9.29.2008
Leadership vs. Fingerpointing
Will McCain have to "suspend" his campaign again since the bailout failed? It's funny how he was for bold leadership before he was against it. Now he has decided that blaming everyone is the way to fix an economy suffering the wrath of strong fundamentals. Grampy to the rescue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Both candidates are as confused as hell as to how to react.
I'm still confused how anyone thought that suspending campaigning and going to Washington was a bad thing. I thought that was his job, and that this is one of the biggest bills to ever hit the floor of Congress.
If he didn't show, it would've been the opposite from the left. "McCain doesn't know what's important, he only wants to campaign, he's outta touch with Americans", blah blah blah.
Nobody has the magic bullett on this economic issue, and nobody is an authority, so ease up passing any judgement here. Even suggesting you have a plan will only make you look like a fool. It's best to work it out in committees, not in the press.
First of all, he didn't suspend anything. He didn't arrive in Washington until 24 hours and a couple interviews and speeches later. His surrogates were still all over the place um, not campaigning. His commercials kept running.
So he arrives in Washington for a high profile meeting that he requested with Bush, Obama and congressional leaders. Nothing gets done outside of injecting some doubt into what had been previously agreed upon. Now he can claim a bill is on the way to passing and he can go get his ass kicked in a foreign policy debate that he should have owned.
Yesterday before the voting starting McCain takes credit for putting together a successful bill. It fails, so he blames Obama.
These events actually took place; I'm not making this shit up. McCain looks like a failed leader and his campaign is a clusterfuck. The only people that aren't laughing or shaking their heads at the McCain ticket are the right wing robots that are prepared to march to war to the cadence of religion and dangerous,self-righteous nationalism. He could have won this thing he if was the McCain he used to be. This election year, his inner fuck-up is shining through and he has lost this election.
Keep telling yourself those things, it should make you feel better.
I can't write how absolutely baffled I am that you think Obama somehow "won" that debate. I could understand if it was close how you might lean one way or the other; but wow!
Do you realize that Obama offered no real examples of his experience dealing in foreign affairs? He doesn't have them. McCain could've gone on for hours about his experience with different leaders around the world and the places he's been, and diplomacy he's participated in.
It's like having an amateur mountain mountain biker telling a professional how to win a world cup race. It may sound great, but there's no substance to it.
As far suspending the campaign; stop exaggerating the facts. McCain left his scheduled plans behind to come to Washington to participate. That should suffice for a suspension of his campaigning. How would you have phrased it differently?
As far as the claim to having passed a successful bill; I believe he felt it was done. According to Pelosi and the Democrats it was done. Then Pelosi, in her speech, had to make the Republicans and Bush out to be the scapegoats, and thus setting the Dems up as heroes. Her speech torpedoed the plans that both sides had agreed upon. Classic partisan politics. You couldn't really expect the Republicans to fall on the grenade and vote that bill through. It was a game of political chicken, and Pelosi and the Dems lost.
From a political point of view, why would the Democrats bring a bill to the floor when over 40% of their people weren't going to vote for it? They could have passed that bill without a single Republican vote; that's what a majority means! Poor leadership yet again. The very same leadership that got us into this mess.
I hope you check out the Rant page as Goat posted the hearings from 04 about the corruption in FNMA and the need for more REGULATIONS.
It was never a request for deregulation that caused this. It wasn't Wall Street that caused this. Those are the media spun buzz words and key phrases. It was a lack of regulation that caused this, (that the Republicans begged for; check the video). It was a couple of rogue banks, who happen to control a majority of the mortgages in this country. Fannie and Freddie polluted the balance sheets of companies with their poisonous, feel good, junk loans.
The chickens have come home to roost. It's time to own up to the REAL failed policies; not the imagined trumped up politically spun policies.
For example, Pelosi rips Bush for taking us into a deficit and that it's irresponsible. The last I checked, protecting the citizens of this country, revamping the security and intelligence gathering of our agencies, expanding the protections against terrorists, are in fact some of the very things government is SUPPOSED to do. That all costs money, and I'm happy to pay for it; even I have to borrow to do it. Those programs are not the cause of the housing crisis. Those programs didn't cause this economic slump.
I can't stand it when the Democrats crow about Bush being a spend thrift, as if he was being frivolous.
When you DON'T spend money to protect US citizens...well you saw where that got us.
If I were a McCain supporter I would probably be baffled right now too. Would there be any point in debating at all if it were about who is more experienced? Nobody is arguing that McCain has more experience than Obama in foreign affairs. The debate isn’t about experience only, it’s about aptitude. I work with some real dipshits in my technical field that have being doing this stuff for 20 years. All of that experience, and I wouldn’t trust some of them with charging my camera batteries.
Now. In the eyes of undecideds and more casual political observers, Obama won that debate by holding his own against all that experience and by appearing as the cool character that he is. On that stage we had a cranky, tweaked out old man that hated his opponent vs. an informed and cool headed leader. This was supposed to be McCain’s home turf and undecided voters say that he lost. It doesn’t matter what us partisans say. In theory McCain should have wiped the floor with Obama. From here to November 4th it is about the economy. McCain has already displayed lately that he is even more tweaked and unpredictable on economic issues than he is on foreign policy. People are looking for an apt and steady hand right now and that is what Obama is offering. McCain would fend better these days if he was able to trade in some of his abundant experience chips for some judgment.
Experience and wisdom are two different things. Whereas your peers at work may have experience, wisdom clearly doesn't become them.
Politics are different. You can't be engaged in foreign affairs without getting experience and thus garnering wisdom.
You have yet to point to McCain's inability to handle foreign affairs. All you can come up with is perception of personality and outward appearances.
Obama is great on stage, and has a great soothing baritone voice. If you want to elect based on that, so be it. He SEEMS to be able to lead based on his mannerisms, but who knows.
Show me how McCain being annoyed dealing with a complete amateur and a fraud, is hurting his experience and wisdom in foreign affairs.
All you have is fluff. Obama APPEARS to be a leader; hasn't shown it. Obama APPEARS to be able to handle foreign affairs, hasn't proved it.
Only 42mill people tuned into the debate vs 80 mill that watched Reagan vs Carter.
Hardcore lefties will see the fluff not matter what, and won't ever vote for McCain. Open minded individuals that watched the debate saw the contrast of real leadership vs perceived leadership, and for that McCain is the real winner.
Unfortunately for you perception is reality. I'm afraid your "hooray, McCain won" party is a bit maturbatorial.
It was beyond obvious long ago that we fundamentally disagree on just about everything, but it becomes increasingly obvious everyday that you and others on the right continue to deny reality.
When your "real" leadership equals mushroom clouds I'll take perception please. What makes a good fighter pilot makes a dangerous Commander in Chief in my opinion. Non-partisans are beginning to see this as well. It has been mostly a good thing that McCain has been able to "shake things up" in the Senate. Foreign affairs are delicate and infinitely complex matters. Bush has been shaking things up on that front, and we can see where that got us.
Perhaps you could give us a few examples of the "real leadership" of Sen. McCain?
Post a Comment