Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Pre-election Thoughts

It's presidential election season, and we're currently in between debates. We're also in the middle of watching our economy, and the world's generally, crash and burn. It seems that George Bush finally found a way to empty the rest of the treasury on his way out of office.

I wanted Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic presidential nominee, but the Republicans played chess far too well to allow that to happen. There was scarcely a murmer out of them about Obama throughout the entire campaign--until Obama won the nomination.

Why would I choose a relatively untried candidate over an extremely experienced war hero? Simple. Obama's values are in the right place, and while he is inexperienced, he is eminently teachable. I believe he will surround himself with sane people who will inform him sufficiently for him to lead according to our common values.

McCain, on the other hand, used to be a war hero, but it's a long time behind him. I am old enough to know that none of us is who we were thirty years ago. The McCain I see before me now has nothing current to say about the world's mighty dilemmas, not the least of which are global warming and the economy, to say nothing of the health care crisis. I am tired of hearing McCain dredge up his ancient laurels as though he possesses now the qualities he perhaps had then. Now, he is 72, extremely wealthy, and patently ignorant about economics for the middle and working classes. Nor does he seem teachable. Finally, his choice of an unqualified, rabidly rightwing vice-presidential candidate seems to me the last straw. It is unlikely that McCain will live through eight years of presidency. Who does he propose to leave the country to? An ex-beauty queen with little else to recommend her and values that make every ecologist's hair stand on end.