The choice in this presidential election could not be more stark.

On the one hand, you've got John McCain -- a war hero, vastly experienced senator, foreign policy expert, bipartisan to a fault, who's talking about freezing federal spending and lowering taxes at a time when we desperately need both.

When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democrats had proclaimed the Iraq war lost -- declared that the United States had lost, and readily accepted it! -- John McCain didn't accept defeat. Almost alone in his belief that the war was winnable, McCain prodded the administration and rallied the country to win in Iraq.

Ironically, he's been a victim of the surge's success: It has gone so well that it eliminated Iraq, and his role in saving it, as a campaign issue.

History will appreciate his courage and vision, even if many present-day voters do not.

On the other hand, you've got Barack Obama, whose accomplishments and experience are difficult for even ardent supporters to recite. Asked about Obama's qualifications to be president, Bill Clinton himself timidly said the Constitution decides that: 35 years of age and a natural-born citizen. That speaks volumes.

Any other year, this race wouldn't be a race. But two-term presidents rarely win admiration for their party, and George W. Bush has managed to further undercut the Republican brand by alienating even his conservative base. Yet, as McCain noted so pointedly at the last debate, Obama isn't running against Bush.

In a race between the two men on Tuesday's ballot, it's not even a close question. John McCain has the experience. He has one of the most impressive and extensive bipartisan records in an increasingly partisan Congress, whereas Obama almost never deviates from the Democratic line.

But the biggest difference is what makes this what we all agree is the most important election of our lives: John McCain sees government as the problem, where Barack Obama sees it as the solution.

Our Founding Fathers didn't think government was the problem -- they knew it was. They had first-hand experience with an imperious, money-hungry, unrepresentative ruling class. So they wrote a framework for government that eyed government with suspicion. It's called our Constitution.

Out of expedience, ambition or sheer ideological hostility, Barack Obama has made it clear in his own words that he considers the Constitution an impediment to what he wants government to do.

This is a fundamental and exceedingly profound difference between the two men -- and between the America you know today and the country you may not recognize tomorrow.

John McCain stands between us and that country.

It's not the first time he's stood for us. He survived more than four years in a prisoner of war camp. He has persevered through an often difficult career and campaign -- being written off at one point last year. He has weathered certifiably biased national media reporting and a climate heavily favoring his opponent. And yet, here he is -- within striking distance of the White House.

To paraphrase a line in the movie A Few Good Men , we need him on that wall. America is at risk from enemies abroad and the temptations of socialism at home.

Even in the so-called "red" states of Georgia and South Carolina, John McCain needs your vote because we need him.

Stone, Chambliss need our support

John Stone needs your vote Tuesday for 12th District Congress.

A rock-ribbed, Charlie Norwood Republican, Stone is in a tight race with incumbent Democrat John Barrow. Every vote will count.

Even if you aren't a card-carrying conservative, the notion of an overwhelmingly partisan Washington should concern you. The check-and-balance of one more Republican in a Democratic House or Senate will help prevent ill-considered policy from getting through.

The danger of lopsided government is even more acute in the Senate, where 60 of 100 votes can silence the other 40. That's why Saxby Chambliss also needs your vote Tuesday. His one vote could mean the difference between considered debate and rubber-stamped decisions.

We're especially excited about John Stone. As a former aide to former congressmen Max Burns and Charlie Norwood, Stone knows Washington -- but as a government-hands-off conservative, he remembers where he came from.