Is Obama 'Ready' To Be President?

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

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

Here goes:

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

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

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

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

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

“I am ready to guarantee universal health insurance for all Americans.

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

“I am ready to shore up Social Security to fulfill the promises made to tens of millions counting on the system to help sustain them during retirement.

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

“I am ready to restore the rule of law in the United States–to end the use of torture and reestablish due process in the handling of prisoners, while putting a stop to unreasonable and often illegal searches and seizures abusing the civil rights of our own citizens.

“I am ready to work with our allies and engage those opposed to our interests head on to reestablish our credibility in the world and 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 tax cuts to working class folks and small-businesses that need them most.

“I am ready to make sure our regulators protect the public welfare rather than just the industries they are assigned to oversee.

“I am ready to come to the aid of communities in need following disasters–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 government agencies who will tirelessly work to secure the public's safety and health, people who believe in the government's ability to improve the lives of our citizens–especially those most vulnerable.

“I am ready to make sure that our brave men and women in uniform are given the best of medical care when injured on the battlefield, are helped in making the transition back to civilian life, and do not have their volunteer service exploited through back-door drafts and abuse of the National Guard.

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

“My opponent, Sen. McCain, is an honorable and courageous warrior. But with all due respect, he is the one not ready to be President. He stands firmly against all of the principles I just outlined. He is not ready to end tax cuts for the wealthy. Not ready to defend a woman's right to choose. Not ready to guarantee health insurance for all Americans. I can go on and on.

“Worst of all, he is not ready to break with the Bush Administration, which he criticizes freely, yet mimics in policy every chance he gets.

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

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

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