McCain and AIG

John McCain missed a great opportunity to distance himself from the Bush administration on the AIG bail out. He had initially said that we cannot allow the taxpayers bail out AIG or anyone else. Later, he appeared to change his mind. By doing so he also missed the opportunity to separate himself from Obama on this issue and show leadership. I am very unhappy. I expect more from this great American, which is one reason I started this blog. I don't think it is a coincidence that he is drifting down in the polls. His initial instincts were good, just like his instincts on nominating Palin. I hope he gets back his mojo soon, because electing the most liberal member of the Senate to the Presidency won't help. If that happens, we can count on an even deeper financial hole for our government.

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Letting His Speech Sink In

First, congratulations to John McCain on the timing of his Veep announcement and its boldness. He deprived Obama of more time to milk the news cycle with the aftermath of his acceptance speech. I hope this means his campaign is waking up and not suffering from an "energy deficit." I am also a little nervous about whether they did their homework on the vetting.

Many Dems are congratulating themselves on their nominee and how he is now the "fighter" they are looking for, how HE won't let himself be "swiftboated." But I wonder. In his speech and on the campaign trail Obama has billed himself as a "new and improved" kind of politician, who can heal our nations wounds and get past the politics of the past. But the tone of his speech, with its repeated and repetitious jabs at Bush and McCain-Bush, blah, blah, etc. sounded very much like an old-school, FDR-worshiping, tough-Dem pol to me. In his effort to be taken seriously, he may have gone too negative and hurt his own branding. I think McCain, by contrast, has burnished his own credentials by picking someone very far from Washington for his running mate.

A little more on yesterday's theme of half-truths and lies. Obama blames Bush for the mess of Katrina, "...sits on its hands while a major city drowns..." I remind the readers that it was the abysmal failure of local government to follow its own evacuation plans and bus people out that was most responsible for the tragedies in the wake of Katrina. Obama promises that "I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work." Fat chance. First, every President since Richard Nixon has made this promise. Second, there is a good reason it doesn't work. It's called the constitution, Professor Obama. Article 1, Section 7 states in part:

"Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it..."

As a consequence, the President lacks the authority to do what Obama proposes, essentially a line item veto. Plus, he never met a government program he didn't like, so I doubt he would really propose cutting them anyway. But I am appalled that no one calls him on his constitutional idiocy. If by some tragedy, he is elected, I hope that the Republicans hold him accountable for his pledge to pay for new programs by cutting old programs. BTW, for a detailed treatment of why it is so hard to cut programs, see Jonathon Rauch's groundbreaking article on demosclerosis. First published in 1992, it was one of those rare articles that changed my thinking about the nature of politics and government.

Now we will see how this Pallin thing turns out and whether McCain can capitalize on the position handed him. Will he emulate Bob Dole or Ronald Reagan?

Demagoguery and Lies, But A Flourishing Finish

I listened patiently and he did not disappoint. Barack Obama finished his acceptance speech with pretty decent oratorical flourishes with content that could have been equally delivered at a Republican convention. Maybe that was the point. But first I had to keep my cool while he demagogued and delivered lies and half-truths and just a little stupidity. Also, the whole Greek column thing was a set up, the stage was made to look like the set of West Wing, as in, see Obama already looks like the President.

First, the stupidity:
He got the crowd chanting "Eight is enough." An allusion to the popular TV show starring Dick Van Patten that ran from 1977 to 1981. And who was President during most of that time.......(drum roll please). That's right boys and girls, Jimmy Carter. So maybe he is seeking to remind us of the last Democrat candidate who promised change on this scale.

Some lies:
He implies that the economy is in recession, not a "mental recession." However, GDP grew at a 3.3% clip in the last quarterly statistics. He also accuses John McCain of saying $5 million a year income was middle class. McCain never said that, was clearly having a joke with Warren when that was asked, and the question was "Define rich."

Some half truths:
That somehow the Republicans proposals of the "ownership society" meant dismantling health care, welfare and unemployment benefits. Over and over making out McCain to be the third coming of George Bush.

Demagoguery:
Somehow Obama is going to prevent jobs from going overseas. First there will always be job growth and destruction in a free market. (Obama promises to continue with free markets, a big relief for me.) Without the freedom to make changes, we will turn into France iwith its high unemployment because businesses are afraid to hire because they can never fire or lay off. It is the sheerest demagoguery to suggest these laws of economics can be repealed without consequence. And I think Obama knows this.

The finish and in my view the rhetorical highlight:

Instead, it is that American spirit — that American promise — that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

Unfortunately he never really closes the deal and clearly explains what exactly American promise exactly is. Certainly, Obama explains that the spirit is that we never turn back, no matter the obstacle.

Transcript here, so you can judge for yourself.