Debate #2: The professor and the intern

Well folks I have to say the debate was much more than I hoped. No, I don't mean that Sarah Palin was marvelous. She wasn't. I am talking about Joe Biden being the example of what a competent debater and good leader should be. He had the facts, he answered the questions (without winking) and he addressed the falsehoods. I was very comforted. Sarah just made me want to slap a sash on her and vote her in as Miss Congeniality. No substance and all show.

Her calculated ploy at the beginning of the debate was shameless - to ask if she could call the Senator 'Joe' was such an obvious plan of the GOP to keep the word Senator out of the debate so she would "seem" to be on a more equal footing. It might have worked had she not sounded like a parrot that was hoping to get a V.P. Cracker if she repeater what her owners told her to.
"Squawk - environment!"
"Squawk - maverick!"
"Squawk - Palin want a cracker!"

The other annoying aspect was the folksy - down home approach of Gov. Palin. I come from a once factory filled, working class town in Wisconsin. We know what real folks are. We also know when folks are trying to manipulate us and divert our attention to non-essential things. Her responses were so sweet the other night that my poor cousin had to up his insulin shots just to make it through the 90 minutes. Too bad that under the McCain plan he won't be able to afford extra insulin.

Okay - no more jabs - here's the facts folks. You can find Governor Palin and likable as you want. Heck, I'd have a cup of coffee with her. But I don't want an intern doing a manager's job. Our country is facing some of the toughest times I've seen in my 50 years and I was around for the Vietnam debacle. Please don't vote for nice - vote for capable. Vote for informed and vote for a team that isn't connected to what has been a failure for the last 8 years.

Obama vs. McSame

I can't say that it was the most inspiring debate I've ever heard, but the debate really couldn't be inspiring. We need more than a cheerleader to run this country (or a demented cowboy like we have had for the last 8 years). We're in it too deep for the usual campaign rhetoric and touching stories - I wish someone had told Senator McCain.

I tried hard to listen to McCain's plan for our country but I could barely find one. Instead I found a nice old guy who seemed peeved and wouldn't even look Senator Obama in the eye. He spoke of how we need to do "something" and I never got much of a sense of what that something is. Instead I heard a lot of "he's wrong" and "he doesn't know" directed at Barack Obama. It is the usual school kid trick of trying to sound tough without anything to back it up. I think he learned that from his mentor George Bush the king of huff and puff.

I was also not impressed by the Christmas card list of people Senator McCain knows being brought up throughout the debate. Satyric example: "Back in aught 5 Henry Kissinger and I shared a salami sandwich near the reflecting pool while we discussed how much we love our country and how bad those foreigners are." So tell me, how is this going to solve the our policy issues and end the endless war? Where was the substance? How can you love something and not protect it? We're hurting out here. Hello!

I appreciate Senator Obama looking the America people in the eye and giving us details. I want a leader who will lay it out there for discussion and not pretend to have answers. Sure it is easier to criticize a plan that is out in the open than no plan at all - which is the safe road McCain plays. If he doesn't tell them what he wants to do, they can say it is wrong.

We need to elect a leader in the White House who is willing to put the guns and the threats down for a while and attempt diplomatic discussions. I seem to remember that working pretty well for leaders in the past (current incumbent not included).

Senator McCain is a nice man - so go have a beer with him but for heaven sake, don't' vote for nice, vote for capable and prepared.

P.S. On that note, I cannot wait to hear Senator Biden and Governor Barbie in the next debate.

Hiding under the "Bush"

Like most American's out there I have to leave for work soon. Except maybe for the poor folks at Lehman's who lost their jobs.
I am going to continue this blog later when I have more time. Right now I have a though for the day...

Where the hell is George Bush in all this mess?

The only people I see answering questions about the economy are Barack Obama and McCain. Where is the man who has let this country go down the toilet for the last 8 years while he played cowboy in the wrong country fighting an oil-driven war. Boy, that strategy has done the American people well, hasn't it? As we see our tax dollars go to bailing out AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, any retirement we may have had be in jeopardy and nothing being saved for our seniors and our children. Nice job keeping and eye on the American economy Georgie.

I find it laughable and scary that anyone would even think of voting in another republican candidate with the chaos they have left in their wake from 8 years of their leadership. People don't change over night. Political parties don't change over night. John McCain will not change over night. And don't get me started on Sarah Palin. We need new leadership. Please don't throw away your vote this year by hoping the republicans got it. A boss would not let an employee mess up for 8 years and keep him or her on the job. Teachers will not let a student fail for 8 years before stepping in. Let's be responsible voters and think about what really matters in the future.

Look at the headlines and see if what has been in office is working for you.