political absurdities

Last week was great, was it not? I love how erratic John McCain's campaign is. They think it's going to help them keep votes, but I guarantee all those undecided voters are watching and saying, "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" I love how McCain can say that he's "suspending the campaign" to go forge a "bipartisan deal" in Washington to figure out our $700 billion economic meltdown, only to drop in on Thursday for a photo-op and spend a couple hours injecting presidential politics into a process that was working just fine before he showed up on his motorized horse. And then I love how "action" like that can be construed as leadership by the spineless and emotionless Joseph Lieberman.

Obama had it right all along, but he was shadowed all week by the declarations of McCain. First of all, Obama rightly came out saying that our economy was in dire need of change. He didn't jump out the gates with a plan to fix it. No, he understands enough that something like this doesn't get fixed by your gut instinct, and that discussing it with economic advisors is far more effective. Secondly, he didn't call for an international halt of everything so that he could rush to Washington and save the day. Instead, Obama laid out his ideas for how to successful write this bailout bill on the campaign trail, all the while talking to Democratic Senators and Reps. on the phone. This is an invaluable skill known as multi-tasking. He did fly back to Washington, but left realizing that injecting presidential politics into legislation is a bad idea.

Then we had the first presidential debate. I was stuck at work of course. But what I saw later that night was interesting. I think it went well for Obama. McCain did fine too, but I honestly think it's the best he's going to do. Obama weathered the first confrontation, as well as the most intense topic of debate: Foreign Policy. Obama has very little foreign policy experience, but he's obviously very smart and he's met with foreign leaders many times. He also has the expertise of Joe Biden to back him up, not to mention Bill Clinton and any other Clinton foreign policy advisor. He's also calm and collected whereas McCain is erratic and hot-blooded. It's clear to me that McCain's view of the world is just like Bush's-- he's going to see it through the lens of Iraq, and use it as the standard judgement of whether America is "winning". Thank God Obama is young enough to plainly see that America is not winning anything. We will never "win" in Iraq. The best we can hope to do is give the Iraqis enough training and solid foundation to govern themselves and protect their state by themselves, and withdraw our troops. Obama wants to withdraw, but I know he will only do so if conditions on the ground are met. But I also know that he will bring Syria and Iran into the political discussion, which is vital to the success of Iraq's future as an independent state.

I'm excited about the VP debate. I think it's going to be hilarious. It might even be downright embarrassing for Sarah Palin. I hope it's absolutely embarrassing for her. I hope John McCain and his campaign managers have to rush out onto the stage to catch her on a gurney before she falls over and cracks her fragile, pretty little head. And if you think I'm being an ass for calling her fragile, then tell me why the Republican party keeps her under wraps and carefully hidden behind black curtains in Alaska. Tell me why they dread having her appear on anything but Charlie Gibson and Katie Kouric, and how even such moderate reporters like them can have Sarah wobbling and wavering in her speech.

It's almost too much. The political narrative that unfurls every four years just gets more and more ridiculous. For the Democrats, it's always a story of hope, renewal, and change. For the Republicans, it's always a story of traditional values, patriotism (Country First), and empty change. Time has run out for the Republicans. Barack Obama is the next leader of this country.