Grumpy old men vs. Cool hand Luke

Last night we saw an angry 72 year-old man try to pick a fight with an calm, intelligent, rationale, and eloquent 48 year-old . Obama treated his opponent with class and respect. He refused to take a shot at Palin, even though she was just indicted for abuse of power, and conducted himself in a congenial manner. John McCain just seemed angry, he continued to interrupt Obama, roll his eyes while Obam was talking, and behave as if the line for the Apple-bees early bird special was just to long. Now, all the people who wanted McCain to get tough might have loved this performance but they were going to vote for McCain anyway. Behaving like a cranky old man just does not move swing voters. I was struck by how much McCain was patronizing, he did not laugh, he sneered. He did not talk or have a conversation with Obama, instead he was condescending. Contrast that with how Obama behaved towards McCain. Obama was cool, he was calm, he was polite. Obama was able to compliment McCain (for standing up to Bush on torture) and to thank him for his service to our country. Obama never once made faces, used air quotes, or was sarcastic. Perhaps this explains why so many intellectual conservatives or voting for McCain. They do not like the childish games and baseless smers that are coming from their side and have instead decided to vote for the candidate who they feel will be the best person for the country.( I know this idea sounds strange) I have been following politics avidly since Mr Carraway, (6th grade history teacher in 88) showed us all three Bush vs. Dukakis debates. I have never seen so many writers, thinkers, commentators, Bush White House employees, etc. come out for the other party's candidate. If you want to vote for McCain that is fine, but a thinking, rationale person must question and reexamine their long held beliefs. Oh, and that is a good thing!
Here is the evidence: Remember these are all people who are thinking conservatives and voted for Bush, like yours truly-

1. David Brooks said in response to McCain putting Palin on the ticket "McCain threw away standards and experience and prudence by this pick."
2. Charles Krauthammer said "Palin was not ready for prime time"
3. David Frum (Bush speechwriter) said "Palin has thoroughly, and probably irretrievably, has proven she is not up to the job."
4. Kathleen Parker (writing in the national review) said Palin was "clearly out of her league" and "urged her to bow out."
5. George Will slammed McCain for his "fact-free slander, his substitution of vehemence for coherence and boiling moral ism."
6. Peggy Noonan (a favorite writer of Susan) said she was unsure of who she was voting for and said "ahh, umnn, I'm thinking it through. " She was also caught saying, when she thought her mike was off, that Palin was a "joke and a lightweight."
7. Wick Allison ( former publisher of the national review) wrote Bush has "produced financial mismanagement, the waste of human lives, the loss of moral authority, and the wreckage of our economy......Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in history.
8. Christopher Hittichens (a giant intellect who spent years defending the Iraq War) said, "the Republican party has invited not just defeat but discredit this year, and both its nominees for the highest offices in the land should be decisively repudiated."
9. Christopher Buckley (Natioanl review columnist and son of William Buckley) said, "Obama has the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader, and so, for the first time, I'll be pulling the democratic lever in November."
All of these quotes can be sourced from today's L.A. times.
All of these thinking conservatives must make you reexamine your long-held political ideology. If you want to vote for McCain go ahead, I did not start this blog to get anyone to change their minds, all I want you to do is think! I am curious as to what my readers think about so many conservatives going for Obama. Why did they not go for Kerry, Gore, or even Clinton? I look forward to your responses: