Thursday, September 25, 2008

You Insult Us, Mr. McCain

This is not a political blog. It is a blog about life. But suddenly politics feels so much like a part of our life. I have watched this campaign cycle and been stunned, time and time again at the arrogance of John McCain and his campaign. It is the same arrogance that brought George Bush to office, but Americans will not fall for this again. They assume we are so stupid. They assume that we do not live, that we do not think, that we cannot see their political calculations, that their method of selling hate, division, anger and Christian superiority will trump Americans' self interest, intelligence, and yes, compassion for each other.

You insult women by picking a woman who is hot, but has less experience than almost any vice presidential candidate in history. Do you think that is the leg up women need?

You insult us by pretending you would be an agent for change, when you have voted for George Bush 90% of the time, and your convention speech was written by the same people and sounded exactly the same.

You insult us by pretending that you care about the average american when nothing you are proposing shows that to be the case: not on health care, not on education, not on taxes, not on wars, not on the economy.

How can this administration ask us to shell out $700 billion dollars for fat cats who have fed off us, eaten away our pensions, encouraged us to take out sub-prime mortgages, and pleaded for absolutely no federal oversight. I have seen their homes in the Hamptons. I have seen their apartments, their money, their magazines, their lives. I am related to some of them. Why are we even thinking of bailing out those who took risks with our money. If I take a risk, no one bails me out. And if they do, you can be sure there are a lot of conditions. Just as these investment banks had many conditions for all the loans they made. Why are we helping out the rich again? Why are we giving money--no strings attached-- to people who don't have to give anything back, who said they did NOT need government help, who complain that if the government limits their obscene, astronomical pay packages, they will not be able to do what they need to do, get the talent they need to get.

And why is John McCain, who has no real economic background, and supports the policies of George Bush, which are what got us here in the first place, pretending he has anything to offer when it comes to discussing the complexities of the Wall Street Bailout. Sure, I know he is best friends with the head of Merrill Lynch, the guy at Fannie Mae. I know he wants to help out his rich friends, and they expect him to. I know he still wants to -- on top of handing these people $700 billion no strings attached, no accountability required -- to give these richest of the rich a tax break. How can he even pretend to be a populist.
And how can he pretend that he is going to Washington for a bipartisan debate on economics, that he really thinks he can make a difference.

He is scared of Barack Obama. He is scared of how old he is. He is scared of how unprepared he is for his debate. He is scared that his Vice Presidentical pick, while hot, is going to flub up her debate. And he should be. Because we can all see what he is trying to do. It hurts to see someone arrogant enough to believe they are pulling one over on you, when their scared motivations are so obvious. I believe Americans--Democrats and Republicans -- will see his arrogance for what it is. Because as much as the Republican party has catered to Americans' desire to have a president they can have a beer with, a down-to-earth anti-intellectual who doesn't use big words, or eat fancy food -- in times of crisis, they still want someone with a brain.

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