Dear Senator McCain,
I have a real fear. I fear, that when you lose (and you will) that you will leave Obama a country that is impossible for him to govern. If anyone understands the consequences of cheap tricks, it should be you. Why are you running a campaign with the same people who smeared you in 2000? Why are you using their cheap tricks?
For a man who claims to be a maverick, known for reaching across the aisle, you have run the most despicable, partisan campaign since W. It is appropriate to question another candidate's credentials, policies, judgment, etc. But you sir have unleashed a dangerous tide by accusing Barack of being an anti-American terrorist. That's dangerous stuff.
Of course, FOX News is more than willing to continue to server their GOP masters. Day in and day out all they can talk about is Ayers. A man who is, in your words, a dried up terrorist. I think you called him irrelevant once too. But that was before you realized you had lost the election. I know you are disappointed but it is better to accept responsibility for the loss and move on than to pursue this childish vendetta.
I once respected you. I once saw you as a Republican who could lead the nation. That perception died months ago. Sir, I can see it in you face. You know this is all true. When the crowd chants "kill him" or "terrorist" the expression of pain on your face is plain to see for the whole world. You don't have a poker face sir.
I remember the Clinton years. Rush Limbaugh, New Gingrich and others filled America with hate. The Clintons were hardly perfect, but I remember 8 years of a raging hypocritical hatred that is not an appropriate avenue for political discourse in this nation. I fear that you have stoked the fires of these rabid anti-everything-but-themselves demagogues. They will wrap themselves in the colors and language of the flag and patriotism. They will spend years sniping at a leader who will try to make this country stronger and greater. I don't want to spend 8 years talking about something that happened years and years ago. I want to focus on the problems of today. You have set the trajectory for America's conservatives for years. The Sarah Palin choice is your fault. The rabid language is you fault. The wild fear and speculation on FOX News, and the ignorant individuals at your rallies are your fault.
Be a man. Own this tragic mistake and spend the next few days repairing the damage you did. Put your nation first sir. It deserves nothing less from you.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Pundits Depress Me
Last night I watched the VP Debate. In all honesty, it was more interesting than the Presidential Debate last week. Both candidates were engaged and on target.
But this morning, I got up and discovered that only two things happened last night.
1) Sarah Palin "exceeded expectations" because she managed to fill 90 seconds of air-time with hot air.
2) Joe Biden "exceeded expectations" by successfully only filling 90 seconds of air-time with hot air.
I listened to the discussion on MSNBC and I checked out FOX. So far, the only people who are actually discussing what the candidates actually said is NPR.
Therefore, if you would like to listen to an actual discussion about the merits of either candidate's positions, you are completely out of luck unless you tune in to NPR. Otherwise, you will hear nothing more than empty blow-hards announcing how their candidate "exceeded expectations".
Maybe I missed something, but I would rather EXPECT that a VP Candidate should have the capacity to discuss the major issues of the day for at least 90 seconds.
In case you missed the actual debate, here are some of the highlights from the somewhat skewed and biased opinion of . . . . me!
Sarah Palin distrusts the entire East Coast.
Sarah Palin wants to expand the powers of the VP. She believes the ability to expand the authority of the VP can be found in the Constitution. Constitutional law experts are now looking through the lost Sea Scrolls for the missing pages of the Constitution that could support this legal position.
She and John McCain and mavericks, but I'm not sure why, since she didn't tell me.
Biden told me that McCain is not a maverick. I presume that he would extend this criticism to Palin, but he never actually said anything about her the entire time. This leads me to conclude that he is A) Afraid of her OR B) Afraid of the media's perception that he beat up a woman. It's 2008. Can we please move past these stereotypes? Please?
Palin believes that tax-cuts for the wealthy will help the American economy. She also manages to simultaneously believe that the government should get out of our lives, while bailing out Wall Street. This displays a remarkably adaptable capacity for compartmentalization, or she doesn't understand what I'm talking about. I really do not understand how anyone can be daft enough to continue running around calling for additional deregulation (she did this cleverly and obliquely), lower taxes (on the wealthy, though she did not say this), and lower government spending. Since the economy is tanking, this seems like a bad time to restrict federal spending. Besides, the $$$$$ we spend in Iraq dwarfs other federal expenditures, other than the proposed federal bail-out of wall street. Since she does not want to get out of Iraq, I am forced to conclude that her spending plan is going to cut the relatively inexpensive federal programs that actually do help people, while maintaining an expensive, disastrous war. Net impact on the national debt - it soars to unprecedented heights.
Biden says he and Obama want to get out of Iraq through a phased draw-down of American forces there. Sarah calls this the White Flag of surrender. Unfortunately, even with over 4,000 American Soldiers lying in coffins, we still can not debate the merits of this war without calling each other unpatriotic.
She did well. She did a good job of articulating the neo-con positions of the Bush Administration. It's almost as if she was able to channel Dick Cheney . .. . . while wearing lip-stick! Impressive. I wish Biden had attacked her more. John McCain was not in the room. He should have focused on his opponent, not the old guy she's running with.
But this morning, I got up and discovered that only two things happened last night.
1) Sarah Palin "exceeded expectations" because she managed to fill 90 seconds of air-time with hot air.
2) Joe Biden "exceeded expectations" by successfully only filling 90 seconds of air-time with hot air.
I listened to the discussion on MSNBC and I checked out FOX. So far, the only people who are actually discussing what the candidates actually said is NPR.
Therefore, if you would like to listen to an actual discussion about the merits of either candidate's positions, you are completely out of luck unless you tune in to NPR. Otherwise, you will hear nothing more than empty blow-hards announcing how their candidate "exceeded expectations".
Maybe I missed something, but I would rather EXPECT that a VP Candidate should have the capacity to discuss the major issues of the day for at least 90 seconds.
In case you missed the actual debate, here are some of the highlights from the somewhat skewed and biased opinion of . . . . me!
Sarah Palin distrusts the entire East Coast.
Sarah Palin wants to expand the powers of the VP. She believes the ability to expand the authority of the VP can be found in the Constitution. Constitutional law experts are now looking through the lost Sea Scrolls for the missing pages of the Constitution that could support this legal position.
She and John McCain and mavericks, but I'm not sure why, since she didn't tell me.
Biden told me that McCain is not a maverick. I presume that he would extend this criticism to Palin, but he never actually said anything about her the entire time. This leads me to conclude that he is A) Afraid of her OR B) Afraid of the media's perception that he beat up a woman. It's 2008. Can we please move past these stereotypes? Please?
Palin believes that tax-cuts for the wealthy will help the American economy. She also manages to simultaneously believe that the government should get out of our lives, while bailing out Wall Street. This displays a remarkably adaptable capacity for compartmentalization, or she doesn't understand what I'm talking about. I really do not understand how anyone can be daft enough to continue running around calling for additional deregulation (she did this cleverly and obliquely), lower taxes (on the wealthy, though she did not say this), and lower government spending. Since the economy is tanking, this seems like a bad time to restrict federal spending. Besides, the $$$$$ we spend in Iraq dwarfs other federal expenditures, other than the proposed federal bail-out of wall street. Since she does not want to get out of Iraq, I am forced to conclude that her spending plan is going to cut the relatively inexpensive federal programs that actually do help people, while maintaining an expensive, disastrous war. Net impact on the national debt - it soars to unprecedented heights.
Biden says he and Obama want to get out of Iraq through a phased draw-down of American forces there. Sarah calls this the White Flag of surrender. Unfortunately, even with over 4,000 American Soldiers lying in coffins, we still can not debate the merits of this war without calling each other unpatriotic.
She did well. She did a good job of articulating the neo-con positions of the Bush Administration. It's almost as if she was able to channel Dick Cheney . .. . . while wearing lip-stick! Impressive. I wish Biden had attacked her more. John McCain was not in the room. He should have focused on his opponent, not the old guy she's running with.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)