John McCain keeps insisting that his Democratic opponent isn't“ready” to be president. As the unofficial chair (and probably onlymember) of the Insurers For Obama Committee, this is how I thinkBarack Obama should respond in his nomination speech tomorrownight.

Rather than duck the charge, or try to explain why his primaryopponents–Hillary Clinton and veep pick Joe Biden–also bothquestioned his readiness for the highest office in the land, Iwould have Obama pull a political ju-jitsu move and turn thequestion–”Am I Ready?”–on its head.

Here goes:

“Am I ready to be President of the United States? That's thequestion my Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, keeps harpingon. It's about all he has to say these days to scare voters intothinking that only a man of long experience, such as himself, canbe trusted to run the Oval Office.

“But the truth is, I am more than ready to be President, and thepeople of this country are more than ready to have me lead them ina new and more fair and just direction.

“I am ready to quickly, yet honorably end the war in Iraq, whichI said years ago should never have been launched. I am ready todevote more military resources to the real front line in the War onTerror–Afghanistan. And I am ready to hunt down the leader of theAl Qaida movement, Osama bin Laden–a pursuit long-since abandonedby the Bush Administration.

“I am ready to defend a woman's right to choose what to do whenshe becomes pregnant, to retain control over her own body andhealth.

“I am ready to appoint judges to the U.S. Supreme Court who willrespect the separation of church and state and the rule of law, aswell as the privacy of individuals.

“I am ready to guarantee universal health insurance for allAmericans.

“I am ready to rebuild this nation's crumbling infrastructure,and in so doing, put millions more Americans back to work in jobsthat cannot be outsourced overseas.

“I am ready to shore up Social Security to fulfill the promisesmade to tens of millions counting on the system to help sustainthem during retirement.

“I am ready to declare a new mission for America–to becomeenergy independent within 10 years. Much like President John F.Kennedy vowing to send a man to the moon by the end of the decadeof his election, I am ready to dedicate the United States'overwhelming scientific and capital-raising skills to thedevelopment of alternative power sources, while also expandingdomestic oil production in an environmentally sound way, andcarefully growing our nuclear energy capabilities as well.

“I am ready to restore the rule of law in the United States–toend the use of torture and reestablish due process in the handlingof prisoners, while putting a stop to unreasonable and oftenillegal searches and seizures abusing the civil rights of our owncitizens.

“I am ready to work with our allies and engage those opposed toour interests head on to reestablish our credibility in the worldand restore our rightful place as a beacon of hope and justice,rather than behave like bullies and barbarians.

“I am prepared to jump-start this economy by redirecting taxcuts to working class folks and small-businesses that need themmost.

“I am ready to make sure our regulators protect the publicwelfare rather than just the industries they are assigned tooversee.

“I am ready to come to the aid of communities in need followingdisasters–whether natural, like Hurricane Katrina, or man-made,such as the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis.

“I am ready to appoint competent people to run governmentagencies who will tirelessly work to secure the public's safety andhealth, people who believe in the government's ability to improvethe lives of our citizens–especially those most vulnerable.

“I am ready to make sure that our brave men and women in uniformare given the best of medical care when injured on the battlefield,are helped in making the transition back to civilian life, and donot have their volunteer service exploited through back-door draftsand abuse of the National Guard.

“In short, I am ready to do everything possible to restore theAmerican dream, to make sure that everyone who works hard and playsby the rules, as President Bill Clinton once said, gets all theopportunities they deserve.

“My opponent, Sen. McCain, is an honorable and courageouswarrior. But with all due respect, he is the one not ready to bePresident. He stands firmly against all of the principles I justoutlined. He is not ready to end tax cuts for the wealthy. Notready to defend a woman's right to choose. Not ready to guaranteehealth insurance for all Americans. I can go on and on.

“Worst of all, he is not ready to break with the BushAdministration, which he criticizes freely, yet mimics in policyevery chance he gets.

“No, my fellow Americans. John McCain is not ready to lead thiscountry–not if he insists on leading us in the direction set byPresident George W. Bush, who has taken us into a wrongheaded war,into massive federal deficits, into recession, into the worsthousing crisis since the Depression, and into shameful disregard ofcivil rights and the rule of law.

“Are you ready for a McCain presidency? No? I didn't thinkso.

“Are you ready for an Obama presidency? Then vote for me on Nov.4, and I promise I will not disappoint you.”