On the Elections
October 23, 2008
My take on the 2 McCain books is:
I really enjoyed "Citizen McCain." It gives an interesting insight into how Congress works. Most of the book (or the part that I read in any detail anyway) is about how McCain got the McCain-Feingold campaign reform legislation through. It was an amazing balancing act, and one of McCain's finest legacies.
I am still trying to get into the other book - "The Myth of the Maverick."
I don't believe that McCain's campaign was run well. Yes I do believe that the media has really been giving Obama a nice and easy ride. I also believe that Obama will win this election.
I have decided to vote for Obama - in fact I finished my mail in ballot tonight. I believe that Obama will be a good president. While I think McCain appears stronger in foreign policy, I don't believe he has demonstrated in this campaign that he has the better temperament for the White House. His pick of Palin and the disastrous handling of his campaign around the Wall Street crisis sealed the deal for me. I think that it is a pity and a huge disappointment that McCain didn't run the campaign that he should have - a honest campaign geared at attracting centrists, independents and so called McCain democrats. Hard core Republicans are not going to go anywhere - they fear being left out in the cold, and they need to work with the candidate they got, not the other way around.
However I think that the media needs to do a better job at holding Obama's feet to the fire. The media giddiness is simply inappropriate. I don't like to see one party whether it is Republican or Democratic holding overwhelming majorities in every level of government. We've seen what a complete disaster it has been with the Republican's in power. The same is true if the Dems get control of both houses. Never a good idea for democracy.
For those hysterical at the thought of an Obama administration my advice is to chill. I don't believe we are going to see the end of days. Maybe, just maybe we will finally get an Administration that we the people are craving... leadership that is not afraid to listen to other points of view, and new way of doing things.
We shall see how things turn out.