The Democratic Party and I are parting ways in this year's election. It has wandered way too far from the likes of someone like Harry S. Truman. He was a man who represented loyalty to country and both courage and decisiveness in difficult times.

Presently, people are responding to Barack Obama's call for "change." Change for the sake of change can be dangerous, particularly as it relates to this year's presidential race. During the Democratic primary period, before the Clintons jumped on the Obama bandwagon, Hillary had this to say of Sen. Obama: "His perceived strength as a leader, is actually a weakness: His desire to bring people together may make him seem high-minded and likable, but in trying to be all things to all people he winds up avoiding difficult decisions — i.e., he votes 'present' instead of yes or no."

"'Present' is an appropriate response if someone is taking roll call to see who is in the room. It is a terribly inadequate response on the part of a legislator who is supposed to represent his people and enact laws that will be of benefit to them. How can you bring about change when you vote present?"

The Clinton camp chided him for his positions on Iraq funding, health care, border security, prison sentencing, capital punishment and a dozen other issues. Said former President Clinton, "There is a big difference between talking and acting, between promising and delivering." (Newsweek, Jan. 21, 2008).

John McCain, a man of courage, is chided by the media for voting with President Bush 90 percent of the time. Let's turn that around. That means that one out of 10 times he disagreed with the president and had the tenacity to vote accordingly. I wonder how many Democrats in Congress could say they crossed party lines once in every 10 votes. Sen. Obama voted with his party 97 percent of the time. It is hard to conceive of how we can bring about "change" if we are led by someone as indecisive as Barack Obama.

I hope others will join me in supporting John McCain and his vice presidential choice, Sarah Palin. As governor of Alaska, she has brought about significant change. She cleaned up corruption within her own Republican Party, and her action on the Alaskan pipeline can help diminish our country's dependence on foreign oil.

Herb Greene

Black River