Oct

21

Tone Deaf

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I am not a clothes horse. While I can admire someone’s snappy sense of style, I have never aspired to be a fashion hipster. Which is to say that while my priorities are different, I can appreciate that someone may want to own more than two or three pairs of shoes or that they might spend a sizeable poriton of their disposable income on fashion accessories. However, given the economic meltdown that we are in the midst of, I think that the McCain campaign will find that most people will not understand the necessity of spending $150,000.00 on Sarah Palins wardrobe. Call it a hunch.

Oct

12

May You Live in Interesting Times

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The origins of this saying may be in doubt, but there is no question that it can apply to the economic and political turmoil unfolding these past several weeks. As as life-long consumer of news about politics and current events, I can attest to the unusual confluence of circumstances that make this election particularly important.

Candidates have made poor decisions regarding their running mates before, and this is not the first election where a significant domestic or global crisis cast a long shadow. Neither is it the first time voters went to the polls thoroughly disgusted with the performance of its government, or had to cast their ballots at time where the nation was embroiled in armed conflict or had suffered a catastophe.

But good God, are we really expected to go the polls in a few weeks with all this on the table? It’s fine that John McCain picked a running mate that makes Dan Quayle look like Noam Chomsky. And its understandable that after years of deregulation and neglect that the nation’s financial system is collapsing like a wet taco. While the electorate cannot be held responsible for the President Bush’s first term, we sure as hell have a lot to answer for considering we gave him a second. But why in God’s name are we expected to sort all of this out in four weeks?

To be realistic, some of this will take care of itself. I mean Chris Matthews has been more or less calling John McCain a troll since the debate. His temper is well known and well documented and he does not respond well when challenged. Even without a public meltdown, the public seems to be increasingly aware that McCain might not be the most stable choice for President.

This alone might not be enough to keep him out of the White House, but his recent erractic behavior in response to real crisis’ only make the election of 72 year old man with health problems seem that much riskier. This risk is magnified exponetially by the fact that his hand picked number two finds it difficult to answer questions coherently. I am suddenly nostalgice for a Vice President with a thin resume who occasionally mispells ordinary words. This makes it entirely likely that the McCain candidacy is going to collapse under the weight of its own hubris. We must hope that this happens before the election.