Out of the Inkwell

Last week was very busy, so I apologize for not posting more. I'll make it up this week.

With the presidential election now in full swing, I can't help but be saddened by what I see as an obscuring of the issues by the most paper-thin rhetoric and manipulation.

McCain and/or his advisers were brilliant in selecting freshman Governor Sarah Palin because she manages to hit a lot of buttons that McCain apparently couldn't hit. What grimly fascinates me is as economic problems continue to affect more and more people and institutions in the country, the emphasis has not been on Pailin's experience, but rather that she is a "normal" person with "real American values" – what ever that is and whatever those are.

She hunts. She's a beauty pageant contestant. She's pro-life. She's a Christian of sorts. She doesn't know much about foreign policy stuff, although she is the commander of the Alaska National Guard and is next door to Russia – sort of.

All of the folks who embrace her seem to forget a couple of things:

The folks backing McCain are the same who backed Bush. McCain and Palin will not be agents of change as they are packaging themselves. They won't be allowed.

While Palin was the mayor of a small town of 7,000 people – which had its own Washington lobbyist – McCain was in the Senate where for the past eight years his maverick change agent role was confronted with the harsh reality of his voting record – he's a Bush neocon supporter.

Constitutional conservatives should be appalled that McCain will undoubtedly carry on the same fiscal polices as Bush – the national debt is getting deeper and deeper.

All of the Republicans who laugh off the issue of her local of experience would be gnashing their teeth and frothing if the Dems had picked a freshman governor such as our own Deval Patrick. The hypocrisy is overwhelming.

By the way could someone please show in the Bible a text where Jesus condones a preemptive attack and killing of woman and children? Please explain to me how the Iraqi War jives with Christian theology?

So this is what I hope to hear from both candidates:

What they are going to do about keeping American jobs here.

Getting rid of NAFTA, which has failed to help US workers.

If they are going to stop illegal immigration by closing down the illegal jobs those folks hold.

If they are dedicated to helping re-tool this country into a green economy.

How they are going to end the War on Terror.

Whether or not either will be returning to a Constitutional-based government.

I want specifics. I want facts. I don't give a flying crap about dogma, photo ops, lipstick on a pig, fake indignation, what someone is wearing, endorsements from people supporting the status quo, whether or not someone is wearing a flag lapel pin.

I'm pissed. This country is approaching a state of despair it hasn't seen since the Depression.

© 2008 by Gordon Michael Dobbs