Glibbertysmidgeon

My mother recently comented on my blog that she didn’t like either Obama or McCain, but that McCain seemed like the lesser of two evils. It struck me that, at the start of this campaign, I felt exactly the opposite.

I have liked Obama since I first saw him speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. His optimism and eloquence brought me to tears. Of course I wanted him to win. But at the time, I associated John McCain with his battle with President Bush over torture (McCain was against it), and the McCain/Feingold campaing refinance act. McCain was a real war hero (not a deserter, like the current President) and seemed like a pretty respectable, moderate, sensible fellow.

I figured that no matter who wins, we’ll be better off than we have been over the last 8 years.

Then I started learning more. I read his platform, which isn’t much different from George W. Bush’s platform. Then I watched the debates.

These raised concerns that I had been harboring for the past few years.
McCain and Bush were famous enemies eight years ago, when they vied for the Republican Presidential nomination. Bush played some extremely nasty tricks on McCain in 2000, including spreading a rumor that implied that “McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi-born daughter was an African-American child he fathered out of wedlock.” (wikipedia) After such treatment, I couldn’t understand what I was seeing when McCain started suddenly spouting Bush’s talking points midway through the second term. Next, we saw him meeting with crackpots he had previously denounced and hugging Bush at press events…

At the time I thought he was just cynical. Embracing the enemy so that he could be on the winning side. It was degrading and I lost respect for him, but I guess I thought the ‘real’ McCain still lurked somewhere under the fake smile. Now I’m not so sure.

After 8 disastrous years, George W Bush and all of his policies are widely despised. His approval rating is in the dump. Presidential scholars are predicting he’ll be ranked among the worst U.S. Presidents in history, if not THE worst. Every politician in the country is running on a platform of change, and nobody is seeking Bush’s endorsement. It seems to me that this climate is ideal for allowing the ‘real’ McCain to finally shine through.

Instead..he’s stumping those awful Bush-era tax cuts for the rich- wanting to add another 100 billion, then make the whole package permanent. He’s using the Bush debate tactics, repeating the same tired talking points, whether they address the question or not. (If I never hear the word ‘earmarks’ again…) Repeating fear-mongering attacks against his opponent again and again, even after those attacks have been clearly rebutted. (Obama is not going to raise taxes on you and me, only on the rich, no matter how many times McCain claims that we’re all going to pay higher taxes)

Worse, he’s answering straight questions with baloney answers like, “I know how to get Osama Bin Laden, I know where he is and I know how to get him, and I’ll get him.” What?? If he knows where Bin Laden is and he’s not telling, what kind of patriot is he? Stop talking, John, you’re embarrassing yourself.

The change in McCain from 8 years ago is so striking, and so apparently real, that I can only suppose that he’s a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.

Even if he is mentally unbalanced, his latest shenannigans are unforgivable. This business of insinuating Obama is sympathetic to terrorists, and painting him as some kind of foreigner who is dangerous to America isn’t just dirty politics, it’s dangerous. The McCain campaign is purposely inciting racism and hatred. Supporters at recent rallies have been heard shouting threats against Obama, and actually stating that they think he’s an Arab.

Outside of these rallies, McCain states that he likes and respects Barack Obama, and that Obama is a good American. Apparently he thinks that stirring up an angry mob of racists is a fair and reasonable political strategy, nothing personal.

I think he’s putting a good man in danger in the hope of winning a few votes.
I can’t even piece together the words for how I feel about this vile and reckless ‘strategy’. Pandering to the white sheet crowd? For VOTES?

Shame on you, McCain.

When I sat down to watch the vice-presidential debate, I admit I was hoping to see Sarah Palin say something stupid. I’d seen the clips of her Couric interviews after the fact, but I wanted to see it happen live, in context. I wanted to think my own thoughts about it before hearing the pundits chew it over.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, when she didn’t say anything that was actually laughable. I knew that she’d been training for this debate, and that there were few landmines for her to step into. She had her notecards, and the moderators are not allowed to ask follow-up questions (such as, ‘Specifically, can you name some publications that you read?’). I wasn’t surprised to see that she employed the same tactics that the Bush administration has been using for years- if you don’t like the question, just ignore it and repeat one of your canned talking points.

When asked what her personal Achilles’ Heel, or major flaw was, she answered that she and John McCain were both mavericks and they were just what this country needs. It reminded me of the time George W Bush couldn’t think of a single mistake he’d ever made.

For the same question, Biden listed several flaws, and admitted that he is unlikely to change. I liked it, but that was one rare moment of pleasure in that debate. If Palin wasn’t going to entertain me with screw-ups, then I had hoped Biden would thrill me with his excellence. Instead, he spent much of the debate trying to out blue-collar her.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important for our leaders to be able to relate to our issues. I’m tired of being told how tax breaks for the rich are going to make my life better. But I would rather see a qualified candidate tell me how his new health plan is going to help me out, and explain why, than watch them compete over who’s from the smallest town. If they’re good at their jobs, I don’t care where they’re from.

I expect my leaders to be smarter and more educated than I am. It’s embarassing to see them dropping folksy truisms (I’m talking about you, Joe Six-Pack) instead of giving substantive answers to these serious questions.

Even more embarrassing is that so many Americans eat that stuff up.
I heard on NPR that the McCain/Palin campaign has targeted a district in Maine because it’s woodsy, they have moose there, and snowmobiling is popular. Because Palin and her husband are snowmobilers, they expect to take that district.

I’m sorry?

Since when did duck hunting, snow mobiling, or any other hobby make you qualified to be president? And yet it seems to work. The local snowmobiling association (30,000 members strong) has endorsed McCain/Palin.

This does not make me proud to be an American.