There’s no doubt about it that John McCain supports national service and the push for volunteerism. After all, he and Senator Evan Bayh launched the “Call to Service Act” in 2001 which pushed to expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 participants. And again in 2003, he worked to convince President Bush to not cut funding for the program.

“John McCain has constantly spoken to the need for young Americans to serve a cause greater than their self-interest,” says McCain spokesman Joseph Pounder.

Yet, despite his support and encouragement for national service, he has not committed to a plan for expansion or transformation as reported by the article, “McCain Has No National Service Plan” on Politico.com. Although his campaign centers on working for a cause greater than oneself, there’s no commitment, no plan…nothing.

Despite the perfect timing and support from young and old Americans alike, McCain’s lack of commitment to a national service plan has many baffled. Time Magazine summed it up best in “The Cause for National Service,” which stated that in 2002, 70% of Americans thought universal service was a good idea. “…the next President can harness the spirit of volunteerism that already exists and make it a permanent part of American culture.” So what’s stopping him?

Even Barack Obama, McCain’s opponent, has created a plan committed to expanding national service. However, his is quite the opposite with an extensive proposal to dramatically expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, adding 65,000 members to the military and creating an annual $4,000 tax credit for post-secondary education in exchange for 100 hours of community service.

Moreover, with increasing support from young Americans to serve their nation and the baby boomers looking to more service opportunities, the need for a plan is more exigent than ever. These national service programs “remain overwhelmingly popular among the young people who are the most likely to participate in them.” And since McCain isn’t considered the hippest lad among young people, it seems increasingly wise to take this time to appeal to them. If they see McCain’s efforts to increase funding and expand national service programs, perhaps they will feel as if their requests are being heard…that they as young Americans are being heard.

In addition, those on the other side of the spectrum will be given the opportunities that they seek in place of retirement. Partnership for Public Service reported that the “baby boomer generation is healthier and more educated than all preceding generations…instead of retiring from the workplace altogether as they have typically done, older Americans are increasingly looking to take on new professional challenges.” They also report that with age comes expertise: the need for skilled professionals in federal service positions can be met with this generation. With this push from older Americans, a plan to expand membership of AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps seems like the only logical thing to do.

Being supportive of volunteerism is not enough for McCain’s campaign. As young and old Americans pursue a commitment of national service action from the next president, McCain has 2 options. First, he can formulate his own plan of commitment or second, he can back Obama’s plan and verbally support the extensive details involved in it. If he continues to evade the issue, “this ‘take-action’ generation will most likely gravitate to the candidate who makes service a central part of their message.” With that in mind, Obama has the one-up on McCain.