This is it. The final days, the home stretch. We head into the weekend and then to the polls on Tuesday for what might just be one of the most important elections of our lifetime.

I don’t ever remember feeling so tired.

I’m tired of hearing people try to make excuses for people like John Kerry. I’m tired of hearing pollsters and pundits project a big victory for Democrats this Tuesday. I’m tired of hearing the vicious, bitter attacks on our President’s character by the likes of people like Keith Olbermann, a pseudo-intellectual Manhattan elitist who appears to be having the sort of on-air meltdown that the fictitious movie newsman Howard Beale of ‘Network’ had. I’m tired of the mainstream press relishing every bit of bad news out of Iraq or about the economy, while virtually ignoring all the positive stuff.

Most of all, I’m just tired of fighting.

But I’m not close to stopping. The stakes are too high. There might just be enough people on the fence that could be persuaded into doing the right thing on November 7th. And so I’m going to try.

Like it or not, political parties are defined by their most prominent members. We Republicans have had our share of headaches and embarrassments. Neither party is without its gaffes.

But at the end of the day, I’ll put the prominent Republican leaders up against the Democrats of 2006 any time. And we’ll all be able to agree that there is a world of difference between the two.

Just consider the people who help to make up the heart and soul of the Democratic Party: Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, Alcee Hastings, Marion Berry, Rosie O’Donnell, Barbara Boxer, and Barbra Streisand.

Compare that list to some of the more notable Republicans: George W. Bush, Denny Hastert, Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Sean Hannity, Rudy Guiliani, George Allen, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Dick Cheney, John Cornyn, and just about every country music singer in America.

C’mon, it’s not even a close call. Face it, the Democrats are a bunch of angry, bitter, cynical people with no direction, no strategy, and certainly not a whole lot of positive things to say about the USA. The Republicans just feel like, well, the grown-ups.

A war is a very grown-up thing. It might not be as exotic as worrying about what global warming is going to do to snail darters in Antarctica, but terrorism threatens us all. Personally, I’d prefer to take my chances with the ozone over a bunch of angry fanatics who think chopping off my head or blowing up my airplane will send them to heaven.

We have to act like grown-ups. It might seem intriguing to fret about diversity, but our children and our children’s children are counting on us to keep our country safe. And we are in way better shape with the grown-ups in charge than handing over the keys to the car to Ted Kennedy.

I was fascinated by the way Americans reacted to John Kerry’s incredible slur against our troops this week. Sure, there was anger and passion and plenty of hurt feelings. But do you know what didn’t really occur? Hate. That blind, red hot hate that so many Democrats have for honorable people like George W. Bush.

It appears that Democrats made a decision to make our President the focal point of most of their smear campaigns. They figure that if they can attack Bush while running a campaign ad for Congress, voters will be inspired to vote for the Democrat.

Well, as he once famously said: Bring it on. I’ll stack his integrity and guts up against most of these folks on the left any day of the week.

I’m just not willing to believe that voters will be so gullible as to let the Dems win next week.. I can’t accept the possibility that we’ll allow the hateful, vengeful Democrats to gleefully attempt to turn our country into an unholy mess for the next couple of years. No matter what anyone thinks of President Bush’s decisions, I just refuse to think that we’re ready to stomach a party that might just very well try to impeach our commander-in-chief during wartime if they take control of the House and Senate.

Like most Republican leaders in America today, I believe in my country. I have faith that we’ll do the right thing next week. I am proud of our troops, I pray for our President, and I love the United States of America.

We’re a nation that has witnessed a lot of miracles. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see one more this coming Tuesday.