To the editor:

When Wick Allison, former publisher of the conservative National Review, recently made a conservative’s case both for Obama and against McCain, I was shocked. But only briefly. True conservatives value a strong economy, and while this does not mean full government control, it also does not mean the complete Gramm/McCain deregulation that has led to financial disaster.

True conservatives value a strong defense, but that does not necessarily entail peace through militaristic adventurism, as McCain supported in Iraq and now supports for Iran. Strength includes diplomacy, which Obama called for with Iran and for which he was mocked.

But a true conservative was not surprised when five former Secretaries of State, including Powell, Baker and Kissinger, recently said talks were the right course of action. A true conservative values low taxes, but does not fall for giveaways to the rich and certainly doesn’t support paying interest on over $7 trillion in debt and leading our financial institutions looking for foreign capital to survive.

It is hard to see how a true conservative can support McCain when his policies don’t conserve anything, and instead spend our wealth, military might and prestige.

Paul Atchley,
Lawrence