I recently had a conversation with a young friend who expressed his displeasure at the lack of conservative candidates in this presidential election cycle. His feeling, shared my many on the right, is obviously that John McCain is not a “real” conservative. I’ve heard this sentiment from many conservatives in the past few months - from high profile squawkers like Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson to rank and file folks in my everyday life. I’m more than a little sympathetic to their complaints. I myself have spent no small amount of mental energy since the New Hampshire primary trying to come to terms with the reality that John McCain will be the Republican (and by extension, conservative) standard bearer for 2008.

The list of conservative grievances against McCain is long, but I think the least forgivable are McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform (I challenge you to find a bigger legislative travesty), his vote against the Bush tax cuts, and his participation in the so-called Gang of 14.

These are not small things to get over. For a period of a few years, McCain seemed to almost gleefully thwart the will of the Republican party at every opportunity. However, much like a friend or family member who has done something to wrong you, the time has come to forgive McCain’s past transgressions and get behind his candidacy. There are a few very good reasons for this:

1. McCain Could Actually Win

It’s trite to say that McCain is still better than Obama or Clinton, but what’s more important is that McCain gives Republicans a good chance of retaining the White House even after a decidedly unpopular second term for Bush. This is something that Democrats couldn’t do, even after what everyone (in the media at least) seems to agree was a highly popular Clinton presidency. I had some concern early in the primary process that McCain might be somewhat of a Bob Dole - the aging war hero senator who has waited his turn to become the (losing) nominee. But even though he’s been out of the news for all intents and purposes since he wrapped up the nomination weeks ago, McCain is either ahead of or even with Obama and Clinton in every major poll while those two have been dominating the headlines for months.

2. McCain Stands for Good Government

Nancy Reagan’s recent endorsement of McCain is an important reminder of his role as a good soldier in the Reagan revolution. McCain walks the walk when it comes to out of control government spending. That’s something that can’t be said for Bush. McCain speaks out regularly about wasteful government spending, and I believe he’s sincere about wanting to reform the disastrous earmark system and eliminate the pork. It almost makes his vote against the Bush tax cuts more palatable when he cites the lack of accompanying spending cuts as the reason for his vote. Almost.

3 . McCain Has it Right on National Security

This is far and away the most important issue for me, specifically in terms of the threat of global Islamic extremism. The more I read and study about this issue, the clearer it becomes to me that it is the defining issue of our time. I see what’s going on in Europe and elsewhere in the world. America needs a president who gets it. McCain gets it. He’s been right on Iraq all the way. His National Security credentials are, in my opinion, unassailable. If you have time, watch this appearance on Meet the Press where McCain has the whole hour. I think you’ll see what I mean.

So, needless to say, I will not only be voting for McCain, I will be actively supporting him. He’s far from perfect, but I think he’s the best a conservative like me could hope for in 2008. Do the right thing. Put the past behind you, and vote McCain.