Authenticity

Authenticity is winning at the polls. And that is a good thing.

Most Americans want to vote for somebody who is real, somebody who shares their values, somebody they can have a beer with.

I think the American people are tired of cautious politicians who check the nearest poll before they decide what to do.

They don’t want a candidate who will tell them what they want to hear. They want a candidate who will tell them the truth as they see it. They don’t want the blow-dried, poll-driven, perfect-smile kind of person. They want a leader who has persisted through hardship, who has been through hell and back, who is willing to take on talk-radio hosts whose No. 1 job is entertainment, not leadership.

That is why John McCain is doing much better than anybody thought he would.

This is gut-check time for the Republican Party.

Do they really want to do the things they say they want to do?

Do they really want to cut spending — or just talk about it?

Do they really want to win this war — or just forget about it?

Do they really want to reform Washington — or do they want to become the defenders of the status quo?

Do they really want to be a governing party — or do they want to be a minority party that chirps from the sidelines?

Do they really want to fix our immigration system (which requires compromise), or do they just want to complain about it?

A huge wave is rolling across the political spectrum from the other side. Barack Obama raised $37 million last month, and had 15,000 people show up at a rally in Idaho.

In Idaho.

If Republicans hope to have any chance, they need an authentic candidate who can take a stand against the Obama wave.

John McCain is the only Republican left who can do that.

Like I have said before, I have real problems with John McCain on certain issues.

He was wrong on campaign finance reform.

He was wrong on taxes early on.

He takes a populist view on corporate America too often.

He is not my perfect candidate.

But he is authentic.

And despite what Rush Limbaugh or Tom DeLay or any of these harsh critics of McCain have to say, that is what most Republicans will conclude today.