As I watch the political theatre of the Presidential election unfold, I can't help but wonder if anyone is paying attention. Of course people are tuning in, voicing opinions, waiving signs and appear to be involved; but when the nomination of an inexperienced and unknown candidate with identical policies to those of our current President makes such an impact, one has to worry.
This is the first installment of this blog, and as you can tell we won't be dwelling on what candidate God wants, or if we should be teaching creationism in schools. *Disclaimer - I consider myself to be a deeply spiritual person, but one that truly believes in the separation of church and state. No, we'll be concerned with identifying the real issues facing our great nation, and trying to comprehend why so much of our electorate is ignoring them. We're not concerned with the lipstick or the pig.
No, I don't care about Sarah's lipstick. What I want to know is why the Republicans are so intent on hiding her? The Internet is abuzz with claims that she is qualified to be our VP, and therefore President. I'm going to ignore, for now, some of the more interesting qualifications that are being offered and focus instead on why she's not being allowed to speak to the public - beyond the Bush camp authored stump speech that she continues to roll out. Surely her fans are tired of the "I said thanks but no thanks" line. Right? Frankly, Sarah seems able think on her feet and there is no doubt of her likability. So, if she is qualified, put her on the stage and prove it. Get her under the lights and let us take a good hard look. And if they won't do so, what are they afraid of? The hard charging tough-guy "right" can't be cowards, or can they?
And here we're back to the question of whether the country is awake. This candidate has been immediately adopted by millions of our citizens with little or no thought - she's a mom, she's attractive, she's a governor, good enough for them. Furthermore, the surge (pun intended) that she created for McCain makes little sense given one fact: She's not the presidential candidate.
John McCain remains the Republican candidate for President of the United States. He has been a loyal supporter of President Bush and the policies of the Bush administration. Mr. McCain's team is comprised mostly of lobbyists for big corporations. Should he be elected, McCain will put his transition in the hands of, wait for it, an Oil Lobbyist (Dick Cheney and Big Oil anyone?). Logically, given what he has said and looking at the people he has hired, anyone could deduce that Mr. McCain will bring us more of what we've had for the past eight years: misery. The thing that confounds me is: If only 29% of Americans approve of President Bush, and McCain has demonstrated that he is "Bush Lite", why are 50% of Americans supporting McCain?
Which brings us back to Sarah I suppose. Somehow the "feel good" nature of her addition to the ticket is inspiring support for McCain. In the face of collapsing banks, an economy in turmoil, a health care crisis, rampant inflation, expensive oil, our diminished status in the world, and of course threats to our national security, one half of Americans are choosing a team of candidates that will perpetuate the policies that gave birth to these problems. They will exacerbate the issues that challenge our country rather than correct them.
Yet here we are, going boldly forward, full speed ahead, damn the economy! Why? We'll ponder that question in more detail soon. Thanks for reading this, and welcome.
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