Barackalypse vs. Bushwhacked: half a dozen of one, 6 of the other…

I am soooo tired of the anti-Obama “jokes”; it’s over people so I think you should get over it, but if you insist then I too, am having a bit of a rant.

I don't believe that "But Bush did it too!" is a valid defense of anything. I do, however, believe that it's a perfectly valid response to people whose perception of reality is completely skewed.

Look, I get that you don't like taxes. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of them either; I think they’re too high, but I also think spending is too high. I understand that you oppose many of Obama's proposals. I don’t agree with everything the guy says either so I can empathize to a certain extent; however, I am baffled that you could go through the past 8 years completely care-free, not the least bit worried about the exorbitant deficit spending and obscene expansion of state power going on until now. I suppose that contrary to what I said in my last blog, color does matter. There are some people that only seem to care if there’s a boot squashing a face if it comes in blue instead of red.

So yes, Bush cut your taxes. He did, however, raise the taxes that your children (someone’s children) will pay. In general people claim to care about children, and I’d go so far as to say that given the pro-life stance of the people I am referring to (not that I think there’s anything wrong with that) I’d think you should care about children a lot. Surely you must oppose any policy that basically guarantees that your kids will pay massive taxes to some Chinese creditors, yes?

A tiny recap on the things you either missed while blinking or that simply didn’t faze you enough to even solicit a blink. The Bush administration:

- Borrowed an obscene amount of money to start a war that will bite us and future generations in the ass. (Please note that I retain the utmost respect for members of the armed forces and am grateful for their service).
- Borrowed vast sums for insane domestic security policies.
- Openly instituted a policy of torture, detention without trial and warrantless surveillance.
- Consolidated federal power over public schools.
- Instituted a massive and expensive program of free pills for the elderly.
- Borrowed another ridiculous sum to bail out Wall Street.
- Acquired equity stakes in various banks, basically nationalizing a key industry, the sort of thing that would cause you to pack your bags and move to Argentina if Obama did it.

None of that scared you in the least. You even voted repeatedly for the party doing these things.

You're only scared NOW? Really? Does anyone else recall the Chicken Littleing of Newt Gingrinch in the early 90s? His nonsense is one of the first things I can really remember from the contemporary political sector (admittedly, it was his name that drew my attention). The man said there would be soup kitchen lines, and then we had the longest peacetime economic expansion in our history.

Yes, I am hopeful for a better future, but I am also a bit cynical on it all so that should give you haters hope. I'm predicting that many of Obama's proposals will come to naught, and we'll basically get the status quo that didn't cause you to so much as bat an eyelash anyway.

Oh, except that the bill for this status quo might be paid by you instead of by future voters. The change I wanted never came to fruition either; that’s life.

*sigh* I feel better now. I was just getting so irritated that I had to rant a bit.

What's in a name?

Really, I hate to argue with the bard, but would a rose by any other name still smell as sweet? It seems to me that humans are an easily influenced bunch…

Just trying to avoid work so catching up on some reading from a couple of my favorite spots. Right now, it’s Ben Smith. Ben reports on a recent poll by the True Patriot Network which found that more Americans (of the ones polled) find McCain patriotic than do Obama.

I don’t have much time, but I wonder if perhaps the people polled have confused “patriotic” with “jingoist”. While they might often be cross-referenced as synonymous, they really are not. Clearly one of the two is sweeter than the other.

Anyway, just bored, and I am anxiously awaiting the Senator’s VP pic…I’m aware this does not make my life sound very exciting, but I don’t care. For what it's worth, I think he's leaning Romney, but I'm a bit intrigued by Ridge (not to mention a bit sad I missed him in my initial top 3).

Veeping up the mess

Nah, I'm not talking German on house chores, but I am a little late weighing in on the potential VP candidates for this election. So I started this about two and a half weeks ago and just never got around to finishing it, and I don't think that I ever will (lots of work at home and in the office as well as lots of dance practice hours in addition to regular Studio time.) Additionally, let it be noted that I am full-on admitting to being a news and politics slacker since then as I seriously am just so stinking overwhelmed with all else and so disappointed with the prez candidates that I'm a bit apathetic towards it all. That said, I ask that you take into consideration my thoughts are presumably outdated; I'll try to catch up this weekend.

Obama picks? Clark, Biden, Webb
McCain picks? Huckabee, (dare I say) Romney, Pawlenty

Okay, these peeps are not necessarily who I think the boys will choose to veep it up, but they are folks that I think could offer something to their respective tickets.

Clark is smooth, a retired general, a Rhodes scholar with education in Politics, Philosophy & Economics and respect from many for his military service, thus deflecting a bit of the sure-to-come anti-military nonsense that McCain will be hurling at Obama. Additionally he was a huge supporter of Clinton so there's potential for Obama to win some Clinton fans over with Clark. It doesn't hurt that he's a white man since Obama could use a little help in the white male demo.

Personally, I rather liked Biden when he initially threw his hat into the presidential ring, but just like the other two dems I preferred (Gravel and Kucinich) he didn't have a chance. For Obama though he could fill the foreign policy void. Not only does he have the chairmanship of the Senate for Foreign Relations Committee, but he has often been rather outspoken with regard to achieving political reconciliation in Iraq via decentralizing power among the country's warring factions. When it comes to foreign policy, where dems are concerned, Biden is it; the guy knows his stuff. Again, he should be able to help with the white male demo, specifically those ol' Irish-American roots should facilitate a good rapport with the white working class. I haven't heard a lot of buzz on Biden aside from one of my friends mentioning him. I think perhaps, Obama thinks he is lacking the articulation factor, but it's his ability to interact with the working class that makes him appealing. His special little add-in: he teaches a regular seminar on constitutional law (I know a couple of people up for the big title that could maybe use some help in this area.)

Like Clark, Webb would offer some military cred to the ticket. Obama has said that Washington is the problem so Webb's young service in Congress compliments this stance. Again, he too, would help with white voters, specifically rural voters, and would offer the opportunity for Virginia to actually come into play. Of course, because of the Virginia thing I don't think he's a very likely choice as the dems don't want to risk their chance to have two dem Senate seats in VA.

I also have to just make a quick mention of Brian Schweitzer. Although lacking the physical charm of Clark he too, is smooth, a bit of a cowboy that tells it like it is. He spent several years in Saudi Arabia as well as other countries overseas which gives him some credibility on international affairs. He has quite a bit of experience and respect for his work on energy issues.

I know there are some people out there that just won't let the Hillary thing go, but I just don't think for one second that he would pick her, and if he did, he'd be an idiot (I'm not going to waste my time or your's going into detail here.) I know there are also some people that think he should just pick any woman, and that then he would get all of the Hillary supporters behind him. Several people are talking Sebelius. Some have even mentioned MO's own McCaskill. Neither of these is happening either. If anyone is going to sway the female vote by picking a female running mate, it's McCain, and I don't think he'll do it either.

Let's see though…on Huckabee, I don't particularly <3 Huckabee, but the guy is a good speaker. He would definitely make the evangelical population happy, but he would likely disappoint the conservatives rooted in economic and foreign policy. Just like I think Webb will help Obama in VA I think Huckabee would help McCain there as well as in NC and OH.

Romney, again, although his Mormonism is not popular with conservative evangelicals he is still seen as a representative of Christianity so that will help a bit (at least if trying to sway some dems or fence-riders away that are afeared of Obama's satanic Muslim beliefs [rolls eyes].) He has a record of economic crisis management (hey are we in one of those?) He too, has the ability to do well in OH as well as FL and a ton o' those western states (minus Cali.)

Mr. Pawlenty is perhaps McCain's Quayle (yuck), but the good there is that he's young, with an attractive enough family. With the jokes about McCain's age overflowing, a young hockey-playing veep would offer some balance against the young Barack. He's been a big McCain supporter from the get-go, but with strict conservatives that already worry about McCain, I think a Pawlenty choice has the potential to cause further concern as he is often viewed as a bit left-leaning as far Republicans go. He is majorly anti-abortion though and has a following in the blue-collar crowd.

I've heard some mention of McCain being bold enough to pick his dem buddy Lieberman to attempt to procure some dem votes. I really don't think he'd do this. If he did, I don't think he'd see a real reward on the dem side, and he sure as hell would piss the conservatives off with that one. Will he pick a woman? I doubt it but have heard mention of Sarah Palin. She is a major church-going pro-lifer and member of the NRA, but I just don't see it happening. Lastly, I sorta see Portman's name next to McCain's, although he may not be a "big" enough name. In fact, it's his low-level of name recognition that kept him out of my top three list because honestly I think as far as economics go he has more to offer than Romney. He also has the potential to help out in OH and FL. He has worked at the economic, diplomatic, legislative and executive levels. He's younger without being a green newbie in the politics game.

Regardless of whom either gentleman picks to share their respective campaign sign space, I very much agree with something my friend recently wrote

(Veepstakes) and that is that for once the VP candidates are going to really matter. I don't think that I'm the only person out there that's disappointed in our lackluster presidential candidates, and let's face it a VP is only one breath, one heartbeat away from being the next president. I think that we need to care about these candidates as well. Additionally, it's often the case that a VP runs for presidential office down the road. These people have the potential to represent their parties over the course of two decades. Let's hope the boys find a way to balance selection not just by who will help them get elected but also by who will help them successfully govern.