In the world, the Dow Jones is tumbling, people are panicking (the exact WRONG reaction*), and despite the failures of most recent bailout talks I’m sure the Federal Government will heroically save us from ourselves. Hell, I
wouldn’t be surprised is Bush rides onto Wall Street on a white stallion (is that what heroic knights traditionally ride?) and declares NYC’s financial district for the U.S. government.
In election news, Bill Clinton is menopausal and losing his ‘heroic’ status** (waits for my Libertarian friends to make fun of what they termed my ‘political boy crush’), Sarah Palin is scary, and Obama hasn’t done much to impress me. The election has almost taken a backseat to the financial crises this past week, but even so, I can’t help thinking back to the 2004 election – it’s a good a marker as any to consider in the ‘where were you four years ago?’ sense.
By the time the 2004 election rolled around I was burned out, having enthusiastically and obsessively followed the primaries. (Some of this also had to do with the fact that I had been an overachieving government major the past few years. I was just burned out in general.) Anyway, I basically said from the beginning that there was no way Bush would not win. Kevin, my loyal email companion, took the optimistic (and I think naïve) position that there was no way Bush could win. My dad sort of bought into that idea too. They were both coming from the perspective of “Look how screwed up things are. How could anyone vote for him again?”
Which, while understandable, in the over educated, elitist enclave that is the Northeast. It is easy to forget that a good portion of the country loved the man, thought him brave and admirable for his bold stance about terrorism, and later, Saddam Hussein. And Kerry certainly wasn’t making anyone who was already apathetic excited to get out there and vote.
This election, I’m less certain of a GOP victory, but I still think it will happen. Obama certainly has a lot going for him that John Kerry doesn’t. He’s charismatic as hell and a lot of young people are enthusiastic about him. He’s a minority (many will say ‘He’d win if he were white because there are still too many people who won’t vote for a black man. I’m not sure how much race will affect the final vote totals, but I don’t think Obama would have made it this far if he weren’t a minority. He’s bi-racial; if he looked like his mother instead of his father he’d just be another idealistic young schmuck in Washington. Being a minority in this race (no pun intended) has always been part of his schtick, as much as being a POW is for John McCain.
But I’ll continue to say this: I don’t think Obama will win. I feel as if he’s constantly had to be on the defensive, and without reason, and part of it is because the Democrats seem to be incapable of running a good national campaign. Yeah, we had Clinton in 92’ but Clinton could charm your pants off (hehe) and he had that whole “Third Way Democrat” thing going for him.
As Libertarian, there are ways in which both candidates are equally repulsive to me. I don’t want universal health care, for example. But I’d rather have Obama than McCain, overwhelmingly.
For one thing, presidential elections really have little effect on our day to day lives. Obama likes to tell us he stands for change we can believe in, and McCain likes to promise he’ll take care of us, but whoever wins, if you’re reading this, your life is not going to change. I said this, over and over again on Election Day 2004, and John Kerry even echoed the sentiment in his concession speech (though I don’t think he quite meant it that way.) I know that this attitude smarts of elitism and perhaps lack of long-term vision – I’ve not quite reconciled that – I’ll work on that for 2012.
But, despite my belief that neither candidate will change my day to day life, I fear McCain more than Obama on foreign policy issues – as an isolationist, I have always been against the war in Iraq, and I do not believe McCain will be any more sensible than Bush. Also, McCain’s age is admittedly a factor; he dies Palin’s in charge and that’s scary. No, I’m not going to turn into a fear monger on this topic; I realize she’d have her handlers, and she’d be closely watched, especially because there are people within the party who do not support her. On a purely selfish note (see? Even with my Obama crush I’m still a Libertarian!) I don’t want Palin in office, because it would be bad for my blood pressure – she represents everything I hate. And since abortion was my pet issue through ages 17-19 I cannot stand someone who is so vehemently anti-choice. From a diplomatic standpoint, the US doesn’t really need to lose anymore points with the rest of the world, and while the GOPists are on Obama’s case for lack of foreign policy experience, he is at least articulate enough that he won’t embarrass himself in front of world leaders. I can’t say the same for Palin.
As usual for me with political rants, I have no idea where I’m going with this. I won’t be watching the VP debate on Thursday, because again it will merely ‘anger up the blood.’ Palin will not answer one question and Biden has no choice but to be sickeningly nice to her, lest he come across as “mean.” I have no patience for this type of mockery of the political process and that is why I refuse to let myself get outraged at the ridiculousity of it. I know its ridiculous and I choose not to expose myself to it because it is not worth my emotional or mental energy.
*Panic is the wrong reaction because there is essentially nothing the average person can do right now. We don’t know how things are going to go, if/when there’s going to be a bailout, and what effect it will have on the market. For now, I think the best thing to do is essentially sit tight. You won’t be able to make sensible, rational decisions until things settle down a little.
** Seriously what is up with Bill C lately? First on the Daily Show, there is no way anyone bought his “support” of Obama. And this is the Bill C who used to bite his lower lip and tell you he felt your pain and you’d believe him! Then he goes on Meet the Press, heaps praise upon McCain and says that Obama has the potential to be a great man “someday.”
