It was Boring and Unimpressive

Even Maureen Dowd found the debate to be a boring wash.

"Given the past week, the debate should have been a cinch for Obama. But, just as in the primaries, he willfully refuses to accept what debates are about. It’s not a lecture hall; it’s a joust. It’s not how cerebral you are. It’s how visceral you are. You need memorable, sharp, forceful and witty lines."

I had hoped that it would be a knoeckout! I had really hoped to glean some information that would be useful, but alas.... I am left to wait for the next debate and hope that they really talk more and stump less.

"Even when McCain sneered, “I don’t need any on-the-job training, I’m ready to go at it right now,” Obama didn’t directly respond, but veered off into a story about his father being from Kenya and how he got his name. (Thanks, Barack, we got that from your book. It’s great for a memoir, but not a debate.)"

"Obama did a poor job of getting under McCain’s skin. Or maybe McCain did an exceptional job of not letting Obama get under his skin. McCain nattered about earmarks and Obama ran out of gas."

I am hoping that their people watched closely, have read all that they can, and that they come armed with information and not sound bytes for the next round!

Voting by Paradigm

I believe that I have come to the conclusion that people vote based mostly upon their own world view. No matter how much they might read/study, they will still go back to their views that are expressed in their church, party and neighborhood. Granted there will be some exceptions, but I doubt that they are many.

Slate Magazine had an excellent article about the fundamentals that actually divide the McCain/Obama world.

When Obama talked about the financial crisis, he said there was a demand for new social controls. McCain spoke about the need for individual responsibility.

Obama's described the financial situation as a failure of "we." The Wall Street debacle was the result of a "theory that basically says that we can shred regulations and consumer protections and give more and more to the most, and somehow prosperity will trickle down." The collapse was caused by "an economic philosophy that says that regulation is always bad."

McCain lamented a society that had abandoned personal accountability. He said he would have fired the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "We've got to start also holding people accountable, and we've got to reward people who succeed," said McCain. The Republican looked at the collapse of Wall Street and saw an "I" problem.

Just an interesting article that presented a set of views and points that I had never read before. Check it out, it is good.

Ham on Rye

The other day, at the coffee mega giant, I was having a discussion with one of our regulars. A person who is a highly paid professional. Someone who is very intelligent. They are and their spouse is a professor. During a brief discussion of national politics this person stated that they would ,..."vote for a ham sandwich as long as it was a democrat". Wow! I can not tell you how surprised and dismayed that I was. Here, I have been stressing myself out by reading everything I can to make sure I am getting all of the candidates plans and thoughts. I scrutinize everything.

I have been so worried that I might make the "wrong" choice for president and then have to be held responsible for that choice. I am concerned about getting it right and this person just cares that they have a "D" after their name! Here you have someone that is only voting for the party and could care less about issues as they come. I have been avoiding all the sensationalism and trying to look at issues logically & sensibly. Then this person comes along and makes a statement like this!!

I am sad to know that there really are many out there who just vote based on the party. Am I one, of only a few, who will actually vote for the best candidate based upon the things that matter? Aren't there more people out there who read and make choices after doing research? Rather than always doing what they have always done, or voting the way their family votes?

I have to admit that I am disillusioned with this discovery. I had hoped that more people were like me and that they actually cared about the person who became the leader of the free nation, but it seems that they would prefer a luncheon meat rather than looking at who is the better candidate all the way around.

I 'll bring the chips & pickles.

The View & A Gaffe

Another "gab fest" show that I can not tolerate. Supposedly aimed at women, in a certain demographic, blah, blah, blah........ Just can't stand it. Although I have to give them credit, they have had numerous candidates, and their spouses, on as guests. Something that the alleged "queen" of chat would not do. The View had John McCain on to grill him about various issues, MLK Day and Roe v. Wade. Even though I did not, nor do I, watch this show I have to commend them for having had the pluck to have him as a guest, I am sure that ratings had nothing to do with it! NOT!! I guess Oprah feels that being at the top of the heap she does not need to think of such lowly pursuits as ratings any longer.

They even had Michelle Obama a few weeks back. They are at least giving equal time to both sides. I heard that they even painted a very lovely picture of her to try and soften the edge that many say she has and how she has alienated many from her prickly personality. Maybe they will have Sarah Palin next.

Then we zoom in on Chalie Gibson's alleged interview with Sarah Palin. It was meant to be this big journalistic coup for his network. Well, according to syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer Mr. Gibson actually made a huge gaffe and stole a phrase that was actually coined by Mr. Krauthammer himself and then went on to use it incorrectly!! I think that people who review his script need to take better care and make sure that he is both better informed and prepared. You never know who might be watching. Also, it seems as if took on that condescending tone, that most jornalists have been adopting with Ms. Palin, and that too is getting quite old and tired.

Sort of like Charlie Gibson's reporting.

Threat or No Threat?

There is certainly not any short supply of article's to read about McCains choice for VP. I read an informative one in the NY Times yesterday and this good one at Alternet today. The writer, Heather Gehlert, is no lover of the Republicans, but she makes some very good points and has some excellent contrasts; especially when it comes to issues that actually cause people to vote and how people usually think when they look at candidates. Sadly, it seems, the majority do not read nor care about actual issues, but rather at superficial things like appearances and who & what clubs and venues people belong to. Check out a few of the tidbits from the article, but it is very good, as well as informative, so you may want to read it all.

"That's because the very issues that Democrats say make her a political risk -- her newness to the political world stage, her anti-choice stance, her opposition to gay marriage, her support of capital punishment, her disregard for the environment -- matter very little in determining the outcome of elections. Voters -- some of whom dissect policy issues daily, but most of whom don't -- ultimately cast their ballots based on emotion. Not logic. Not knowledge of "the issues.""

When I read this I think of people, like my mom, who don't read much about issues, but who watch the nightly news and the "talking heads" on Fox etc. and take what they say as the gospel about candidates. She "just knows" that she doesn't like certain candidates, but cannot really tell you why. She doesn't like Obama's wife, but can not give specific details about what makes her feel this way.

"In 2004, John Kerry was the champion debater. He was sharp, focused, intelligent. He could call B.S. on George W. Bush and poke holes in nearly any of his arguments. But he was also stiff. He seemed cool and disconnected, not just because of his body language but also because of his words. His policy prescriptions, detailed as they were, didn't connect with his audience. Four years after hearing him speak, I can only recall that, on an intellectual level, I agreed with his points. But I don't remember what he said. His words didn't resonate with me. They didn't stick with me in my gut.

Bush, on the other hand, was the dunce. He wore a goofy smile and dodged questions in each debate. But he was the man people could imagine having a beer with. He drew crowds in with his drawl, spoke in a simple, unintimidating way, and so could get away with covering up four years of abysmal domestic and foreign policy. I probably disagreed with 99 percent of what Bush said, but I can at least remember some of his talking points. He said he worked hard and promised to work hard for American families. He said he understood American families. He said he would protect American families.

Was that a load of bull? Of course. But it sure was delivered in pretty packaging. And, most importantly, it made a large number of voters feel good."

You can see some this in the large numbers that turn out for the Obama concerts that end up actually crying at his mere appearance, they want to feel good and they are so overcome with emotion that this becomes their voting mantra. Drew Weston, from Emory University, is a clinical, personality & political psychologist who has studied this phenomenon and written a book about it; "The Political Brain:The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation."

"(T)he vision of mind that has captured the imagination of philosophers, cognitive scientists, economists, and political scientists since the eighteenth century -- a dispassionate mind that makes decisions by weighing the evidence and reasoning to the most valid conclusions -- bears no relation to how the mind and brain actually work," Westen writes. "When campaign strategists start from this vision of mind, their candidates typically lose."

I think that Timothy Egan, of the NY Times, summed it up best when he said," Palin brings a bit of the "Legally Blonde" aspect to the race -- you underestimate her at your peril."