Saturday, September 27, 2008

Master Debaters

Talk about Napoleon Complex......you would have thought that John McCain was going to leave the debate last night on a white horse, sword at his waist and embark on a trip across the ocean to prove to the world that we really do kick ass. Quite frankly, for the last 8 years our Government has been kicking all of us right square in the nads. I respect McCain's service to this country and the sacrifices he made to defend our freedom but I'm not overly impressed by his resume of travel throughout different areas of Europe & the Middle East. He goes to these places not to try to improve our reputation in an already fragile World Community but to survey the territory, get the lay of the land, plot the next move like he was playing Battleship. McCain is consumed by war and maybe I would be too if I had been a P.O.W. but to try to build this country back up and once again make it a beacon of light for all who would try to emulate us by flexing our tired muscles is fruitless. It would be like Arnold Schwarzenegger entering Mr. Olympia again only to expose his now flabby physique but still pose as if he was the biggest man on stage. A strong defense is necessary especially in this post 9/11 world we all reside in but if all we are talking about is victory in Iraq, we miss the bigger picture because in many ways the war in Iraq has already landed in the U.S.'s loss column. Mismanagement at all levels, terrible tactics and strategies, lack of proper equipment and supplies to help protect the brave men & women who put themselves in harm's way and a President who declared victory before the 1st quarter even ended has gotten us to where we are today.....a failed Administration with failed policies. Despite his tough talk about cleaning up Washington, does anyone really believe that we will be involved in less conflicts with McCain as President. When he said last night "When you point a gun you better be ready to pull the trigger" I almost thought he was going to pull one from his waist and sling it around like Doc Holliday. McCain seems to get off on flaunting his self proclaimed expertise on all things militaristic and I think this is the only area where he truly feels like he is engaged in this entire electoral process. They should have just staged this thing at the OK Corral so McCain could get his rocks off and actually feel some movement below the waist that does not require taking a pill. I'm all for kicking ass when needed, I've supported going into certain areas around the world to kill those who would plot and carry out aggression and violence against this country but full scale war in Iraq, surge notwithstanding, has proven to be a huge financial burden as well as a rallying cry for those whose sole purpose is to proliferate more violence against us and those Nations who align themselves with us and our current foreign policies. The only time that McCain looked interested last night was when they opened up questions about Iran, Russia & Iraq. He was staring down the moderator and the audience as if they were all V.C. hiding out in the jungles of 'Nam. What about this country Sir? What are you going to do to save us from an Administration (I use that term loosely) that has concentrated so hard the past eight years on keeping us safe in other parts of the world without realizing our greatest danger is much closer than any of their Geritol bottles could have ever imagined?
Which brings me to Obama. Did he get crushed by McCain on foreign policy.....I don't think so. I think he sounded level headed when he spoke about the issues that face us from abroad. Of course Obama wouldn't have the same Foreign Policy credentials as McCain, he half his age and that's why he went out and chose Biden as his Veep candidate. What you have to ask yourself is did Obama sound credible and passionate about his own plan for dealing with foreign aggressors? I don't think Obama is a wuss, I think that if something went down that called for an immediate, direct response from our military, he would not hesitate. That does not mean though that he will seek out conflict and put more of a heavy tax burden on our already suffering middle class. This machismo sh*t that lingers in Washington and hovers over McCain is straight out of a spaghetti Western.....cue Ennio Morricone. Dudes, light some candles, soak in a nice bath and try to focus on how we are going to help our American families pay their mortgages, college tuition, rising energy bills and maybe, just maybe, have a little extra to enjoy a luxury here or there. Hell, the Europeans get it right, they work to live but we in this country have been forced into the cruel pattern of living to work which after awhile will make you disillusioned, tired and angry. Most people I know live paycheck to paycheck, just trying to stay afloat but we still have heads of failed companies such as Lehman Bros. walking away with yearly bonuses that exceed 20 million.....20 million is a lot to pay for sh*t and that's what the American people have been getting for so many years now. I really want to know what made all these CEO's qualified to run these now failed Financial Institutions in the first place. Maybe there really is a devil and maybe he really does allow you to sell him your soul. I haven't sold mine and I sure as hell don't think that Obama has sold his. I felt he spoke last night as someone who has a better handle on what the "everyman/everywoman" is really feeling out there. Yes, there are some who gravitate to the message of World Domination that McCain spews but I can only hope that the real Americans, the ones that have helped make up the tough fabric that we have tried to sew together for over 200 years, see beyond color or race and wake up to the fact that things actually can get worse, much worse, before they get better. I agree with Obama that we need to put more funding into education, develop alternative energy sources, overhaul our Health Care System and that we need to stop the tax breaks that are given to big corporations through loopholes or otherwise because the rich are staying rich but everyone else right now is getting screwed. I was actually scared when McCain said last night that he wanted to build 45 new Nuclear Power Plants. Obama supports the use of Nuclear Power to some extent but 45? To me, that's 45 disaster's waiting to happen in the backyards of people who are already getting whacked by our Government's lack of foresight on this issue. Who's gonna run these reactors, Bernake & Paulson? Do you trust McCain to help you recover your lost 401k or retirement savings, the same guy who backed Bush's policies 90% of the time? Seriously, with some prominent Republicans now turning their backs on this failed Administration how effective will McCain be when he says he wants to clean up Washington. Many will see him as the same enemy that has stood in front of the American people for the last eight years looking like a dog that deserves a treat whenever he says something remotely coherent. Despite his claim of not being the most popular man on the floor of the Senate, the Washington that McCain wants to clean up is the same one he has been polishing the rear of for so many years.....and don't even get me started on the maverick of all mavericks, Sarah Palin. She has about as much clout in Washington as an anorexic at an all you can eat buffet. We can't just get rid of the Senate, House or other important agencies of Government, blow it all up in one fell swoop. We need someone who will try to resolve the issues that face us responsibly by bringing both parties together in an attempt to get real work done for this Nation, something that let's say a "Community Organizer" might know a little something about. Obama went out of his way to agree with McCain on certain points last night and I didn't see it as a lack of conviction for his own ideals or him conceding that McCain knew all the answers. I saw it as a way for him to show that it's People who will actually help reform our suffering Nation, not Parties. If you have good ideas bring them to the table, it doesn't matter what Party you pledge your false allegiance to. The last I checked, we are still called America not the United Red States of Republicans. McCain on the other hand, in a condescending sort of way kept saying "Senator Obama doesn't understand" which I actually think helped Obama. Yes it's true, Obama doesn't understand how the undeserving rich keep getting richer, how we can continue to throw billions into an unpopular war, how we can vote for someone who has more often than not agreed with Bush's failed policies and someone who could quite possibly have the young men & women of our military holed up in the Middle East separated from their loved ones for an indefinite period of time. McCain has shown through votes of his own and the platform he outlined last night that in many ways he will be the Godfather III of really bad sequels and continue the divide that is growing daily. John, have you seen the polls, Americans don't want more war, they want and need more help!!!!! Washington doesn't just need a cleaning, it needs a good power wash so we can finally start seeing the brilliance that (hopefully) lies beneath the muck. I'm not necessarily for more Government regulation, I'm for more Government oversight (whatever happened to checks and balances) and with McCain's blurry eyes focused squarely on the "Evil Doers" of the world, the ones that still get to enjoy their rides home from work in pimped out town cars and continue to squander the savings of millions of hard working Americans get to fly under the radar of our mighty Missile Defense System. Kind of ironic that McCain announced he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to help construct a sound plan on how to save us from our current financial crisis but at the joint Party meeting in which Obama also attended he barely uttered a word. Maybe all the "Maverick" has holstered to his waist is a cap gun and maybe when he finally shoots his load, all it will be is a blank.