Dear Senator McCain:

Before you completely disregard my letter because I’m one of those annoying conservative radio talk show hosts, I hope you’ll consider the fact that over the past few weeks, I’ve been getting a ton of flak for supporting your expected candidacy.

I have to admit that you weren’t my first choice. Fred Thompson was my pick as I felt he best embodied the type of Republican best suited to run our country during these challenging times.

But as a Republican, supporting you now is a remarkably easy task. The two simple reasons for defending you are: 1) Barack Obama and 2) Hillary Clinton. Despite what Ann Coulter says, handing over the keys to the White House to a liberal Democrat would be a disaster.

So I’ve been doing my best to remind my radio audience about the importance of future Supreme Court justices, how solid you’d be in trying to keep our country as safe as possible against the threat of Islamic terrorists, the ongoing need to preserve and protect the sanctity of life, the crucial defense of the right to keep and bear arms, and all the other reasons why a Republican – any Republican – would be more preferable to the Democrats.

And you know what? I sensed that I was persuading the cynics. I know you have a spotty track record on the subject of illegal immigration, but you keep saying that you’re hearing the American people now and you absolutely understand the need to secure the border. I realize that campaign finance reform is a sore spot for many, but practically speaking, that’s only a life or death issue to mostly inside-the-beltway-ers.

I could hear it in my callers. Even the most ardent McCain-basher was starting to come around. Person after person called to tell me that I was convincing them of the importance of keeping Obama or Clinton out of the Oval Office.

And then along came Cincinnati.

Bill Cunningham is an Ohio institution. The veteran conservative radio host has influenced and entertained listeners like me for years. And when I saw that he was slated to introduce you at a Cincinnati rally, I thought that was quite an achievement for your campaign. After all, Willie is a red meat conservative, the type of guy who hasn’t been exactly brimming with excitement over your success.

As we all know by now, he got up on stage and railed against the Democrats. He did what he does on the radio. He complained about the media’s love affair with liberal politicians and he referred to Sen. Obama by his full name.

So Sen. McCain, I’ve gotta ask: whose bright idea was it for you to run to the microphones and cameras afterwards and act as if Cunningham had smothered a puppy on stage?

Was it you, sir? You actually felt a need to formally apologize for a speaker to refer to Obama by his full name?

I spoke to Bill Cunningham right after this entire episode. As you might have heard, he is now positively furious with you. I believe his exact words were, “There is now no way I will vote for Juan Pablo McCain after he threw me under the wheels of the Straight Talk Express Bus.”

And all of this just as you were gaining some ground with a bunch of worried conservatives.

I’ve really spent a lot of time wondering why you had to give such a passionate apology for Cunningham’s remarks. I suppose you thought it would be best to “nip it in the bud”, that if you didn’t, you would get eviscerated by the media.

But wouldn’t it have been just as effective to report that you didn’t hear his remarks, that he was entitled to his opinion, and Barack Hussein Obama is, after all, the man’s name? I mean, I heard that you said you didn’t ever recall meeting Cunningham, yet he told me you’ve met him on more than one occasion, even having dinner with him one night! Continued...