Watching the Debates Was Too Depressing

Watching the Debates Was Too Depressing

McCain was less polished than Obama--but any person of above average intelligence could see that Obama's "improved information technology" basis for reducing health care costs is just a big balloon. A relative refers to Obama as "cotton candy"--there's nothing there but hot air and a tiny bit of knowledge. McCain's not brilliant, either, but at least he isn't pretending otherwise.

On the few occasions when McCain seemed to actually stand for something--his opposition to abortion--he really shined, partly because Obama was trying hard to be both a pro-choice extremists and reasonable moderate at the same time, and it didn't work--and I think it was obvious.

The most depressing part of this whole debate is that McCain's left-wing tendencies were showing: more spending on this this; targeted tax cuts for that---and then he would talk about how government is the problem. He either needed to go for the technocratic, "I'm better at making the big government approach work then you are" line, or take a consistent position in favor of at least federalism, if not less government. But McCain can't do that. He's not any smarter than Obama (and least no more stupid).

When Obama complained about the remarks that some people in the crowd at McCain and Palin rallies were making about him, McCain replied by pointing out that Obama supporters weren't very nice, either. But McCain could have at least alluded to the T-shirts that use a certain four letter word starting with a "C" to refer to Governor Palin. If McCain had half a brain he would have said, "You know, Senator Obama, some of your supporters have been wearing T-shirts degrading to Governor Palin--and all women. I would quote what they said, but unlike your supporters, I don't use that kind of language, and the networks would have to bleep me."

What just amazes me is that Obama keeps claiming that he is going to cut taxes for everyone making less than $250,000 a year. No one believes that. First of all, lots of people already pay no federal income taxes. Some of them are people making $15,000 a year, but a lot of them are Obama's supporters with millions of dollars a year in tax-exempt income. I keep waiting for McCain to point out that Obama is being backed by the obscenely rich--and to think that Obama is going to soak his supporters is ludicrous.

I had some hopes that at some point McCain would point to the involvement of the Democrats in creating the subprime mortgage crisis, but that would require McCain be as well informed as the average person in the street--and I don't think that's the case. Although I'm not sure it matters. I was talking to an Obama supporter recently who knows full well the part that the Democrats--and Obama's advisors--played in creating this disaster. And you know what? It seemed to matter less than getting rid of the "idiot" in the White House.

Benjamin Franklin observed, "Dame Experience sets a dear school, but fools will have no other." I fear that it is going to take something truly ugly to knock some sense into those who are worshipping at the feet of Obamessiah. And those Republicans who chose McCain over Romney or Thompson seem to be not much better. The Obamanics were so creduluous that they couldn't see anything but an idol; the pragmatists who chose McCain imagined that this guy would appeal to moderate voters simply had no idea of how weak would be, when running against a candidate who is lying up a storm in pretending to be a moderate--but doing it more convincingly than McCain manages to tell the truth when he claims to be only somewhat conservative.