What does John McCain want to accomplish? What vision does he have for this country's future? Where does he want this country to be 4 years from now?

There are usually 4 themes in a presidential race: why Candidate A should be president, why Candidate A shouldn't be president, why Candidate B should be president, and why Candidate B shouldn't be president. But in the 2008 race, we are missing one of those themes: why Candidate B (John McCain) should be president.

We have seen McCain's advertising: he promotes Obama as popular and charming, the ads look like they promote Obama with the sound turned down, and yet the question becomes "Is he ready to lead?"

You could construe a "positive" message in there that says, "John McCain is ready to lead." But it's never said or even inferred. Based on McCain's numerous misstatements, one candidate looks ready and it isn't McCain.

He has been the presumptive Republican Party nominee since February. He ran for president in 2000. He has been around Washington a long time. And yet, John McCain can't offer to us why he wants to be president.

Democrats have done a better job than Republicans in telling the people why they want to be commander-in-chief. So McCain is likely taking a page from the Republican playbook.

And it's also possible McCain, having no ideas despite his "experience," has thrown out his efforts to run a clean campaign since negative attacks have success and disguise a lack of reasons to vote for him and not against Barack Obama.

Despite the media bias, you would hope that someone in some way would ask McCain, "Just why do you want to be president?" Not in a "I want to elect conservative judges" fashion or even "I want to spend 100 years in Iraq" kind of way, but in a "this is what I want to do for Americans" mantra.

So McCain is afraid to tell us, you tell us why you think McCain wants to be president. You don't have to imagine you're him (ewwwww, old people smell), but give us a reason or two. Technorati Tags: Be-Elected [6] Chad Rubel [7] 2008 race [8] Barack Obama [9] John McCain [10] negative campaigning [11] president [12]