The Election

It's that time of year again. Can't you feel it in the air? The winds emanating from the campaign trail are sweeping the wasteland that is nearly-post-Bush America, and it's time for me to throw in my two cents.

I'd like to begin by observing that both major candidates are fundamentally excellent by political standards. They make the candidates from the last eight years look like idiot monkeys or statues. It should be unsurprising that this election brought out the Democrats' finest, because the playing field has been tilted deeply left ever since it occurred to the American public that Iraq was one of the stupidest decisions they'd ever signed off on. However, that the Republicans fielded a legitimate competitor is something that can only be explained by chance. McCain, after unfortunately getting his ass kicked by said idiot monkey, spent the last eight years biding his time, growing wrinkles and superficially compromising his convictions for the glory of the Christian right. This is McCain's last shot at the White House.

I believe my estimation of the candidates was affirmed upon their first debate. Each had moments of crystalline clarity, and they battled thoughtfully and with finesse. The second debate was a different story. Neither demonstrated substance nor reason the entire night, rather, they simply impugned each other's character and values. My faith in the candidates was shaken, but in the final debate each of them made a return to form. Though the subjects of debate illicited redundancy, McCain and Obama found new and exciting points to make, and because the pacing was somewhat more spry than on their first encounter (which was weighed down by bickering concerning foreign policy) the final debate was likely the best.

Obama should be criticized for aspiring to spend too much on government programs in a time of financial crisis and for playing the starry eyed visionary in a time that demands realism. I guess he's a good politician, and a liberal one, but I appreciate McCain for having the balls to tell it like it is. We can't afford a New Deal. Arguments based on Obama's inexperience are fair critiques. While Obama is a long way from being unqualified, he lacks familiarity with the precedents and mechanics of a system he hopes to run.

McCain has not run a perfect campaign, however. At this point, it is almost universally accepted that naming Governor Palin as his running mate was a grave error. It was almost a foregone conclusion that he would choose a fundamentalist, but he could certainly have found a more qualified one. Also, McCain's health plan is problematic. It is simultaneously ineffective and inelegant. He proposes to simultaneously raise taxes and give a "tax credit" aka a government subsidy to medical costs, all the while not making any attempt to change the system that is so clearly broken. Republicans are less forgiving of this sort of mistake than their opposition. Maybe the plan was better than nothing, but why didn't he just make a straight argument against government health care? It's not like it's hard. As necessary as it may be, socialized health care is rife with potential for mismanagement and failure.

After his landslide victory in earning a Senate seat, I pronounced myself a supporter for "Obama '08"! I had no idea such wishful thinking would become fact. His sensibility is earnest and astute. His demographics align with my own (and I don't mean that I'm black). The man embodies everything that is great about the backlash against Republicans and the Bush Administration. I am concerned about a party once again controlling every branch of government, but not nearly so much as last time. He is an individual that America can rally around.

By all accounts, the election is already won in Obama's favor. I expect a dumptruck of mud to unload in the next week or two, but I doubt it will overcome his substantial lead.