It is very hard to go through all the bullshit that we get from Washington and the presidential candidates, while the current financial crisis is visibly troubling in the U.S and around the world. Is it hard to have confidence in our government, in the financial health of our economy and in the security of our investments when the news we get creates concern not just about our own financial well-being but also about the safety and stability of our financial institutions. This is an all around hard situation that we are living in and thus it is easy to be impulsive with our investment decisions. No longer are we able to make investments decisions with confidence and comfort. Everyone feels the negative effects of this financial crisis. No one is immune to it, not even the rich.
How bad is it? Bad enough. With all the negative news on TV and newspapers there is nothing to be optimistic about. There are no positive signs that things will get better any time soon. We need new and better solutions. And of course, we need a new regulatory system, one with based on laws, of course, but with strong emphasis on moral values and ethic. The existing system has proven too easy for crooked Wall Street executives to manipulate, with the awful consequences we now know. Above all, we need meaningful changes in the political leadership in Washington.
As ordinary citizens there is nothing we can do to correct the wrongs of the smart boys of Wall Street or the inefficiency of our leaders and regulators in Washington. Except, of course, to get rid of them all on November 4th. We’ll have that chance, the chance to bring new hopes to our country by changing the leadership at the top of our government. Selecting the right man is critical.
I am a working senior citizen, I am agnostic and I am politically independent. Iacre for our country and thus I try hard to be objetive. Let me be clear: I am not as much an Obama supporter as I am an opponent of John McCain. And here is why:
John McCain entered the race as a war hero, as an experienced and well-known Senator with 26 years behind him as a member of the Washington establishment. He began running against a young man who was virtually unknown not too long ago, a freshman Senator with barely any legislative achievements to boast of – and a black man with a funny name to boot.
In TV adds, in campaing speeches and in the debates Senator McCain asserts that “he is the known quantity, the safer choice. He portrays himself as an “experienced Senator and as a maverick. In the last debate, in an outrageous show of arrogance he claimed to “know exactly how to get Osama bin Laden and how to destroy Al Qaeda.” I am still wondering, why isn’t he sharing his strategy with the Generals who are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan?
John McCain describes Senator Obama as a beginner with everything to prove and as a man of questionable character. He asks time and time again “who is the real Barack Obama, subtly implying that underneath Senator Osama’s charisma rest the soul of a Muslim terrorist. What a rotten way to run for the Presidency of the United States. How incredibly sad is to see an old man behave in such a hateful manner, to be convinced that he is more American than the rest of us. It is no wonder that with less than four weeks to go John McCain is behind in the polls and the gap is rapidly widening to double digits. His outrageous rhetoric is not fooling all American people, On the contrary, it has placed him in a most peculiar position.
The personal attacks notwithstanding, what most concerns me is the fact that since becoming the nominee of the Republican party Senator McCain has been jumping wildly from one issue to another and not making real sense on any. He he is making irrational promises to shake things up in Washington, in Wall Street and around the world and not explaining how except to say that he “knows how to get things done”. He is desperately striving for attention with one daring stroke after another in his desire to be President. His boldest move, of course, was to select Sarah Palin as his running-mate.
The selection of Sarah Palin may have been a great initial success and to too many Republicans an election-winner move. Ms. Palin thrilled Republicans with her speech at the Republican convention and pleasantly surprised many people, including me. She got media attention and she still does. Her TV interviews have been awful beyond belief, although she was coached well for her VP debate. Now with news of abuse of power, the Sarah Palin wild ride seems to be at an end – with little positive effect.
Senator McCain’s next audacious move was his attempt to lead efforts in Congress to pass a financial plan of his own. Promising to suspend his campaign, he rushed back to Washington where his intervention was embarrassingly ineffective. Meanwhile Senator Obama rose above it all, winning praise for standing to one side and not interfering with the negotiations between the leadership of both parties. Senator McCain, with the wisdom of 26 years in Washington, made a fool of himself by rolling up his sleeves, acting tough, and getting in everyone’s way.
We have spent the past few weeks watching Senator McCain wearing himself out. His egotistical temperament has redoubled his intellectual shortcomings. People can tolerate only so much unpredictability in a politician, even a maverick Senator. Passion to win the election is fine. Enthusiasm to win the Iraq war is admirable. His choice of a running mate was audacious. But lack of prudence and good ideas doesn’t sit well with the thingking people, people who put the best interest of the country ahead of political and religious creeds, not to mention other petty considerations.
If all of the above makes people nervous about Senator McCain, his latest idea to have the government buy all bad mortgage loans, while promising cuts in government expenditures, is infuriating even to his most fanatic supporters. People are starting to wonder about Senator McCain’s state of mind. His his gimmicks and mistakes, and there have been plenty of both, are showing. People are starting to look for erratic behavior in him and finding it too.
I should mention, parenthetically, that once I read that at age 20 or so Bill Gates went to the people of IBM and told them that he and his partner, Bill Allen, had this idea to make IBM bigger and better. They were told that they were too young and inexperienced, that the R&D unit of IBM was hiring only people experience and a proven track record.
For all the stated reasons I, for one, accept Senator Obama's lack of experience -- and I am prepared to trust his judgment as well..
HZ
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