OPINION by DonBendell

A PRESIDENT MUST HAVECREDIBILITY

            Manyyears ago, one of the jobs I held as a starving writer was selling cars, newand used, at what was called a “Fast track” dealership. It wasstraight commission and dog-eat-dog. The top salesman there, Bill, made wellover

$ 70,000per year in the early seventies.That was a lot of income back then. It was simple: he smiled, turned on thecharm, told every customer exactly what they wanted to hear, and then liedthrough his teeth.

            I onceoverheard him respond to a customer who asked about a new Ford Pinto if itwould get the EPA gas mileage listed on the sticker, and Bill answered with aquestion, “Is gas mileage what is really important to you?”

            Theman responded, “Yes, I have to drive many miles to work and backeveryday.”

            Billlaughed and put his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “Man, didyou come to the right place. The EPA ratings were done by the government, andyou know how they screw things up. This car will actually get you at least 54miles to the gallon between highway and city driving combined. Probably a lot more”

            Inactuality, the car would have gotten maybe 24 miles to the gallon. The man,like they all did, bought the car.

            Anotherman’s biggest concern was rust. Ohiosalted its roads in the winter, and he did not want his car eaten away. Billimmediately told him that the new Ford Mustangs were made out of recycledaluminum beer cans and would never rust, and he would throw in completerust-proofing for only $ 285. The man bought the car. We were charged $ 8 bythe dealership to rust proof a car, and any amount charged above that wasprofit, out of which we would get one fourth in commissions. The lies were sooutlandish, I could not stand working there and never sold cars again.

            Billcould turn on the charm with a smile and a golden tongue, stare into your eyesand ad lib the most outlandish lies I ever heard, and worse yet, peoplebelieved it hook, line, and sinker, and he was richly rewarded for the deceit.

            Ithas been over three decades, and I have finally seen another Bill, but on a muchgrander scale. His name is Barrack Obama. He named his best-selling book aftera sermon by his self-proclaimed mentor Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who marriedhim and wife Michelle and baptized their family. He knows that Wright gave anaward to Louis Farrakhan, one of the most outlandish racial bigots in America,and the horrific statements from sermons by Wright which are played all daylong on the news were taken from his DVD’s sold by Obama’s churchwhere Obama has attended for over 20 years. Barrack Obama claims he never heardWright make any of the outlandish racist statements. Right! And people believehim! Duh!

            Then,we have Hillary Clinton braving sniper fire from the Bosnian tooth fairy. The onlydifference between the two is that she would not be a good crooked carsalesman. She does not even lie well at all.

            Which now brings me to John McCain. I could not stand himfor years. I testified for the Senate Select Committee on MIA/POW Affairs. JohnMcCain tried to shut the committee down and people started saying he hadsomething to hide. I was one of those who said it and passed some of the rumorsthat started about him. So, when McCain got the presumptive Republican nod, Iwrote former POW’s I knew who were POWs with McCain in the Hanoi Hilton,such as Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Bud Day and asked them.

            BudDay, MOH wrote me and said, in part: “DearDon:  I was JSM's first room-mate and commanderin the HanoiHilton.  He is brilliant, patriotic, loyal, gregarious, independent,feisty, a good follower, a good leader, republican ..”

Bud finished with “He does not have to haveeveryone's approval to act.  There is a lot of Ronald Reagan..Teddy Roosevelt. . .Harry Trumanin his genes.  Example..telling Reagan to get outof Lebanon. Telling GW, the SecDef, and the world that Rumsfeldpolicies were a failure..  backingthe surge (like from Vietnam)as the only correct choice....and being right both times.   
His combat experience and life experiences make him the solid choice for prez.  John is clearly and unquestionably the bestcandidate in 2008 ...of either party,     Bestregards.   Col. Bud Day,  MOH.”

            PaulGalanti gave me very similar raves about him, and JimWarner, John McCain’s longtime cellmate and still very close friend andadvisor, not only wrote me but has spoken to me on the phone several times, andhe said, “Don, if John had anyhidden secrets from our time in the Hanoi Hilton or if any of the other rumorsabout him are true, simply tell me why are there 81 former Vietnam POW’svoluntarily working on his campaign?”

            I learned that John McCain simply believed verystrongly that there were no more live POW’s left behind, and he believedthat as strongly as I believed that there were. But the important point is thathe does not fold, and he does not lie to get someone’s vote.

JohnMcCain stands his ground if he feels he is right. He also has faced down RushLimbaugh, Ann Coulter, and other Republican pundits because he is willing towork with democrats and actually listen to their point of view. America clearlywants that in our President. If ever there was a time in US history weneed such a person in the White House, it is right now. We need someone withcredibility, a quiet strength, and a total determination to stay the course onour national defense, because our pampered nation thatnow has way too many quick-fix wimps will perish if we don’t. The mullahsand jihadists do not want to be our buddies no matter how much we might suck upto them. They want our heads. The only body parts John McCain will give them isour collective middle finger.

Don Bendell, 61, an author of 25 books with over1,500,000 copies in print worldwide, and a 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officerin 4 Special Forces (Green Beret) Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on anA-team in Vietnam as well asin the Top Secret PhoenixProgram. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame, he and hiswife also own karate schools in Colorado.He has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE and many national radio shows and hiseditorials have been published all over the world. He lives in Florence, Colorado.Write him at don@donbendell.com.