There could be worse candidates than the two that we have now. In comparison to the current President, these two are virtually carbon copies of the founding fathers. I tend to be negative, just because being negative is usually a lot funnier than being positive.
Certainly we can all agree, from all different political spectra that getting the dry drunk out from behind the wheel will help America in the long run, no matter the challenges that we face both domestically and around the world.
OLE PLAIN MCCAINMcCain the Maverick was a pretty attractive candidate. In 2000, one wonders what would have happened if John hadn't been smeared and bullied out of the top spot by a GOP with a bizarre theocratic, imperial dream of the Presidency. Now 8 years older, he seems a little more feeble, a little more "Republican" but still has a lot more flavor than most members of the GOP.
I sometimes like the angry McCain. It may actually be one of his strong points for many voters. People like emotion, although it might not seem like a good idea to have an angry guy with his finger on the button, emotion usually goes hand and hand with honesty. The scariest people to me are the people that are always calm. Are they ready to explode? Do they have some secret that they are trying to hide? McCain has always been challenged by his speaking his mind, generally you may not agree with him but you know what he stands for.
The veteran McCain is important to many people. Military service and leadership, while not being integral to being President provides a strength that not many of the younger generation understand. In a young population where those who serve is very small, there is not the shared experience of the military, with it's chain of command, the nature of combat outside of a video game, etc. McCain by anyone's measure is a war hero, surviving a horrible experience that would fracture the very soul of a lesser person. Years in a hole and of torture will certainly give you an unique insight to the human experience. Certainly some inherent negativity and mistrust but also a brotherhood and commitment that few can understand.
McCain will not bury this country, probably doesn't have the progressive vision many of us want but certainly will not be beholden to the neo- and theo-crats that have tried to create a twisted American nightmare.
A WANDER OBAMA
Being old is a strength in a weird way, being old usually means you've seen a lot and experienced the world. In my own life, I've seen the post get passed from those of the Greatest Generation to that of the Vietnam generation, and knowing the pervasive immaturity of my own generation, it is difficult to think of this mantle being passed along at this time. It is hard to conceive of children living in the White House, "did you do your homework?", "be nice to your mother".
Experience does matter, I'm not saying my wife's grandmother should be President, but her mistrust of the Russians does but her one better than the current President. Intelligence of course matters, and the ability to know what your limitations are. Perhaps the most important task of a Presidency is whose counsel you take.
I think that Obama will probably realize when he doesn't know stuff and go to the experts. "He doesn't have military experience", well OK, he won't plan the invasion of Colombia then, we have people that are really skilled at that sort of thing. One of W's failings was "general shopping", going around until he found the answers that he wanted. Hopefully Obama, if President, like Lincoln will see that strength in service is often found in those that you may not be in line politically or agree on every issue.
MIDDLE AGED WHITE GUYS: THE NEW NICHE VOTEWho gets the fat white guy vote? That's your next President. Every Sat and Sunday, if I were a candidate, I would just go tailgating at football games, talk to people, eat brats and play with kids. HS Friday nights, Sat college, Sunday pro's, every other demographic is a wash, there ain't no prius drivers for McCain, there ain't no pro-life evangelicals for Obama.
Obama gets 30-35% of this fat white guy vote that just wants to be left alone and drink beers and he wins in a landslide, instead we parade a bunch of NARAL, AFT, MTA and SEIU people up in front of the podium. The preaching to the choir, the pep rally that is endemic to conventioneering.
It's not just white guys, of course, that are in this particular demographic but a ton of people who seem to be missing from the big tent as I watch the Democratic convention. Working guys who may be Asian, Black, Latino, what have you, who want to be asked for their vote, who want their voice to be heard, but then left the hell alone, they are the non-activists. There is no Bubba's List that I know of, to elect moderate, lunch bucket/Hardee's/pizzeria candidates for local or national office.
You'll hear all sorts of pandering to the working and middle class over the next couple of months, of people out of touch, etc. A call for more tax cuts that will actually leave the middle class less secure in their future but it sounds good as a sound bite, etc. Crap about gas prices and drilling that have nothing to do with securing health care and retirement. You know, what we in France call f#cking lies.
You want to win Barack, go talk to real people, people who have been smitten by fear, rattled by ineptitude and tell them why they should vote for you. Not why they shouldn't vote for the other guy. All this wonkish, policy stuff is just fodder for us egghead, intellectuals to toss around, while the vote is decided by real worker. You want those votes, you got Barbara Streisand's, you got Ben Affleck's, move on.
