The Collectivist Non-Choice

David Boaz on similarities between Obama and McCain:

The real issue is that Messrs. Obama and McCain are telling us Americans that our normal lives are not good enough, that pursuing our own happiness is "self-indulgence," that building a business is "chasing after our money culture," that working to provide a better life for our families is a "narrow concern."

And on McCain specifically :

John McCain also denounces "self-indulgence" and insists that Americans serve "a national purpose that is greater than our individual interests." During a Republican debate at the Reagan Library on May 3, 2007, Sen. McCain derided Mitt Romney's leadership ability, saying, "I led . . . out of patriotism, not for profit." Challenged on his statement, Mr. McCain elaborated that Mr. Romney "managed companies, and he bought, and he sold, and sometimes people lost their jobs. That's the nature of that business." He could have been channeling Barack Obama.

One gets the sense that Mr. McCain would like to see us all in the armed forces. In a Washington Monthly essay published in October 2001, his vision of national service sounded militaristic. He wrote with enthusiasm for programs whose participants "not only wear uniforms and work in teams . . . but actually live together in barracks on former military bases, and are deployed to service projects far from their home base," and who would "gather together for daily calisthenics, often in highly public places such as in front of city hall."

Whole thing here. This highlights yet another profound reason to pull the lever for Obama (or against McCain). If Mac manages to win the general election, the GOP will undoubtedly continue down the road-to-hell, paved by the big-gov'ment neo-cons that have dominated the party since the 2000 election. I think some healthy house-cleaning is long overdue. Kick the bums to the curb.

UPDATE: My ex-professor, friend and Reagan justice department appointee, Michael Rappaport, once again echoes my views on boycotting McCain here.