At the time of this writing it is starting to seem probable, at least to me, that this November’s presidential race might come down to McCain vs. Obama. Now that’s an election I can smile about.

If I had to choose now, I’d probably choose McCain. But if Obama won I’d still be delighted. I think that both candidates know how to compromise and unify, yet remain true idealists and not chameleons. It’s a tough mix of attributes to find, and I believe both men have it.

This is not to say that I’m unaware of the dangers and weaknesses of each. McCain is getting older, and the US presidency is murder (literally as well as metaphorically sometimes); also, if he’s elected, the Republicans are likely to crow victory again instead of feeling the reproach that they should. Obama would not be as canny as McCain on the foreign policy front, and if too anxious to please, could whipsaw us into a worse place than we are now. (Never say things can’t get worse. Anyone who says that has too little experience or imagination. It can always get worse.)

Speaking of getting worse, imagine a November contest between, say, Romney and Clinton. No matter who won that one, America would lose; the other 49.5% of the population would seriously get their hate on. Just imagine what kind of passions could be stirred after about 16 years of partisanship oscillating out of control like the Tacoma-Narrows bridge. The only winners would be Civil War buffs looking for some new source material.

I suppose my dream ticket would be McCain as president and Obama as the veep. Failing that, I’m hopeful that either victory would send a message to the divisive hacks that keep stealing all the ink that most of America is no longer interested in us-vs-them politics.