Yes, you read the subject right.

This country has some serious problems. The economy is bad and getting
worse. The poor will remain so and their numbers continue to grow as the
middle class continues to struggle... to keep their home... to keep their
jobs. The environment continues to degrade and the effects of global warming
continue to expand, now even increasing allergic reactions. We are hated
overseas, our stature having fallen dramatically since the moral support we
received after the attacks of seven years ago this coming Thursday faded
when we took up a war of choice. We have 140,000 troops in Iraq, still a
major war and fragile situation, according to Gen. Patraeus, despite the
"success" of the surge so touted by the Right. The war in Afghanistan is
getting worse with Al Qaeda and the Taliban on the attack. Pakistan is even
more unstable (the most dangerous country in the world). We're
saber-rattling over Iran, and the Israelis are gearing up for an air-strike,
which could easily lead to a region-wide conflict.

Domestically, we're in the middle of a tightly contest election.

On one side, we have John McCain, a war hero in his 70s, who doesn't know
much about the economy or even how to use a computer. He has a historical
reputation for being honest and taking on the special interests, except for
a few lapses in judgement, for example, with women and with powerful
friends. He graduated at the bottom of his Annapolis class, where he had a
reputation for being the leader of the troublemakers. He became a fighter
pilot. He was part of some landmark, if relatively ineffective ethics reform
legislation, and he voted against making Martin Luther King's birthday a
national holiday and against alternative energy legislation.

He picked a running mate for Veep, a woman who has little experience beyond
being a governor of a low-population state for a couple of years. She has
attempted to mislead us about several things, including the supposed "Bridge
to Nowhere," and she's being insulated from the press. Fortunately, it's
impossible for her to be fully insulated, and some of the hypocrisy is
coming out (e.g.,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080909/...el_expenses_1).
She has some fairly non-mainstream views, even by the Right viewpoint.
Contrary to the claims, she was likely poorly vetted and only met with the
McCain twice before he selected her. It was a politically savvy move for
sure.

On the other side, we have a relatively inexperienced mixed-race man in his
late 40s. After he got his BA from Columbia, he eventually moved to Chicago
and worked for a church-based organization that helped the desperately poor
and disenfranchised on the South Side. This has been derided by the Right,
even though this is exactly what Republican candidate called for in his
convention speech. Barak Obama, the guy with the funny name, eventually
returned to school, received his law degree from Harvard. He was at the top
of his class. He taught constitutional law. Eventually, he ran for public
office, and finally was elected to the US Senate. As a junior senator, he
worked in the nuts and bolts of getting stuff done. He's been married for 20
years.

He picked a seasoned professional Senator as a running mate, someone who is
far from perfect, but is highly experienced in foreign affairs, being the
current Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The presidential
candidate spend an enormous amount of time selecting his running mate,
rightly claiming that it was the first, most important decision he needed to
make. The man he selected has been at the center of major legislative
initiates for years. Since he's been in the Senate all of his political
career, some 30 years, and he did not become rich. His first wife and
daughter died on the eve of him taking office for the first time. He and his
current wife have been married since 1977. He still commutes home to
Delaware most every evening, a practice that started when he two sons were
injured in the car accident that killed his first wife and daughter.

Here's what McCain said in his speech:

"If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're
disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to
correct them. Enlist in our armed forces. Become a teacher. Enter the
ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate
adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed.
Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing
brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than
yourself."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barak_Obama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

There's been a lot of lying going on about who these people are and what
they stand for, and this is not helping our country. The Bush Administration
and many on the Right have been degrading our personal liberties in the name
of "security" for their political ambitions. The Democrats have not been
effective at countering these attacks, and they hold much of the blame. They
seem unable or unwilling to assert themselves, using the argument that it's
not in the country's best interest.

"Swift-boating" has become somehow acceptable... wherein one is attacked for
one's strengths. The Right is relentless in this regard. The new attack
example via Rudy Guiliani and Sara Palin deriding Obama for being a
"community organizer," as though there's something wrong with that. Besides
the hate-mongering and the blatant lies that are promulgated on talk shows
(e.g., Rush Limbaugh) and "news" shows (e.g., Fox), there is a much fueled
misconception about left wing bias in the news media. This is creating a
one-version news nation. This is devastating to our country, and it happens
in a large measure because the big corporations (Disney, Viacom,
Westinghouse, GE, Microsoft, Time-Warner, Rupert Murdoch) that control the
news services are beholden to the Right. Here's a slightly old link:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/04/47530.php. And, here's what's been
going on lately: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwa...8/09/08/msnbc/.

John McCain will likely be the next President of the United States. Get used
to it Democrats and "Independents" (not sure how anyone can be independent
at this point) or do something. Your choice. As a first step, we all need to
stop the politics of personal destruction -- a phrase that was made familiar
by Pres. Clinton during the impeachment process, but was a propaganda
technique first used in modern times during the Robert Bork nomination
process. Families, for one thing, are and should remain out of bounds.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com