Trust and Politics Don't Belong Together

I've never been into politics. I'm pretty cynical when it comes to all that bull, and this essay fortified my beliefs. I wasn't quite 18 when the last election rolled around, but I definitely wouldn't have voted for McCain. After reading this, the whole voting process seems like something I'd like to avoid in the future, and yet, something that is extremely important for me to take part in. Wallace drove the point home that all politicians want is your vote and will do anything to get it, even if it means putting on a huge show. The way he did it was pretty awesome, and that's because he first would make me feel like McCain was indeed a pretty swell guy, with his war story and "human-like" behavior. Numerous times while reading I started to reconsider my view on McCain, but just as soon as I would begin to do so Wallace would point out the rhetoric behind his actions. As he pointed out, the only real thing that there is to believe about McCain is that he made an insanely brave decision in the POW camp. This is something that I completely respect, and for this alone wish that he'd won the primary instead of Bush (I'm not from Texas... can't say I'm a fan, even with very little political involvement/focus).
I don't want to just say what all of you have already said, because that would be boring to reread. I agree that Wallace is fantastic; I liked how informal and "cool" he writes. If I were ever to become a writer, this is how I would strive to write like. Hearing that everything politicians say is calculated and only done to win votes, no matter how much they seem otherwise, from Wallace seemed more convincing than just observing it for myself. For instance, had I seen the Chris Duren incident on television back in the day (at my present age... when I was 9 I think I would've complained about having to watch such a thing and pulled out my Gameboy Color)I would've suspected that it was staged. Clearly, as Wallace pointed out, it was too convenient a time for it to occur. But having him reinforce my belief with his own rhetoric (he connected very well with me, I'm pretty sure that I'm his intended audience in both age and attitude) made my belief more sure and more rooted in my mind. Even though this essay was, yes, very long, I felt like it was easier to read than Trip to Hanoi because it was written knowing that people like me were going to read it. He knew how to keep me interested, when to throw in humor, when to remind me that he works for Rolling Stone. Even the title comes from just a small little observation he made about a "character" he interacted with that wasn't a boring journalist but a funny guy that could very well be an Uncle or something. I admit that I'm falling for his rhetorical agenda, but it's because I share basically the same viewpoint on the matter as he does.
Basically, I liked the essay, learned things about campaigning that I didn't know, reinforced my own beliefs and would have voted for McCain over Bush regardless of the acting, based purely on what happened in Vietnam.