Let me direct your attention to this essay written by one Marshall Wittman. He’s a self-identified Teddy Roosevelt-style conservative who has worked in the past for the Christian Coalition and Sen. John McCain. And he intends to vote for John Kerry. His reasons why make for an interesting read, especially because he doesn’t see himself as surrendering his conservative beliefs or his desire to see a “a new politics of national greatness.”

Here’s a couple of stand-out passages to whet your appetite:

Incompetence and hubris in the defense of liberty are not virtues.

 

Despite Bush’s pledge to restore a culture of responsibility, no one was held accountable for either the WMD fiasco or the post-war foul-up. Apparently, accountability only applies to low-income welfare mothers and not to high-ranking Pentagon officials.

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In the war against terror, it is vital that America be united. We have real enemies who seek to do us harm. Contrary to the conspiracy theories of Michael Moore and the loony left, Bush did not invent our enemies. But, despite all his bravado and swagger, he has made it more difficult to build a domestic and international political coalition to ultimately prevail against our terrorist adversaries. He has bred distrust by driving a cynical partisan agenda that seeks to reward the wealthy, while branding his political adversaries as vaguely unpatriotic.

 

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have waged an unprecedentedly cynical and divisive campaign. The campaign has proven that there are no guard rails when it comes to a scorched-earth effort to hold on to power. However, Democrats can seize the opportunity to reach out to disaffected moderate Republicans and independents to build a new political coalition of national unity. That is both the hope and the cause of this unreconstructed Bull Moose.