Posted by
-Frank on Monday, July 14, 2008 1:32:55 AM
There are many important issues at stake here and I'm looking forward to all the ways I could see John McCain exposing the disastrous course Barack Obama would set for this country. Here's what I hope I will not see but fear I am likely to.
1. Each man pointing out associates of the other's who are controversial or disreputable and demanding that they renounce them.
2. Each man reacting to criticism from the other by demanding that he apologize for what he said instead of rebutting what was said or making an effective attack in retaliation.
3. Each man spending a lot of time talking about what a terrific guy the other one is. Each candidate, even if they stick to the issues, will paint a picture of the other indicating that they will fundamentally screw up this country if elected instead. If they really believe that, then they do not, in fact, believe the other guy to be terrific, but fundamentally flawed and recklessly irresponsible. So could we please dispense with the candy coated white lies of political diplomacy and get to explaining who will raise my taxes and who won't?
4. Each man spending a tremendous amount of time talking about how the government will solve your problems while at the same time talking about how bad the national debt and out of control federal spending are. Most problems in this country require little from the government that cannot be fundamentally described as getting out of the way. Energy, incidentally, is a crashing crescendo of a problem that the federal government has created because of its involvement with it and the candidate with any sense of decency will be the one willing to get it out of the way of solving this problem.
Look, both of them need to understand that they're dealing with an unhappy electorate who gives an approval rating of single digits to the branch of government in which they serve. Having a spine and being able to withstand intense pressure to do things the way they have always been done are going to be vital to actually getting anything done in today's Washington. Who do you think's going to be more willing to go against the prevailing wisdom? The universally loved within his own party guy or the guy who's spent his whole career in Washington ticking off his own party?
-Frank