From a reader in the active-duty military:

Put me in the camp of those who have reluctantly come to believe that McCain is the candidate to support in the Republican primary. If I could annoint a candidate, it would be The Fred. I actually care passionately about immigration and free speech, and I really didn’t think I could forgive McCain for his positions on those issues, but here is my reasoning:
1) McCain-Feingold: while it seems like it should be unconstitutional, in practice, it has proven to be pretty easy to work around. Even a poorly financed candidate like Huckabee has been able to get his message out.
2) Immigration: for all his faults, I think McCain will be a man of his word in this respect: he has agreed to “certifying” that the border is secure. This is a bigger concession than most seem willing to credit him for. It moves the goalpost substantially in favor of the enforcement side of the equation, an on an issue that has already proven to be susceptible to grass roots activism. To the extent he has a defining principle, it would be keeping his word. I think we can hold his straight talking feet to the fire on this promise.
3) Gang of 14: Mehhh, seems like, if not an I-told-you-so moment, then at least the the minority has preserved some rights against the emerging Democratic majority that Republicans might need sooner than they thought possible at the time of the deal.
4) Judges: I think any replacements he picked for Stevens or Ginsberg would move the court to the right. Exactly how far right is hard to say. I’d predict an O’Connor, not a Thomas, but that is still an improvement over a Justice Bill Clinton. While there is no predicting court changes, it seems like there is a good chance he will be a net plus.
5) National Security: He is one of a few whom I could see sitting down across a table from Vlad Putin and not be worried for our side. Sadly, Mitt and Huck fail this test in my book (I could see Rudy and Fred here as well, but no others). I also think that he is just crazy enough that the Chinese would think twice before messing with our computer systems.
6) Spending: He has the best small government street cred by far. At this point, I rate lower spending as a higher priority than lower taxes.
7) Coattails: Because of #6, I think he is best situated to nationalize the House elections. By recruiting and campaigning for smaller government Republicans, he could re-brand the party like nobody since Gingrich.
8) The half-a-loaf theory: Our search should not be for the purest embodiment of our ideals, but for the person most likely to get the majority of our agenda accomplished. McCain is in the best position to win if nominated, and that has to be factored into anyone’s thinking.
9) Finally, lets face it, the country needs some healing. Realistically, only McCain or Obama have a hope of doing this, since both transcend their party to a degree. Of the two, I’d much prefer McCain.
I also think that the worst outcome is for McCain to win but feel that he owes conservatives nothing. Hopefully, if he starts to pull out to an insurmountable lead, conservatives can rally to the flag for the general election.

Not bad. For my part, there’s no way I vote for John McCain any sooner than this November.