No Escape / Transparency

There's just no avoiding the talk about the financial meltdown these days, despite McCain's claims that the economy is fundamentally "very strong". And now this bit about a(nother) bailout? Yeeesh.

I was in a news blackout while I was diving off the Channel Islands and we were all caught off guard when we stopped at a Starbucks and saw the news on the front page. And now this mad rush to grant total, unreviewable and unquestionable power to the Secretary of the Treasury to spend $700 billion in what's potentially a total conflict of interest (i.e. the best interest of the taxpayers vs. the best interest of the companies being bailed out).

I'm no economic expert, but what I do know is that no matter what happens, we must have transparency. Everyone should know how the money is spent, and once we start selling of these assets, how much of that money was recovered.

More of the Same

The more I learn about Sarah Palin, the harder it is to see how she's any different from Bush. Cronyism? Check. Secretive and negative administration? Check. Total disregard for the separation of church and state? Check.

And while it's true we're not voting for her for president, a lot of people seem to forget this fact. And if McCain does win, she's just a very short hop away from the presidency...

Republican Reform

One of the new campaign directions to have come out of the Republican convention is the whole idea of being a reformer. Palin in particular seems to be tripping over herself in an effort to use the word as many times as possible whenever she speaks.

What I'd like to know is if they realize that what they're talking about reforming is the Republican party? Who are they claiming McCain and Palin went against? The mainstream Republican party! Isn't that basically admitting that the Republican party/system is just deeply flawed? If so, can't they reform their party on their own time? You don't need to run for President to clean up your own house...

In any case, it's nice to see someone finally asking McCain some hard questions, even if he does manage to evade most of them.

Conventions

Now that both the Democratic and Republican conventions are done with, I'm feeling a bit of fear at what November may bring. What I found most interesting between the two were the tone and content of the conventions, with tone being the more critical issue and a probable prediction of things to come.

I generally found the Democrats to be civil and respectful, especially when they were talking about John McCain. The Republicans, however, were totally uninhibited and were constantly on the attack, ridiculing Obama at every turn. Giuliani's speech is a good example. This kind of rhetoric is totally unnecessary in my opinion and turns me off the Republicans even though I think McCain's a good guy. And seriously, most of the arguments they level against Obama are just distractions and FUD.

My other issue, content, is obvious when you compare Obama's speech vs. McCain's speech. While McCain is pulling his grandfather war hero routine, Obama is actually providing some details on what he actually plans to accomplish, instead of what he has already done.

A simple test: just try counting how many sentences in each speech starts with "I will".

So why am I afraid? Because the Republican spin and FUD machine is going to go into overdrive now, and if there's one thing they're good at, it's spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt. Don't provide any details, appeal to your patriotism, scare you into feeling insecure, and promise you safety. That's how they won in 2004, and it looks like that's how they're planning on winning this year as well.

But this is just my opinion. Come November, make sure you vote, and vote informed. Don't just listen to the rhetoric and the ads on tv. Want to know where the candidates stand on the environment? Or something else?

Pandering

*sigh* I'm going to have to withdraw my support for Hillary. Maybe too much experience can be a bad thing, because right now she's being too much of a politician. The bad kind. With the race dragging on she's now resorting to pandering of the worst kind with her advocacy of a gas tax break for the summer. It's not going to make any difference, and the only reason she's doing it is to gain a few more precious votes.

And it's not just this one thing. It's been disappointing to see that she's always the first to resort to negative attacks and mud slinging.

I still have issues with the details of Obama's health care plan, but based on his conduct during the race so far, at least the character and tone of his administration (assuming he wins the presidency) will be more elevated. And hopefully, his policies will be driven by logic rather than emotion.

Super Tuesday

I've been hemming and hawing about the candidates for a while now, but in the end, my choice hasn't really changed. I remember my mom asking me who I'd vote for about a year ago, and I'd said that if I had to choose, I'd opt for Hillary on the Democratic side and McCain on the Republican side. The New York Times recently recommended these two candidates as well, and they've vocalized better than I could why Hillary and McCain are our best options.

The choice on the Republican side is extremely simple for me: McCain is the only one who seems willing to bridge the chasm between the Republicans and the Democrats, with a proven track record for building consensus, and lord knows we need that now more than ever. I've been tempted by Huckabee because he's been running such an amicable and friendly campaign, but I really don't think someone who references his religion every chance he gets will be able to keep the church and state separate.

As for the Democrats, it's a tough call, but in the end I buy into Hillary's experience shpiel. After all, when you're looking for a doctor or a lawyer, do you go for the young guy just out of school? Or do you go for the most experienced one you can find? A few random observations:

• I was pleasantly surprised by how friendly the race on the Democratic side has been, at least until a couple weeks ago.
• Even more surprised that Obama has been complaining about Bill Clinton campaigning on behalf of his wife. Really? Is he seriously saying that his team didn't think this was going to happen? I think it's just childish jealousy on his part. If he could have a former president campaigning on his behalf, I don't think he'd say no either. I mean, Bill's basically a very famous volunteer...