Dancing With Fire

I never cared that McCain took $112,000.00 in contributions from Charles Keating and was given a pass by his colleagues nearly twenty years ago. My problem was that he said he learned his lesson from that mistake, and championed finance reform; which sounds good, but in reality, meant nothing. The lesson I wanted him to learn was that, sometimes, a little bit of regulation can actually be a good thing. From the Savings and Loan crisis to Enron, to the present economic tsunami we’re in, McCain still doesn’t get it. So, why am I voting for him?

Barack Obama was right when he said that people are bitter about the abject failure of Washington to solve any of our serious woes. And since I’ve watched no other news outlet except FOX NEWS, since MSNBC decided to become the Tina Fey Network, my eyes have been opened. I know wrapping Bill Ayer’s around Obama’s neck is patently illogical, since every politician worth his salt has rubbed elbows with folks who see the world differently than mainstream Americans. But logic has no place in politics, especially the sort we practice in the land of the free.

The only question voters want answered is: Are you tough enough? McCain, Palin and the rest of the Rick Davis’ crew certainly are pretty bad-ass. Democrats don’t do the politics of fear and division nearly as well…

Based on three specific criteria, the American electorate is going to give the presidential nod to John McCain. Now, as an American, I’m more than just a little embarrassed by these facts, but there’s no denying them. Americans are racist, stupid, and lazy.

Remember when ex-Hillary supporter Ed Rendell said it would be harder for Obama to win because there’s still a percentage of folks who will under no circumstance vote for a black man? Well, a recent study proved Fast Eddie right. Six percent of people who share Obama’s stances on the issues are going to vote for John McCain simply because he’s white. That alone, in an election that should go down to the wire, is enough to keep the White House in the hands of the republicans.

The fact that Americans are stupid, and believe whatever they are spoon-fed by the media, handicaps Obama even further. Sixty one percent of Americans believe that Sarah Palin actually said, “thanks, but no-thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. The truth is, she supported it until Congress pulled the plug on it, but the McCain campaign has turned fiction into fact by barraging us with less then honest ads. The GOP is great at getting gullible voters to buy whatever they’re selling, 21% of Americans still think Saddam was at least partly responsible for 9/11, and 12% think Obama is a Muslim.

Now, the third part is a little trickier. You know all that hype about “change” that Obama has been pushing? Well, many Americans are actually turned-off by his message, because Obama’s point has always been that WE are the change we seek. That if you want a better tomorrow, you have to work for it; sacrifice for it. Turns out, a lot of folks want change, but only if somebody else does all the heavy lifting. So, they’ll opt for keeping things the way they are, even if they don’t like the way things are.

Unfortunately, those are the facts. I’m still going to vote for Barack Obama, and I’m still going to work hard to convince as many other people to vote for him as possible. But I’m not going to re-live the heartache I went through back in 2000, when I was absolutely positive that Al Gore was a cinch to win…

One quick note to preface this post: While I am all-in when it comes to attacking a candidate for their words and deeds on the campaign trail, I will not permit personal attacks on this site. Mental health issues are quite real, and quite serious. Although I strenuously disagree with Sarah Palin ON THE ISSUES, my heart goes out to her and her family as she bravely struggles to battle depression. In the end, people are more important than politics.

Now, on to the economic depression, an issue on which John McCain has stumbled badly these past few days. With what’s happened to Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG and all the rest, John McCain, in his best Herbert Hoover impersonation, keeps repeating, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong.” While the jobless rate soars, the mortgage meltdown is approaching apocalyptic proportion, and the deficit has never been higher, John McCain has told his supporters that the first action he will take as Commander-in-Chief of the nation’s economy is to appoint a 9/11-type commission to study the problem.

Senator McCain, the problem is YOU! You and the rest of your I’m-against-any-and-all-types-of-regulation conservative republicans are the ones who brought this tragedy to the American people. To think that the people who “broke it” are the best ones to “fix it” is patently absurd. Good, decent folks all across the country can’t find work. Good, decent folks all across the country can’t pay their bills. Good, decent folks all across the country are losing their homes, their families, their respect and their dignity because YOUR economic philosophy was WRONG.

Instead of regurgitating the same tired “reformer” rhetoric, Senator, the country would be better served if you owned-up to your mistakes; and once and for all, apologized to the American people…

Now, if you’re reading this and still haven’t decided who is better prepared to pilot America out of the economic disaster we’re now in, please listen to what Obama said just yesterday:

Months ago, John McCain promised the American people he would run an honorable campaign. Everybody from the New York Times to FOX NEWS agrees that McCain has not kept that promise. McCain has asked the American people to vote for him based on his character and judgment. I wish those were the determinants in this election, because John McCain has revealed lousy character and even worse judgment throughout every aspect of this campaign.

He’s supposed to be a reformer, yet nearly every major post in his staff is manned by a lobbyist. He violated the spirit, if not the letter of the law, when he borrowed millions using the promise of public financing as collateral. He chose as his running mate a person under investigation for abuse of power, even while telling the American people he wanted to put an end to cronyism in Washington.

But what about the issues, Kurt? He’s right on the things Americans really care about!

Really?!? He wants us to stay - indefinitely - in Iraq, even if the Iraqis want us to leave. He wants us to lift the ban on offshore drilling, regardless if it’s Exxon-Mobil, or the Russians, Chinese, or Venezuelans who are camped on our beaches. He - McCain - will raise your taxes more than Barack Obama. He will fight against equal pay, and against healthcare for all. He will fight to privatize Social Security, but he’ll still give billions in tax breaks to the wealthiest one percent of Americans.

Look, if you’re going to vote for McCain based on his policies, please know what they really are. If you’re going to vote for McCain based on his character, well, he WAS a hero - forty years ago. But today, he’s relinquished all pretense of honor, and he does NOT deserve to be President of the United States of America.