John McCain did pretty well last night, but I doubt anyone thinks he scored enough points to change the dynamic of the race. There were a couple of places where he could have hammered Obama (e.g., on Obama's epiphany on nuclear power) but he did not throw the knock-out punch.
He also failed to really tie Obama to Bill Ayers in any meaningful way. For some reason, it just doesn't appear to be in McCain's nature to really go for the throat.
While there is some tentative evidence that the race may be tightening a little, I'd say that if its true, its as much due to Palin as it is to McCain. I don't think much he did last night really moved the needle. Clearly, he's running out of time to make that happen.
Moreover, I, like many conservatives, was floored by his announcement regarding directing the paydown and renegotiation of delinquent mortgage loans. For a moment, I thought that Obama and McCain had switched bodies (ala "Freaky Friday"). It surprised me that such an anti-capitalist proposal was being pushed by a so-called conservative Republican.
But, lets face it, John McCain is not a regular Republican. I just wish he wouldn't keep reminding conservatives why he wasn't their first choice
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6 comments:
Shame on you John. Bill Ayers? That is such a red herring. People don't care about that issue any more than they care about the Keating Five.
People care about the economy and things like health care. People care that your candidate is proposing to give people $5,000 to buy their own health insurance (never mind that he will also tax employer paid benefits for the first time) because people know that you can't buy a family health insurance for 5,000 a year. What a joke.
The Republican Party appears desperate and hell bent on trying to get a swiftboat momemtum. How desperate. How transparent.
Your party, John, has presided over 8 years of the worst kind of excesses that harken back to the Guilded Age of the very, very rich and the rest of us.
Its one thing to call yourself a conservative Republican, its another thing to be stuck on an ideal, a dogmatic theory, in the face of the circumstances. Surely even conservative Republicans can be more flexible in these most challenging times.
Or, do you really think the free market will correct this mess over time?
BTW, read the article in this months Rolling Stone Magazine on your candidate.
Like I said, leaving the Democratic party was a very liberating feeling. No more "my party uber alis."
Your recent blogs sound like Sean Hannity's talking points (albeit off steroids).
Perhaps you should take off your Republican glasses and have a fresh look.
Rubes
I think I like this Rubes. Paragraphes 1 and 2 I fully agree with. Paragraph 3 is a given. Luckliy Barack was too young to be in Vietnam so those "Swift Boat" veteran liars should be non sequitor. Paragraph 4 - so true!!! What we need is to give Barack 4 years and see what happens. Bush ran the country into the ground after 8 years. Do we really need another four years of the same type of policies??? George W. and Herbert Hoover will forever live in infamy as the 2 presidents who led us into a financial mess that, this time, all of the king's horses and all of the king's men may not be able to digs us out of again. Money that could be used here is flowing overseas. Time to put a cork in that. Looking at the polls more and more americans are realizing it IS a time for a change and maybe come November it will happen.
Hey oh GOP stalwart.
Is there an October surprise in the works (I know: If you know, you can't give it away)?
I know there's the suit alleging Obama is not a citizen. Thats up on You Tube now. But I don't know if that one holds water.
This gradual chipping away at Obama's credibility seems to be working, though. He fails to tell the whole truth, evidence comes out, he revises his story, etc.
Wright. Ayers. Acorn. The Citibank suit. etc. What's next?
I wonder about the Columbia U. years. He won't release any info about it. Is there a GOP type digging away? Surely there are some Republican graduates of Columbia, maybe even in the same class, who have access to yearbooks, club lists, school newspapers, etc. I'd like to know if Obama was in the Chess Club, or the Young Democrats, or the Socialist League ...
Can you ask the Republicans down New York City way if anyone is digging?
I'll crawl back under my rock now. :-)
Thoughts on the election of 08:
I have come to the conclusion that our system by which we choose the president is flat out broken.
Hard to beleve that it is already 4 years that W was elected with a lot of political capitol and "I intend to use it." Set aside his role or the decisions made by his administration (i.e. targeting Social Security as priority #1), and ask has the country accomplished much in the past 4 years? Set aside foreign policy. Domestically - have we simplified our tax system, signaficantly improved our public education system or developed alternatives to it? Have we greatly improved the conditions of our highways? Have we created a health care system that is affordable for small business to buy for employees or citizens to purchase on thier own? Have we made significant strides toward freeing ourselves of our dependency on other countries in terms of enery as well as money. Have we talked with each other about civil unions for gays, the right to choose for women, within the context of respecting religious views as well as individual libety. Have we developed a sane policy toward immigration? The answer to these questions is obvious. The larger question is why not?
Clearly, the president's term lasts only 18 months. At that point the media begins the election cycle. The media begins the cycle because it is in the media's financial interest to do so. The result is 2 years of governing followed by 2 years of posturing, the final result being little gets accomplished.
As a politcal science major in college, I compared the politcal systems of various countries. I felt then and still beleive that our Bill of Rights is the superior part of our constitution, when compared with others. I concluded then and feel even more sure now, that the system for electing governments in Britain, Canada, Israel is a better system than what we have. Ours is simply consuming too mcuh time and making politicians even more impotent than the nature of elected office demands.
The reality is that whoever is elected president on Nov 4 will have 24 months from January 20, 2009 before a 2 year cycle begins again. By contrast the British and Cananadians are going as long as 5 years before a 3-4 month election cycle takes place.
Lee:
No October surpise for McCain.
The surprise will occur next year for many Americans who learn that the change they ended up with doesn't really look like the change they voted for.
Anonymus:
I have to agree with your view that our electoral system is broken.
I happen to think it is because we have a poorly educated and uninformed populace (at least with regard to civics, politics and economics). If our education system and media did a better job, it would be a lot harder for politicians to get away with campaigning by feel good slogans.
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