A Month in the Life

The drive-by media have received their talking points...portray the McCain campaign as stirring up mob-like passions that are boiling out of control. To hear Frank Rich of the NY Times talk, McCain is as lethal and dangerous as a frothing Hitler. Unbelievable!

Watch over the next couple of days as the lazy liberal media just takes the bait and builds on this template of a mob-like frenzy occurring on the GOP side. It's insane alright. It's the loony left who know no bounds of decency in political discourse. Was it not a prominent Democrat party hack who said that Palin's only qualification for being the GOP VP candidate was the fact that she didn't have an abortion? Has anyone in the Democrat media spoken out against the vile garbage that is lamely presented as "comedy" on such left-loving shows as Saturday Night Live? One skit even tried to be funny suggesting that Palin's family was involved in incest. But not a peep of protest from the moral giants at the NY Times. Then there was the political cartoon making a mockery of Palin's religion (actually making a joke about speaking in tongues). It is beyond belief that the media royalty in NY and DC can't understand how utterly offensive this is to Christians of all stripes.

I won't even begin to call out the hateful rhetoric from Hollywood and the entertainment world. I could care less what Madonna thinks about McCain or Palin (didn't she move to Britain anyway). P. Diddy (or whatever his name is this week) is so enraged by Palin that he had to make a mocking video that, of course, ABC and other media outlets quickly picked up and plastered on the front page of the "news" websites.

So who is really stirring up a mob-like frenzy of hatred and intolerance? Why it's the sanctimonious liberal leftists who look down their noses at the rest of us and preach to us about tolerance and lecture McCain about how to run an honorable campaign. It is really sickening.

Check out this excellent post regarding the hypocrisy of the Democrats on this matter: Michelle Malkin Post (Warning: this is not for the faint of heart...there is material here that many will find offensive, yet this is how the left chooses to attack their political opponents.)


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Tuesday night's debate seems like a distant memory now. The financial meltdown has completely sucked the wind out of both campaigns. Obama benefits by default since he represents the party out of power. No matter that his prescription of raising taxes on individuals and small businesses making over $250K is a recipe for more disaster in the economy. His proposal for raising capital gains taxes won't matter since there is scarcely any capital gains being made out there right now. I'm not sure how he will find money to fund his universal healthcare initiative, what with the $700+ billion bailout plan now the law of the land; and other bailout candidates knocking down the doors of Congress. So with the current constraints of the economy, what will an Obama presidency bring? I honestly have no idea and that is a little unsettling.

I hope the political dynamic changes in the next couple of weeks because right now the campaign has become boring and fairly obnoxious. The race now resembles the "electrifying" Clinton-Dole campaign of 1996 (yawn). I don't want to see another teleprompter address by Obama. I don't want to hear McCain say "my friends" a thousand times in one speech. I don't want to see Sarah...no, wait, strike that.

There are only a few things that can shake up the race at this point: (a) Obama or McCain makes a huge gaffe in the final debate (not likely); (b) Patrick Fitzgerald drops a bomb on Obama and associates in the US Attorneys office in Chicago in his ongoing corruption probe of Illinois politicians (not likely until after the election); (c) it is revealed that Obama was not born in this country and is not eligible to become president (probably not true, but there are rumors); or (d) terrorists strike US interests here or abroad (let's pray not).

So, if the polls are to believed, President Obama is close to becoming a reality. I am not excited about that prospect; but, quite honestly, I'm not terribly excited about a President McCain either. I just think McCain would be more of a known quantity in these troubled times and a "steady hand on the tiller" (as McCain said in the last debate).

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You can't beat McCain's life experience. I think McCain won this one.

Completely out of his league on foreign policy. Obama doesn't even make sense when answering foreign policy questions. His only mantra is "I didn't support the war". Beyond that, I'm afraid he is very naive and uninformed on foreign affairs.

Obama says "I'll be brief" then goes on and on. Reminds me of the evangelist who says "in closing"....:)

Obama said that no one is advocating invading Pakistan and then he turns around in the next breath and advocates just that (if they are not going to go after bin Laden...which they have not done). Obama plays really loose with the facts. Will he be held accountable? Probably not.

Isn't it amazing that every question is deemed a "terrific question" by the candidates. I wish, just for once, that one of them would say, "that was a stupid question".

Obama just enumerated a new right for every American citizen: the right to health care. Are you kidding me? This guy is a socialist.

Okay, I'm taking a swig of Diet Mt. Dew every time Obama says "aaand" or "uh" and every time McCain says "my friends". I think I am on a caffeine high.

I never thought I'd like the idea of a commission to solve the Medicare problem. But, when McCain proposed it, likening it to the base closure commission (which overcame partisanship), I thought, "that's not a bad idea". Ok, maybe I'm drinking the kool-aid. But, have you heard a better idea on Medicare?

Loved McCain's response comparing Obama's tax policies to "nailing jello to the wall" and the comparison to Herbert Hoover. At this point, McCain is taking it to him and Obama is just dull.

McCain is coming across as more personable in this format. Obama seems distant, aloof. Obama's responses drone on and one with frequent starts and stops. He is much better with prepared text.

Obama invoked the ghost of JFK when he referenced Kennedy's pledge to go to the moon. At the time, no one knew for sure how we would do it. Good point when comparing to the goal of energy independence.

McCain is nailing Obama on spending (I loved the $3,000 overhead projector reference). He also called Obama on not bucking his own party, ever.

If Obama mentions Bush one more time, I think in all fairness, Bush should be allowed to respond.

In talking about how the credit crisis will affect average Americans, Obama described what Democrats derisively call "trickle down economics". In other words, when businesses, big and small, don't have access to capital, the average American worker suffers. Is the converse not true? When business has more capital to invest (meaning lower taxes), the average American worker benefits. Be consistent, Senator.

McCain finally nails Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac along with the Dems complicity in their downfall. Yes, Yes, Yes!

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What in the world is McCain doing suggesting an Obama supporter (Warren Buffet) as his Sec. of the Treasury? Is there not a credible conservative for the job? Wow, McCain, what a disappointment.

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Obama starts out with a "blame Bush" mantra. I think everyone is so tired of this. Bush is not on the ballot. Neither is Bush the sole cause of the economic crisis. Stop blaming Bush!

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The key question everyone should be asking before going to the polls next month is "who is the real leader in this race?".

The problems we face in this country are huge and the solutions are elusive. The unfolding financial crisis has unsettled the body politic even more than the lingering effects of a long, unpopular war. There is no clear path to a solution out of the mess we're in. Both McCain and Obama voted for the huge bailout bill which passed both houses of Congress last week. Today, the markets seemed not to care that Congress supposedly "fixed" the problem. So no one seems to know what the next move is. President Bush, the lamest of lame ducks, cannot reassure the public enough to stop panic selling. The bottom line is that our country desperately needs a leader right now who can speak with clarity and authority....whose vision is both rational and communicable to the average citizen.

There is no better situation to evaluate a leader's mettle than in the throes of a crisis. Thus, McCain's and Obama's responses to unexpected and troubling events at home and abroad over the past few weeks are illuminating.

When Russia invaded a democratic neighbor, Georgia, on the eve of the Olympics, McCain was unequivocal and strong in his denunciation of the Russian Soviet-style aggression that harked back to the Cold War era. Obama's response was more timid and in fact evolved over a few days until he finally got around to McCain's position. Clearly, McCain won that round on leadership.

On the recent financial crisis, both candidates have been disappointing. While Congress was under intense pressure to pass the unprecedented and unpopular bailout bill, arguably the most significant piece of economic legislation since the New Deal, Obama's initial reaction was to stay on the campaign trail, far away from D.C. His basic response to the biggest financial crisis of a generation was "if you need me, call me"...not inspiring words from one who wants to ascend to the presidency in just three months. See Obama's timid response here:





While Obama initially wanted no part in the bailout negotiations. McCain went whole hog, suspended his campaign, threatened to sit out the first debate, and rushed back to Washington, ostensibly because his leadership was needed in the Republican caucus. Yes, the move smelled like a political stunt, but it probably would have worked to bolster McCain as someone who can forge compromises and actually get something done if in fact McCain actually did something once he got back to DC. The problem was that, from all accounts, McCain's presence at the negotiation table had a negligible effect and, indeed, the initial legislation went down in a blaze of glory. Clearly, McCain was not the leader that he thought he could be on this issue. The result was McCain's image as a leader took a major hit. His actions were labeled a campaign stunt and his campaign has been reeling ever since. In my opinion, McCain missed a golden opportunity in the first debate to rail against the pork-laden, Wall Street bailout and to call out the Democratic leaders for their excessive partisanship as well as their own culpability in the current economic crisis.

So, who is the real leader in this race? Clearly, McCain is a maverick, a war hero, a long-time Washington pol who has bucked his own party on many occasions. But his marks as a leader are mixed at best. Obama clearly is an opportunistic politician with a thin resume. We haven't had an opportunity to fully evaluate his leadership skills because he really hasn't led anything. In the few opportunities that he has had in this campaign to show real leadership qualities, Obama has been a big disappointment.

Americans will choose their next president one month from today. It has been an incredibly long and unpredictable process that has made this one of the most memorable campaigns in modern history. Remember when Hillary Clinton was seen not only as the inevitable Democratic nominee but as the president-in-waiting no less? Remember when Rudy Giuliani was viewed as the best option to stop the Clinton juggernaut? Remember when John Edwards was actually taken seriously (never by me, but others)? Remember when John McCain's campaign was on life support and flat broke? Remember when Joe Biden said that Obama was not ready to be president? Boy, things sure have changed! These politicos have staged a drama much more interesting than those annoying reality TV shows.

McCain has shown himself to be the ultimate Survivor. I thought this guy was finished in 2000 when Bush authoritatively put down a maverick uprising from the McCainiacs. I thought he was surely finished in the Republican party when he forged the infamous Gang of 14 which essentially thwarted Bush's attempt to appoint conservative judges to the federal judiciary. I just knew that McCain would never be the Republican standard bearer when it was widely rumored that John Kerry was contemplating asking McCain to run as his VP in '04. When McCain bucked the conservative faithful on immigration last year, I went ahead and wrote his political obituary. But mainly through a divide and conquer strategy with conservatives and through his own personal story of heroism, McCain has persevered and is one month away from possibly becoming our oldest first term president.

Later this week I'll reveal the candidate for whom I voted in the primary. He/she did not become the nominee. I do believe that my candidate would have been a stronger general election candidate. The nature of politics, however, is you take what you can get and make the best of it.

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What a surprise! Once again, my initial reaction to a political event is in stark contrast to the opinion spouted by the media punditry. From what I'm seeing, many thought Palin did a very good job tonight. I guess the media's incessant caricature of Palin had lowered expectations so much for the Governor that anything short of incoherent babbling would be seen as a victory.

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No major gaffes. Biden comes across as knowledgeable, passionate, dedicated. He was respectful toward Palin and used the strategy of attacking McCain rather than Palin...very smart. Palin was out of her league. She's charming, admirable, and I agree with her on many policies; but she is not quite ready for an examination of this magnitude. I fear the McCain camp is in the beginning stages of a continual downward slide toward election day.

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I'm afraid that Palin is coming across as too flippant...too informal. This is not a mayoral debate in Wasilla. I like Palin; but she is not coming across as a serious candidate tonight I'm afraid.

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No doubt Biden is way more experienced in policy and Washington than Palin. Palin does seem a bit too much like the student who has crammed all night for a final exam and is just reciting a memorized script. The stature gap is showing between these two.

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Palin's strong suit supposedly is energy; but Biden won this round in my opinion.

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A good back-and-forth on taxes. I agree with Palin, but Biden touts the liberal line well. Classic conservative vs. liberal economic policy. Both represented well.

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It's just not fair. Biden is no match on TV for Palin. Palin's the charmer. Biden's the wonk. Who do you think most Americans will identify with?

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I wait with bated breath for the commencement of the long-awaited Vice Presidential Debate tonight. How long do you think it's been since the nation has been riveted by a 2-hour conversation between a couple of Veep candidates? I can't remember any previous VP debate being so interesting. But tonight the nation will tune in to see if Joe Biden will make another memorable gaffe while many others will tune in just to see Sarah Palin (if not to hear anything she says). So, the pizza is ordered and I just poured a nice tall glass of cold Diet Mt. Dew. Let the debate begin.

Oh, I guess I should mention that I am the new blogger for October. Some classic 90&9 readers might remember me from the 2004 year-long Southampton blog. I'm Phillip Hampton from Nashville and I will be your political commentator for the month of October.

More later, but the pizza's getting cold.

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September with all of its changes has come to an end. I can't believe how quickly this month has passed. When I started the blog, I had also just started teaching at my lovely little school. I had just started my new classes at St. Kate's.

Labels: Autumn, Poem