I consider myself a centrist. I believe that America is Purple, just like it says in the title, and that the greatest wisdom is found in the center between the right and the left but this election is making me so mad I’m about to turn blue. To be quite honest, I think the Republicans are going to win this one. I hope not, but their attack machine is too good at what they do. I saw it at work tonight at day two (well, one and a half) of the RNC. I’ve heard of double standards, but the Republican standards machine makes the IRS’ tax code look like a children’s book. “Experience matters when it’s our candidate that has the experience. If our candidate has little experience, then the type of experience they have is worth more than the experience the other guys have even if the experience the other guys have is the same as our other candidate.” It’s mind boggling.
A liberal blogger wrote the other day on the nomination of Governor Palin that democrats should be very careful in attacking Palin because the Republicans are experts at making weakness appear to be strength. That was in full force tonight. My first thoughts after reading up on Palin were “It’s a Trap!” I call it Rovian judo. You get a candidate that is likable and relatible for the segment of the country that falls for such things, then anytime anyone attacks them, it becomes an elitist attack from those damn liberals that think they’re so much better than you with their “Experience” and “Judgment.” It’s how Bush got elected twice. Weakness is Strength. And if the media, even the conservative owned portion which is quite large these days, attacks your candidate with facts about them that you don’t like, well it’s that damn liberal media attacking good people just like you again. Aren’t they mean? I counted several caustic statements in tonight’s speeches directly aimed at painting the media as being friends of the democrats despite the study showing that the media is critical of Obama 78% of the time. If everyone thinks the media is biased, they’ll ignore even legitimate questions about your candidate’s character or experience. So it pays, even when the media is on your side, to always attack the media.
And in the other game I played tonight, which had it been a drinking game I would have stayed quite sober, I counted 5 minorities in the crowd at the RNC. I’m not sure, but I may have been counting the same one a couple times. I’ll have to get some drinks for tomorrow night. Not sure it’d make watching this any more bearable.
What with Obama taking a well deserved and strategic vacation this week, I thought I would focus in on the other candidate in this race. I’ve previously discussed my general disgust with his complete about face from eight years ago when I supported him for President over both George Bush and Al Gore, however I felt that if I’m calling myself a centrist I should at least attempt to see the better side of John McCain. He has not been making it terribly easy and it’s only Tuesday. On the heels of his celebrity ad showing Obama as a vapid celebritard the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, his latest ad makes the bold (and completely untrue) claim that Obama will raise the taxes of anyone making $42,000 per year or more. (Obama’s tax plan would actually double McCain’s tax cuts to people making less than $100,000 per year.) Then there’s his latest rhetorical dick-waving at Russia over the invasion of Georgia (the country, not the state. Red Dawn Southern Style averted!) McCain either thinks that the cold war is still going on, or he would like to start World War III. Due to the two wars we’re fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan we simply do not have any spare troops available to take on Russia, so threatening them is just silly at best. As you can see, I’m not off to a very good start at liking McCain. To try and balance this out a little, here’s a few positive things I can say about him.
1)“He has a comprehensive energy policy.” In the same way that the McCain camp has tried to paint Obama’s energy plan as just “Inflate your tires,” Obama’s camp has painted McCain’s policy as “Drill for it!” Neither one is true. McCain’s energy policy also includes new nuclear plants, and wind and solar energy. I prefer Obama’s emphasis on new technology and innovation (and dislike his pushing ethanol which has a very low bang for the buck and contributes to the hike in food costs), but McCain’s energy policy is at least a far cry from the “Hey, our friends in the oil industry are making a killing! Suck it!” energy policy of George W. Bush.
2)“He at least admits there’s a problem with our economy.” Our current president does not believe there is anything wrong with the good ole US of A. While I don’t think he’s the best person to lead us out of this mess, McCain is still light-years ahead of Bush in at least acknowledging that there is, in fact, a problem.
3) “He has a history of bi-partisanship.” While the last eight years have seen John McCain make the arduous journey to the far right, he has in the past been much less partisan. In the quest to clinch his party’s nomination and fire up his party’s base, McCain has adopted the vast majority (94%) of Bush’s policies. This stands in stark contrast to his previous record of level-headed pragmatism. One can hope (although all the signs lately disagree with the possibility) that if elected, John McCain would return to his more even-handed roots. A return to the John McCain of 2000, while unlikely, would be most welcome. If, having won the election, he is able to wrest his soul back from the devil it could mean good things for the country.
4)“He has a sense of humor.” Sure it comes off now more like Grandpa telling bad jokes around the table at thanksgiving dinner, but he at least still is capable of acknowledging the existence of humor. Before his shift to the right, he was a favorite on the Daily Show with John Stewart and showed a lot of wit and charm. Lately his jokes have been falling flat. A senator making such jokes is one thing, a candidate for president is a bit scary (cause you’re never 100% sure if “Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran” is a joke or not), but at least he’s making an effort. I kind of wish he’d return to the self-deprecating humor he’s used in the past. Given his charge that Obama is an over-inflated celebrity, it might help his cause. If nothing else it would help him to be a bit more likable provided he doesn’t overdo it and end up in the Lieberman “Woe is me” zone.
Okay, so most of the things I’m able to find likable about McCain are nostalgic memories from eight years ago, but I can at least bring myself to believe that there is some good left in him, even if he is more neo-con now than maverick, twisted and sold-out. It’s a start.
A few weeks ago, now former McCain top economic adviser Phil Gramm got into all sorts of trouble, ultimately having to step down from his position, for saying that America is in a mental recession and that we are a nation of whiners. Oddly enough, I agree. I think the fact that we are in a mental recession is a huge reason why John McCain should not be elected president. Let me explain:
For those who do not know, our economy is not based on the gold standard, the silver standard, or any other standard. Our money is backed by the “Good faith of the American Government.” Which means that when people lose faith in the American Government (President with a 25% approval rating, congress lingering in the low teens) the economy tanks. (Borrowing $600 billion dollars from China doesn’t help either.)
Our economy is also based (quite a lot) on debt. When Americans borrow money from a bank, the bank isn’t loaning money that they have, they’re conjuring money into existence because our government allows banks to give bank credits in American currency. Thus every time a loan is granted, the American economy grows. If people are afraid that they will not be able to pay back their debts, or are afraid for their jobs, they don’t take out loans, or worse yet start defaulting on their loans. When people are unable to pay back their debts, the Economy shrinks dramatically. So in order for our economy to remain strong, people need to feel confident enough in their future to take out loans. So who would be better able to restore trust in the government and restore the people’s faith? The only cure for a mental recession is something that McCain openly scoffs at: Hope.
First some background on this post: The CEO of the company I work for has a very interesting political perspective and is frequently asking us thought provoking questions. Being as I am not terribly quick on my feet when it comes to verbal conversations (I’d never make it as a pundit,) I’ll attempt to answer his latest ones here. Supposedly how you answer these questions will tell you if you are actually a Republican or a Democrat.
1) Do we pay too much in taxes? Too little? Just enough?
My initial reaction would be that we pay to much tax, because quite frankly I hate having to pay taxes. However, given that we have borrowed $600 billion dollars from China and our national debt is skyrocketing thus lowering the value of the dollar to the point that Canadians are making “What’s that in real money” jokes at our expense instead of the other way around, it may just be possible that we might be paying too little on our taxes. Let me ask a question here, has there been a single war in history that was not financed in some way by a raising of taxes? (More on this in question 3)
2) Are our doctors the best in the world?
Nope, we’re 18th in the world as far as health care is concerned. Hanging out this past weekend listening to my mother-in-law’s stories (she’s a nurse) leaves me skeptical of the idea that our doctors are the best in the world. Best in the world or not, there are a lot of people in this country who do not have the privilege of seeing a doctor because the way our system is set up, the only people the insurance companies want to give health insurance to is the healthy. (Which is a sound business decision on their part, but kind of defeats the purpose.) Allowing hospitals to be for-profit enterprises in the best case leads to increased choices, higher quality, and better care than any type of socialized medicine. In the worst case, it leads to loss of caring for many of the people who need it most, especially from the all too often callous insurance companies. The real trick is to balance the needs of the patients with the needs of medical businesses to make money. How would you best ensure that balance?
3) Should we finish what we started in Iraq?
I counter your question with this question: What did we start in Iraq that we are supposed to finish? We went into Iraq originally because we believed that a) Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and b) Saddam was a threat to our interests and allies in the region. It turns out there were no WMDs in Iraq, and we captured and executed Saddam. Now we’re stuck in a 5 way civil war in Iraq, between us, the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Kurds, and “Al Qaeda in Iraq” and have spent $750 billion dollars ($600 billion of which we borrowed from China, as previously stated) with nothing to really show for it except $4/gallon gas. We have finished what we started and then some. Ignoring the ret-con’ed reasons for going to war, the real questions should be, “What constitutes victory in Iraq?” and “Is that victory attainable through any of our current means?”
4) Should we be able to determine where our tax money goes?
Oh heavens no. But we, the American people, should have a lot better oversight of where it does go. For instance, I’d like to know where that $9 billion went. I think the American people might be a bit more willing to pay thier taxes if they didn’t think that the government was wasting it ($50 for an ash-tray, $300 for a hammer, etc.) and if they are wasting the taxpayer’s money, there should be a national outcry and those in the government that authorized it should be held accountable. …and as long as I’m dreaming, I’d like a pony.
I am sorry to say that I am getting very sick of this election cycle. I made the tragic mistake of watching pundits. The media has been spinning their wheels, analyzing and analyzing back and forth. The pundits seem to think that they can tell what the mythical Average American Voter will glean from any minor flub or gaff. We haven’t even gotten to the conventions yet and we’re spending hours of our time analyzing every word or change of phrasing. The candidates have not said anything new in months. They say the same thing in a slightly different way and oh my God! Flip flop!
NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS! NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER IN NOVEMBER. THE ONLY THING THAT WILL MATTER IN NOVEMBER IS THE STUFF THAT HAPPENS IN LATE OCTOBER!
What I would like to see in the run-up to the election in November would be to take an issue a day and show us where each candidate stands and give us the argument for and against those positions. That’s all we need at that point. For now, I’m almost longing for the days of frivolous news stories. What is Brittany up to these days?
…I take it back. I’ll take this crap over that crap any day.
Today, America lost a great voice for truth. Tim Russert has died of an apparent heart attack. While I am not often a fan of pundits and the media in general, I must admit I teared up at the news. Tim Russert was one of only a few in the media who are able to seemingly transcend bias. His fact checking and commitment to the truth are legendary. He was able to get to the questions that truly mattered and cut through the political buzz and static like no-one else in the business. Watching him during this current election cycle, he has always had something truly insightful to say whenever he was on screen. He was truly among the best in the media for holding politicians on all sides to account and while no one could ever truly fill his shoes I sincerely hope that others in the media will follow his example in reporting the truth, doing the research necessary to get the truth, and holding politicians to answer to the truth. He will be truly and deeply missed. America is the less for his passing. My prayers are with his family and friends.
Professor Elwell, you’re a little man. It’s not that you’re short. You’re…little, in the mind and in the heart. Tonight, you tried to make a man little whose boots you couldn’t touch if you stood on tiptoe on top of the highest mountain in the world. And as it turned out…you’re even littler than you were before. - Mr. Shunderson, People will Talk (1951)
Eight years ago, as I have written about before, I supported John McCain for President. At the time he seemed larger than life, a straight shooter, and even if you didn’t always agree with him, you knew where he stood and could respect that. The intervening 8 years have managed to shrink Senator McCain to fit the standard Republican mold. Gone is the maverick, the centrist, the common sense senator from Arizona. Today he has a record of voting with President Bush 95% of the time at the same time he attempts to distance himself from the beleaguered president.
On Tuesday evening, before Clinton and Obama gave their speeches and before a hideous green screen, Senator McCain began an assault on the Democratic nominee. The speech was ungracious to say the least. Clinton’s speech next was also lacking in grace to the extreme, but while Clinton’s speech made me angry at Clinton for her complete denial of objective reality, McCain’s speech creeped me the hell out. I’ve seen John McCain on the Daily Show in better years and I know he has a sense of humor and have seen him genuinely laugh. Whenever he laughed or smiled during this speech, he looked like a rigid corpse. And while I do not approve of basing a voting decision on who looks better, I noticed that one of Senator McCain’s eyes is smaller than the other and I couldn’t stop staring at it, adding as it did to the creepiness factor. “Who is this man?” I shouted. Who is this doppelganger? What have you done to Senator McCain? Has he been body-snatched? Is there a thing living inside him poking through as the skin rots? See what I mean?
Obama’s speech on the other hand was gracious to both candidates and looked, dare I say, Presidential. See it here:
I recently had a conversation with a friend who is not a big fan of Senator Obama. He said that Obama is great at making speeches, but none of his supporters even know where he stands on the issues. Being that I am terrible at thinking on my feet in these types of situations, I didn’t really have an answer for that other than it seeming to be a critique more of the average Obama supporter than Obama himself, which I also did not state. If pressed I might have said that the average Obama supporter probably doesn’t know where he stands on the issues in the same exact way as Clinton or McCain supporters don’t. (Hillary supports health care and a gas tax holiday. Average Clinton supporter know anything beyond that? And who knows what McCain supports these days since it seems to be the exact opposite of what he supported 8 years ago when he lost to Bush.) But honestly, it’s time to stop this nonsense, and I’m as guilty as anyone of Clinton hate. The last two elections I have voted for the lesser of two evils. I supported McCain in 2000, but he lost in the primaries so I was forced to vote for Bush. (In hind-sight that may not have been the lesser evil.) I supported Kerry in 2004 (in that I grudgingly voted for that smarmy bastard) and he lost to Bush. I want to be able to vote FOR someone this year instead of against someone or unenthusiastically fill in the circle for the candidate who I deem will screw up the country less. So let’s get back to what attracted me to Obama in the first place. Here are some things that impressed me about Senator Obama enough that I now support him instead of making jokes about the “Obama-nation.”
1) Honesty - I know some people will argue with me on this one, saying that Obama is a fake, a shell game, someone who puts on a front to appeal to people but has no substance. I’ve heard that argument and I reject it based on a couple of things. The first is his handling of Rev. Wright. He’s still taking crap about it, but when this manufactured scandal broke, Obama did not “Throw Rev. Wright under the bus” as so many pundits love to talk about. He spoke honestly to the American people about race in this country, the feelings on both sides, and the struggles we all face sharing this great country. When his “Clinging to guns and religion” gaffe came out, he did not deny it he explained it. He is saying the same things even now (although worded a lot more carefully.)
2) Duality - Obama is both Black and White. He is, by background or some innate ability, uniquely able to see and understand both sides of the issues. While he takes one side, he actually takes the time to understand the arguments against it. It goes back a ways, but while in the Illinois legislature he passed a law requiring all police interrogations to be video-taped. The law was opposed by law enforcement but Obama met with his opponents and won them over. He actually addressed their concerns. Our current president doesn’t listen to polls and refuses to answer to the increasing number of people who oppose his policies (72% of the country last I checked.) Obama has the potential to be what I have wanted in a president for a long, long time: Someone who is president of the United States of America and not just the red-states or the blue-states.
3) Speeches - The first time I actually LISTENED to Obama, was not his famous speech in ‘02. I instead came late to the game and listened to a speech he gave on Religion on June 28, 2007. Some say that Obama is all speech and no action. I don’t see a problem with that. Name a single president since George Washington that is known more for what he did than what he said. Nixon? Grant? Perhaps someone can tell me if I’m wrong on this, but George Washington was the first and only president to lead his troops into battle (in the whiskey rebellion if you’re curious.) Since then the President of the United States of America is there to meet with people and give speeches. Speeches are the “Doing things” of the presidency.
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent…”
Good presidents are remembered for what they said, bad presidents are remembered for what they did. Will anyone remember a single speech that President Bush gave? Obama is not president and people already remember his “speech in 2002″ and his “A more perfect union” speech on race. As president, Obama will continue to speak out and set the tone for the nation.
4) Tone - The president sets the tone for the nation’s discourse. He is the face of America to the rest of the world. Obama’s message of hope, personal responsibility, and involvement of the people in the workings of government is just what this country needs right now. We face enormous challenges in the coming years and if the cynical, jaded nature of most of us bitter Americans continues to hold sway, we stand no chance of facing them. We will slip quietly into recession, depression, and irrelevance to the rest of the world. We need a message of hope right now and that message of hope is resonating with millions of people across this nation. I went to the rally where Edwards endorsed Obama in Grand Rapids, MI and sat in the crowd. There was an awesome feeling of excitement there that was incredibly refreshing after watching the cynical talking heads on TV for weeks on end.
5) Transparency - I have read through Obama’s positions on just about everything (They’re available right on his website) and agree with most of them. The one that I like the most out of Obama’s camp is his focus on Transparency in government. The Bush administration has been the most secretive one in history, and Obama plans on making the government accountable to the people again. That alone is reason enough to vote for him in my book.
All things considered, I admire Obama’s ability to communicate and imbue his supporters with enthusiasm but that is not why I support him for President. I support him for President because out of all the candidates I believe he alone stands a chance at making the states of America united again.
While it may now be too late for Clinton to bow out gracefully, her “I’m popular with hard working, WHITE PEOPLE!” comment making a graceful exit all but impossible, there was a way to exit this race with what was left of her integrity intact. It may not be too late, but it certainly would not look as good as if she employed it directly after her loss in North Carolina. It is this: to get up on stage and say to her supporters and the American people, “I threw everything I could, kitchen sink included, at this man and he’s still standing strong. Senator Obama has been fully vetted now, he has passed the test, there is nothing the Republicans can now do that I haven’t already tried. Senator Obama is the choice of our Democratic party and is a strong and well-tested candidate who will bring about much needed change when he is elected president of the United States of America in November. I worked tirelessly to win this nomination and I will work just as tirelessly to assure that our nominee, Mr. Obama, is elected President of the United States.”
