I wouldn’t vote, but I would have gladly “thrown my vote away” by voting for a longshot (or even “no-shot”) third party candidate who had the “correct” values on the issues which I believe are most important to God. Hopefully you already know that abortion (the shedding of innocent blood) is at the forefront of those issues.

I have “thrown my vote away” many times, with a clear conscience, intentionally standing against the typical weak, waffling candidates put forth by the Republican party, candidates who will typically never mention abortion unless they are speaking to a pro-life crowd.  (I’m referring here to the self-designated “pro-life” candidates; obviously I don’t consider voting for the pro-abortion Republicans.)  As we have seen so many times, when the Republican party has the power to do something to protect the children, it usually squanders its opportunities (if it even makes an attempt).

We were a part of a pro-life leadership meeting in April where we discussed the idea of sending a letter to McCain telling him that we would not support him unless he nominated a pro-life running mate. At the time, the prospect of supporting McCain even if he had the best pro-life running mate didn’t appeal to me.

But about a month before the Sarah Palin announcement, I was waiting for some of our kids at the public library when I came across a Newsweek article on Cindy McCain.  I hadn’t known much about Cindy McCain, and frankly I had been biased against her because she is John McCain’s second wife and is so much younger than he is.

But once I started reading, I couldn’t put the article down.  I was impressed to learn about Cindy McCain’s efforts to help Down syndrome children, and when I read how she responded to her three miscarriages, my heart was touched.

Then I read about Mrs. McCain’s visit to Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh:

The nuns handed her a small baby with a cleft palate so severe that the infant couldn’t be fed. Another baby, also just a few weeks old, had a heart defect. Worried they would die without medical attention, Cindy applied for visas to take the girls back to the United States. But the country’s minister of Health refused to sign the papers. “We can do surgery on this child,” an official told her. Frustrated, Cindy slammed her fist on the table. “Then do it! What are you waiting for?” The official, stunned, simply signed the papers. “I don’t know where I got the nerve,” Cindy told Harper’s Bazaar.

Cindy quickly decided to adopt one of the girls (now known as Bridget McCain), arranging for a friend to adopt the other one.  When she announced to her husband her intention to adopt Bridget, apparently John McCain never questioned her judgment, but immediately accepted Bridget as his own.

Although abortion wasn’t mentioned in this article, it gave me a glimpse into the heart of Cindy McCain (and to some extent, her husband as well).  What I saw was a passionate commitment to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

My heart broke when I continued reading the article to find out how McCain’s opponents in the 2000 presidential campaign spread rumors that Bridget was really McCain’s illegitimate child.  Apparently before this happened, the McCains had avoided promoting the story about Bridget’s adoption, not wanting to exploit her for their own political advantage (I assume this is true, because otherwise such rumors would have been immediately dismissed).  This speaks to me of the McCains’ integrity, not only toward their country, but toward their family.

I shared the Newsweek article with Terri, and she shared my newfound enthusiasm for the McCains.

I realize, of course, that Cindy McCain is not running for president.  The more I have learned about John McCain as a person, especially his service to our country and his time as a P.O.W., the more impressed I have become.  Shortly after reading the Newsweek article on Cindy McCain I saw a documentary on John McCain’s life where he candidly admitted that he was selfish and immature when he was imprisoned in Hanoi.  God obviously used that time in John’s life to prepare him for greater service to his country.

It seems to me that both John and Cindy McCain have a heart of service and compassion, both for their country as a whole and for the “least of these” who are often overlooked by society.

But looking back over the First Ladies who have lived in the White House during my lifetime, I believe that Cindy McCain has the potential to outshine them all, because of her heart of compassion and service.  Looking back at the “pro-life” presidents who have held office since Roe v. Wade, it seems to me that all of them were crippled to some extent because their wives did not share their views.  Would Ronald Reagan have accomplished more for the unborn (notwithstanding his great oratory) if Nancy Reagan had not been standing at his side?  Would the Bush presidencies have been more effective if Barbara and Laura were passionate for the “least of these”?  I think so.

Before someone points it out, I know that sometimes both John and Cindy McCain have seemed to waver in their commitment to protecting the unborn, especially when they have been facing hostile interviews and the accompanying intense scrutiny.

I pay very little attention to the mainstream media, watching little TV and avoiding biased newspapers.  So perhaps you are aware of additional problems relating to their “pro-life” credentials.  But even if you can point out misstatements they have made in interviews, it isn’t likely to matter to me, because I feel like I have caught a glimpse of their hearts.

If you have never been there, with the television cameras staring you in the face, you can’t understand the intense pressure they are under.  I have been there, and I have made some major misstatements myself, so I am not willing to pick apart their interviews looking for problems.  When I do hear them say something that doesn’t sound right, I just want to pray for them more, because they need our prayers to survive the attacks.

We’ll never find a perfect candidate, but I believe that in the McCains we have a great example of service, commitment, and compassion which can lead our nation through (and beyond) our current difficulties. I am now ashamed of myself for allowing myself to become biased against the McCains instead of taking the time to try to learn who they really are.

Though I have a slight temptation to vote for our friend Pastor Wiley Drake (who is on the ticket as Vice President for Alan Keyes), my conscience won’t allow me to do so.  I will cast my ballot for John McCain, not because he is the lesser of two evils, but because I truly believe that out of all of the candidates (even the longshots), he is the one who has been prepared by God for this moment in our nation’s history.