VP debate

The good news was that Sarah Palin was able to make a complete sentence and even a paragraph. After the interviews, that was in question. The bad news was that the also's, winks, and awe shucks did nothing to show that she is ready to lead the free world. It seemed very clear that she had either memorized or had written a number of pat answers that reflect the campaign's talking points and damn the questions, that was what she was going to say. And even then she didn't get it right. Listen to her answers about global warming. The syntax is all off... she has human activity being the result of global warming and not the other way around.

She is unqualified for the job of VP and way under qualified for the position of president, a role which a McCain VP just might have to assume. Would she ever be ready? I don't know but she sure isn't now and no amount of cramming before January will fix that.

I participate in an on-line Christian Musicians Forum on the Christian Music Radio site. There are some great folk on there, most of whom are pretty conservative both theologically and politically. Many were very unhappy with McCain as the Republican nominee, to the point that some said they would not vote in the upcoming election. When Palin was chosen as McCain's running mate, many of those same folk were thrilled. Her social ad theological views fit theirs very well. They were energized to vote again. We heard similar thoughts from Dobson and others.

It seems very clear that Palin got the nod as a strategy to reach out to those voters. That she is an attractive woman only helped in a number of other ways. And a Downs Syndrome child certainly shows that she is serious about her anti-abortion stance. It was a good strategy, or at least seemed to be early on. Here's the rub. McCain has been chanting the mantra - "country first" all along. Choosing a completely unqualified person as VP just to get votes shows that he doesn't put country first. He doesn't care about the future of the US at all or he would have chosen the best possible running mate, both strategically and for the future of the country should the unthinkable happen. He did not. He put his ambition first, before the future of the US and the welfare of the entire world. That makes him unworthy of a single vote.

Of course, there is the other possibility. Maybe he actually believes she is capable of becoming president the day after the inauguration. If that is true, his judgment is so flawed that he doesn't deserve a single vote. In either case, Sarah Palin proves that John McCain cannot be allowed to become president.

wrestling with girls

My son, John wrestled in high school in the heavyweight division. He never experienced something that many of the guys in the smaller weight classes did - wrestling against a girl. One of the coolest things about high school wrestling in California is that anyone can participate and if need be, the rules are adjusted. John's team had a blind wrestler. The rules were adjusted so both wrestlers had to maintain hand contact with one another at all times. There was a wrestler with one leg. Both wrestlers began on the mat. Girls can wrestle as well and compete against boys. There are no changes in the rules. There were some girls who were very, very good. BTW, the photo is of Jazy Green, a high school wrestler from Santa Monica who competes at 103 pounds.

As you can guess, wrestling is an intimate contact sport and hands and body parts often touch in places and ways that under other circumstances would be very inappropriate. You could tell when a boy was wrestling a girl for the first time. As the match began, he would have a tentative look on his face, unsure where to put his hands. For a few seconds the girl had an enormous advantage. After the first time she threw him, he got down to wrestling and didn't worry about where to place his hands. After all, the rules were the same regardless of whether the opponent was male or female. If the girl is upset about having some strange boy touching her anywhere and everywhere, she shouldn't be wrestling.

I've been thinking about that as an analogy to Sarah Palin. So far, the press and the Obama campaign have seemed hesitant, unsure as to where they can place their "hands." They are acting as if the rules are different since she is a woman. And the McCain camp is pushing for a change in the rules as they ask for deference from the press corps and refuse to have Palin give a press conference. They are trying to institutionalize that momentary advantage and claim that any attacks against her are sexist. The reality is exactly the opposite. Campbell Brown got it right when she accused McCain of sexism. If Palin is going to compete at this level, she has to play by the same rules as the boys. That means she is subject to all of the same questions and critiques. If she can't answer the questions, then she ought to get off the mat.

healthcare

As our economy implodes we have seen the results of the deregulation of the financial sector begun under Reagan. McCain is arguing for the same irresponsible behavior regarding healthcare.

Why I'm More Afraid

One of the big reasons supporters are citing for John McCain is that he will be a better commander in chief and will keep us safer in the future. I don't think that is true. Indeed, I am afraid if John McCain becomes president that we will be less safe not more so.

here are a few reasons why I think that...

1. He presents himself as being truly unaware of the complexities of the world today. We all saw the news clip with Liebermann correcting him regarding the role of Iran in terrorism.

2. The most frightening piece of that is that he doesn't seem to see the difference between state actors and non-state actors and speaks as if they can be dealt with, excuse me, attacked in the same way. They cannot.

3. His hot temper just isn't the kind of temperament I want in a person who commands the military or especially one who has his finger on the button.

4. he has given up any moral ground that he held before. Read these words from Rabbi Rami Shapiro's blog, Toto, speaking about the Republican Convention... but the comment certainly reflects McCain's current stance

Rather than referencing John McCain’s war record as a sign that he would keep us out of war, rather than pointing to his brutal torture as proof that he would stop America’s use of torture; speaker after speaker glorified war and rumors of war. Rather than use the moral high ground to be moral, they used it to excuse the immoral.

5. He consistently paints the world in black and white, good and evil, us and them. It may play to his base but the real world just isn't that simple.

6. He seems ignorant of cultural and religious differences that are critical for dealing in constructive ways with the Islamic world, a world that is extremely diverse.

I don't believe that John McCain can build the coalitions that are required to work against non-state actors. I don't believe he trusts the power of our example over the example of our power. I don't believe he is able to get past a Cold War type understanding of the world.

sad but true

I'm not thrilled that Obama is running negative ads... but given the lies coming from the McCain camp, it is necessary to get the truth out there.

Obama tax cut

Here's a quick little page that gives you an idea of what will happen to your taxes if Obama is elected. Bottom line for the vast majority of Americans... you get a tax cut.

Check out your tax cut

Georgia on my mind

with the wedding last week and an impending move, I've had a bunch of blog entries building up and just waiting to be posted.

The situation in Georgia is one and I think represents one of the larges and most impactful costs of the Iraq debacle. The quotes from McCain and Bush would be laughable were the situation not so grave... "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations," and "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century" And there is the problem. We invaded 2 other sovereign nations and continue to occupy them both. Add to that torture and the blatant disregard for the rule of law and we have lost any moral authority that we had in the world.

the "A" word

I've been thinking a lot about the rick Warren interviews of McCain & Obama. In general, I was pleased with the format but it was obvious that the questions that were asked and the way they were framed slanted the event towards McCain. One piece really stuck in my craw.

Warren asked about human rights for fetuses which was really about abortion and even described abortion as being a holocaust. McCain's answer was "at conception," which drew a lot of applause. Two questions came to me... if this is really a holocaust, why have you done nothing to stop it? And, do you realize the implications of your statement?

Frankly, I find the Republican stance on abortion disingenuous at best. They held all three branches of government for 6 years with a "pro-life" president, a "pro-life" Supreme Court, and "pro-life" legislature and didn't do anything to even lower the abortion rate let alone make it illegal. Why? The cynic in me says they want the issue as a wedge in election years. If it was illegal, they'd lose the wedge. Then what? No, they don't want to make abortion illegal because if they did, they would do something about it.

McCain and Iraq

These words are from a foreign policy speech given by John McCain

By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced. Civil war has been prevented; militias disbanded; the Iraqi Security Force is professional and competent; al Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated; and the Government of Iraq is capable of imposing its authority in every province of Iraq and defending the integrity of its borders. The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it does not play a direct combat role.

While some of the goals seem wonderful, others are either ridiculous or just wrong. Even if you agree with all of the goals, the rest of the speech gives no indication of any new initiatives to get there. Essentially, he wants to continue the Bush policies in Iraq but somehow will achieve these radically different. It reminds me of the old definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again, hoping to get different results.

My only hope is that the American public doesn't elect this man... doing the same thing over yet again, hoping to get different results.