Former Md Repub Congressman Charles Mathias: "My Choice: Obama"

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702407.html

My Choice: Obama

By Charles McC. Mathias Jr.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008; Page A17


In one week, Americans will face a momentous choice. We must decide which of two talented, patriotic individuals is better suited to set the course for the nation and steer it through a stormy sea.

I have known John McCain for many years, even before he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982. And like so many other television viewers, I have come to know Barack Obama as he has made his spirited quest for the highest office in the land through this long and unprecedented campaign.

Sens. Obama and McCain have vastly different backgrounds and strikingly different visions of how America should navigate these tumultuous times. For me, the decision on who should be the next president transcends private friendship or political affiliation. My decision is based on the long-range needs of our country and which of these two candidates I feel is better suited to recharge America's economic health, restore its prestige abroad and inspire anew all people who cherish freedom and equality. For me, that person is Barack Obama.
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This decision, and this hard-fought race, have been difficult for me. In 1860, my great-grandfather ran for the Maryland Senate from Frederick on the anti-slavery Republican ticket. At the top of that ticket was Abraham Lincoln. In 1912, my grandfather rallied to Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull Moose. Most of the Mathias family has voted Republican ever since. In 1964, as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I astounded many of my friends and supporters by voting for Barry Goldwater, despite disagreeing with many of his views and despite his lack of support in my congressional district. I publicly endorse the Democratic candidate for president with a sense of the historic significance of the choice before us all.

I believe that Obama's inspirational leadership, contemplative nature and well-reasoned, forward-looking policies offer our troubled nation a real opportunity to face and overcome its many challenges at home and abroad.

...


The writer, a Republican, represented Maryland in the U.S. House from 1961 to 1968 and in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1986.

[speedoo]

1. I remember him vaguely, from when I lived in Maryland.

He was a Senator at the time. A moderate and a decent guy.

[DarthDem]

2. He Was a Senator for Far Longer

One of the last of the northeastern liberal Republicans, back when some in that party had some decency, before the takeover by the radical evangelical nuts.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Nice to hear from a Republican who isn't totally off his/her nut.

[genna]

4. I don't remember him. Barbara Mukalski and Paul Sarbanes are the ones I remember.

The Northeast Republicans were moderate and okay on social issues. The military industrial complex is the only thing I think we could take them to task on.

But since defense is the one issue where I step from left to right, I've always been ok with that.

[freestyle]

6. Mikulski succeeded Mathias.

Mac Mathias was one of the last of the good guys in the Republican party. Aside from the Ehrlich aberration, he was also the last Republican who would have had any sort of shot at statewide office in Maryland.

[Cha]

5. Thanks, Charles Mathias! No Worries

'cause the party that was anti-slavery back then would be the Democratic Party of today..things change and this is an Excellent example.