One Week Remains. . .

What has seemed like an eternity will soon come to an end (or at least we hope). One week remains, as of tomorrow, in this election season. Just as in the case of previous elections, everyone is feeling fatigued, even with the candidates fighting it out this final week. Many have simply written the campaign off, taking the assumption that Barack Obama will indeed be elected next week. However, there is still a week left, and that's a long time in politics. We have seen interested events occur just today with the conviction of Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens (R). That right there has changed the dynamics of this election, and could in fact help the Democrats secure the magic number of 60 and create a filibuster proof Senate. 

So this brief post is a reminder. We are all tired (myself especially), yet we have more campaigning, and punditing, and analyzing, and BS to go. More talk about socialism, clothes, Bill Ayers, taxes, blah, blah, blah. It will be painful, yet we will survive. We will get angry, but we will somehow survive. Even if your candidate isn't elected next week. . . we will survive. So please don't do anything rash before or after the election, it's not worth it. Grab a beer, a cigarette, hell, even a joint if it means getting through this final week and waking up November 5th ready to move on to the next thing that consumes our lives. 

2008: A Strange Odyssey....and it continues

With still over two months to go, 2008 has proven to be one of the strangest years in recent memory. All one has to do is see that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series and one scratches their head in amazement. What has gone on here?

The year started with a bang. Our New Year's hangover hadn't faded quite yet when Barack Obama stormed out of nowhere to win the Iowa Caucus and those all over took a second look at his campaign and wondered, can stop the Clinton Machine? We trudged through the winter and then spring as Obama and Hillary duked it out in a strange, bizarre, and almost insane primary contest. It was beginning to look like one of those college football games that heads into overtime. Neither team can close out the deal as both fire in touchdowns left and right. The game continues. No ties in this match-up, someone eventually had to win. I'd become Pavlov's dog watching CNN on the night of a primary contest, and just by hearing the CNN's jingle they played whenever results came in caused my focus to shift directly to my TV preparing for the results to be read by bearded wonder Wolf Blitzer. It dragged on. Finally on a warm night in late June, Barack Obama sealed the deal. The young, freshman Senator from Illinois who captivated the attention of so many just four years prior as a state senator speaking at the 2004 Democratic Convention would be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Who would've thought? Barack Obama beat the Clintons... Strange indeed.

This odd behavior was not as noticeable with the Republicans, yet a strange campaign certainly took place. Rudy Giuliani, an early favorite to capture the nomination decided to take the dumbest road in modern campaign history, putting all of your resources in one state. On top of that, it was a state that couldn't even figure out how to vote properly. We saw a TV personality capture the attention of Conservatives for a while, but once people heard Fred Thompson fumbling his words, and not making much sense, he retreated and headed back to Law & Order, where he belongs. Mitt Romney scared the hell out of everyone with a smile that never seemed to fade, his campaign decided to do what he couldn't. Mike Huckabee, the likable former governor of Arkansas, who looked down and out kept going and really connected with Republicans all over the country and showed some how you can win without huge sums of money, or receiving the national spotlight. However, he too had to concede to a man that just months earlier looked like a man stranded in the water at the beginning of a Jaws sequel. That man was John McCain. 

Who would've thought McCain could pull back into this race and get to the finish line for the Republicans? He was royally crapped on by Bush's campaign in 2000 (odd that he employs the same operatives who did the crapping) yet eight years later he captivated the attention of Republicans and pissed off others. 

No one at the start of 2008 ever believed this election would come down to Barack Obama and John McCain. Yet it has. With less than two weeks left until this election is over and done with, there is still work that both candidates must do to secure victory. Strange happenings could still happen and most certainly will, in just a week, Barack Obama will run a 30 minute ad on the major networks, even delaying the start of game 6 of the World Series. If that isn't strange and unusual, I'm sure what else is. Until then.... stay weird. 

An Honest Question

"The American Promise" (Obama campaign ad)

"Ayers" (McCain campaign ad)

Tomorrow evening Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will debate for the third and final time this election season. For most, this will be the final time these candidates have an opportunity to discuss the issues. The posted videos are the latest ads to be posted on the YouTube pages of Obama and McCain. Neither ad actually expresses a key issue in this election. According to the CNN Issues page with data conducted by PollingReport.com, 58% of Americans top issue is the economy. The next largest issue: healthcare at a whopping 13%. Tomorrow night truly is the final time these men have an opportunity to discuss issues that truly matter to Americans. 

Let's start with Obama's ad, "The American Promise". It's a great online advertisement coming in at a long 2 minutes and 43 seconds it shows clips of Barack Obama speaking, crowds cheering, and talking about Americans rising up and "changing". It's a well made ad with catchy music, good editing, but doesn't discuss one single issue facing Americans this election season other than Obama's buzzword, "change." Upon watching this ad, it is very easy to figure out what exactly the Obama campaign is trying to do: motivate. With three weeks to the day left until election day, Obama wants as many supporters as he can muster out there creating "change" and beginning to fulfill his "American Promise" by knocking on doors, phone banking, emailing, whatever it takes to bring home "change" next month. It is not trying to convey a specific policy position Senator Obama has, or attempting to contrast his candidacy with that of John McCain's. Therefore, it succeeds and fails. It addresses but doesn't. It is in less than three minutes a fantastic look at the Obama campaign. A promising politician, fired up audiences responding to Obama's call for change, and may in fact create the motivation in supporters that have yet to join the campaign to do so now in the final stretch. 

With that being said, the ad fails. Now more than ever, Americans want answers about how these candidates are going to tackle the serious issues we are now facing. The economy, despite the massive increase in the stock market yesterday, is still incredibly fragile. Many more Americans are facing job losses and foreclosure, yet none of this was uttered in the Obama ad. It paints a pretty picture of what the United States can be under an Obama Presidency. At this point, a lot of people are willing to take hope and are simply assuming everything will be fine under with Obama as President. At this point, it's going to take more than hope to fix our problems and those campaigning for Obama now are going to have continue that support and work through the good and bad that could occur with Obama at the helm.

Now onto McCain. 

We are all now well aware of Bill Ayers. (For those that don't, there is a reason both Wikipedia and hyperlinking were created). I need not explain who he is, because the John McCain ad describes him for you and his relationship with Barack Obama. What I find interesting in McCain's message is there is a complete lack of any issue. While certainly Americans don't want a President who "pals around with terrorists" it may be a far cry to actually say that. It's OK to question one's judgement and you want to win this election, so it is understandable that you would do both. However, it doesn't seem to be working. As daily polls come out, Senator Obama continues to gain in the polls, even in states that seemed so red (North Dakota, West Virgina) just a few weeks ago, it would have been hard to imagine Obama gaining there, but he is. With or without the Bill Ayers ad, many Americans are coming to an agreement. 

"I may not agree with Obama on all the issues, but the Republicans haven't helped much, in fact, I may be worse off with them in charge," are the thoughts of many who have been interviewed and polled. 

McCain's campaign is definitely looking for answers and thought the judgement and associations of Senator Obama would dissuade voters and bring them to or back in the McCain category. Frankly, Americans are getting fed up. It has become same old politics in America. McCain the Maverick has proven to be anything but, even going back on his own promise to shy away from negative campaigning. Even if McCain did want to blast Obama away with the negative ads, let a 527 do it and continue appearing as the Maverick. If Bush had the Swiftboat Veterans, surely McCain could do even better. Instead, McCain is too focused on how to get people to hate Obama rather than explaining why he'd be a better choice for President. With crowds now seeming more angry and rowdy, and not at McCain's proposals, but simply the crowd's disapproval of Obama. It seems almost probable that these two candidates have been turned into two groups. Those who support Senator Obama and those who don't. 

McCain's true support is waning, that much is true. I had a wonderful conversation last week with a student at KSU who is a Republican and was a McCain supporter from the primaries up until three months ago and had previously supported the Senator's candidacy in 2000. His reason for jumping ship: McCain was not the same man and was lacking ideas for the country. That much could be true and from a campaign strategy side, if you knew of the same problems with voters that I heard from this gentleman, then you change your campaign. Make it about NOT supporting the other guy. When stumping, don't bring up anything YOU plan on doing, just how awful the plans of the other guy are. Supporters that were earlier falling asleep at a rally, wake up, and begin screaming and yelling in much of the same fashion that the characters of Orwell's 1984 did. 

With this new found knowledge in mind, the ads begin to make sense. Obama's ads are about supporters doing something (what that is, we still have no idea) and McCain's ads are now about fear, anger, the "Two Minutes Hate" if you will. With the lack of true issue based substance in these candidates, perhaps this is why tomorrow night will be similar to the previous two debates, boring, rambling, and telling me absolutely nothing of the direction either of these two men want to take the United States. That more than Bill Ayers scares me and that more than the "American Promise" makes me want to take action to ensure I still have a country by the time my hair falls out. 

Please Senators, one of you is going to be handed a big pile of garbage from King George II, who promises "plenty more to do in the last 100 days." Get with the program and inform the general public or at least the masses who are too lazy to read up on your policy positions via your websites. Whether you like it or not, in three weeks the American people are going to head to the polls and vote and then, "it's all over now, baby blue." 

Perhaps Bob Dylan had it right when he sang that song 43 years ago. He proclaims in the first verse, "You must leave now, take what you need you think will last. But whatever you wish to keep you must grab it fast." We may need to hit the road and disappear if this doesn't all work out in the end. America could truly be in danger if we don't think this one through before going to the polls in November (or earlier if you're the early voting type). Educate yourself and friends on the positions of these candidates and research them to the fullest. Don't rely on the candidates themselves to explain this to you, they're too busy "campaigning". 

Debating Take Two

The second of three Presidential debates will commence in just a few short hours. The networks are preparing, the pundits are getting ready for some punditry. It shall be glorious...or will it? In the past week we have seen the McCain and Obama campaigns get predictably nasty with each bringing up mundane, irrelevant information from the candidates' pasts. Really folks? With all this going on, neither one can say one word about the issues? 

Just scrolling through the pages of today's New York Times it doesn't take a rocket scientist or even a political scientist to find the issues. They're on the front freaking page. More so than many elections in recent memory, these candidates finally have real issues to discuss and yet they aren't. We saw a pathetic display last week at the Vice Presidential debate in which Joe Biden and Sarah Palin barely touched on the issues. Most pundits claimed that Palin did a good job simply because her expectations were really that low and Biden won because I guess he brought something of relevance up and didn't bite Palin's head off and eat it for dessert. 

When the primaries finally came to a close and we knew who our nominees were, part of me felt confident that Senator Obama and Senator McCain were gentlemen who knew the importance of this election and would attempt to stick to the issues. Although being a person who studies politics this seemed a bit too good to be true and oh was it. With an economy on the verge of collapse (at the time of this writing the Dow has gone from way up this morning to now down approximately 350+ points), two wars that need fixing, a crumbling infrastructure, smaller presence in the world, struggling education system, science that is paling in comparison to the rest of the developed world... The list can go on. Much has happened in this decade, easily the most turbulent since the 1960s, and yet the two men that we much decide on to carry us out of this decade can't find the time to actually discuss these issues. 

The first Presidential debate was boring with McCain too focused on his record from yesteryear, not acknowledging Obama's presence at the debate while Obama looked more like Mr. Spock in his personality and delivery than he has in previous debates and speeches. Is it too much for American citizens to ask these candidates to address the issues? Smear campaigns have worked very well in previous campaigns, as have meaningless debates but too much is at stake here. The next President is going to be handed a mountain of problems, perhaps the largest since World War II or even the Civil War and the mess isn't shrinking. President Bush has packed his bags and all but left the White House. Just by looking into his eyes, you can see the man has been done for a while. Even with a lame duck in the White House, McCain and Obama has resorted to the exact tactics they claimed they wouldn't stoop to, and I feel duped.

Yes, McCain has been struggling as of late on the issues, the economy right now just doesn't help the Republicans, so it makes McCain's tactics look a little more acceptable, but not by much. 

Well similarly to the election, time is running out... I have to go to work. Good luck to the candidates tonight at the debate and here's hoping to a fun and exciting time.

New Thought on Media & the Economy

For the first time in what seems like quite a long time, I find the news media to be accurately reporting something: the financial crisis. While reading and watching the news I am tending to find more honest, open reporting on the economic conditions, what the government is or isn't doing, information on the banks, credit market, etc. They are leaving the commentary and editorials to the commentators and editorialists (with the politicians doing some as well). With all of the spin, it seems like the facts are actually there presented to us all. 

The reason for this is simple, the media is as concerned about the state of the economy as we are. From the corporate owners, to the shareholders, to the anchor on TV, we all have been or could be seriously affected by the economy. We are all reliant on the economy to survive, as are the news media. We love to hate the mass media and we quickly forget they are people too. I tend to see this when watching CNN during the day when the anchors here in Atlanta are really just regular people with a job. They need that job to provide for their families, just like all of us. When they ask questions to reporters in the field, or economic experts, they sound sincere, worried, and needing the information reported accurately just as we need news reported accurately. With a collapse of the economy, some of those reporters might be out of job too, even with news that needs to be reported. The companies they work for just might not be able to pay them either. 

So just this once, the news gets a pass. They are reporting exactly what we need to see and for once, in an honest manner. Will this continue? Doubtful and they'll go back to reporting in their usual spin-fashion once the economic crisis ends (assuming it does). It does cause you to do some thinking about how serious the financial problems truly are and that the media does have a few employees that do have souls. That or they are that worried about their 401K. Either which way, glad to have them on our side for a change.

I'll provide some examples to hopefully strengthen this theory tomorrow.