I hope independents out there take a close look not at the words their candidate is saying, fine as those words might be, but in how he is behaving, because that is how he is going to behave as president. I'd like to hope most conservatives will note this, too.
Look, I fall a little to the left on most issues, and a bit to the right on a few others (California's child labor laws, abortion, etc...) We're Americans and we make our choices, and we can even change our minds.
How many times, however, is a president allowed to change his mind? We're not talking about new information coming to the fore, here. We're talking about a campaign strategy of deception and distraction.
At least I hope that's what we're talking about because otherwise it's pure ineptitude.
The Fundamentals of the Economy are Strong
So we were told again, and again, and again by Senator McCain and his campaign, only to have him (yes, I'm gonna say it) FLIP-FLOP and decide we were in the worst economic crisis since the great depression. This within a week. Was he just hoping it would go away? All indications, for several years now, have pointed to this kind of trouble. Now, I'll go into my rant about the invisible hand in our economy another time, but clearly these irresponsible moneychangers need someone to slap them with some regulation to control their behavior because IT'S AFFECTING OTHER PEOPLE. Even Adam Smith, my friends, argued that moral imperatives create a stronger free market system than pure greed and avarice. The latter morality brings to mind an image of locusts consuming all in sight before moving on to the next opportunity, ignorant of the limits the environment (literal or figurative) has put before them.
So the economy is strong, and then it's in crisis. So what do we do?
Time Out
Of course. Put the campaign, the debates, everything else...on hold. That way we can run to D.C., meet with the Senate, show leadership and solve the problem.
Except he didnt' put the campaign on hold. He only said he did. He canceled a David Letterman appearance (because he needed to be in Washington, "our nation's capital" NOW) but made it for Katie Couric, and then managed to get a good night's rest in before flying out to D.C. in the morning. Campaign ads continued to run, his staff continued to slam Obama, and McCain continued to show up on TV discussing his campaign.
So he gets to D.C., where he's not going to leave until this problem is solved, even if that means canceling the presidential debate in Mississippi! They hunker down, talk, bickers and do the things Senators do...and then he flies out to Ole Miss to take on rival Barak Obama in a debate, despite the fact that he considered staying in Washington D.C. to solve the financial crisis his single biggest responsibility! Let's just remember, only a week before, he was all but saying there was no crisis.
So he proclaims victory in the debate on national television (during this time period that his campaign is suspended) before the debate's even taken place.
Now, John McCain, bipartisan maverick, won't even look at his Democratic rival during the debate. Actions...louder...than words. Just words, John. Lots of pretty words you said. Full of sound and fury, and clearly signifying nothing. No deference. No respect. No attempt at true bipartisanship during this period of "suspended campaigning."
Debate ends, and McCain flies back to our nation's capital, not to the Senate floor, but to his campaign office, where he has decided he can manage the rest of his contribution to the bail-out proceedings from his phone.
Inconsistent, John. Haphazard. Unpredicatable. "Any shelter in a storm." Not a steady hand. Not a clear course. Confused. Dazed. Unreliable. This is John McCain in 2008.
* * *
This is just one example of how McCain is running his electoral bid. I'm sure many McCain supporters would tell me I've misunderstood or taken things out of context, but I can cite whole other paradigms of peculiarity in the campaign that point to the same kinds of poor judgement and confusion (intended or otherwise) that is rife in Senator McCain's approach to this campaign, from his choice of Sarah Palin as his VP nominee to his hot headed approach on foreign policy to his admission that he knows nothing about economics (experience, John? You've been in the Senate how long?) If this is how he runs a presidential campaign, I can only imagine the horror of his running the country.
John helped to deregulate investment banking. Now he's for reform and regulation.
John advocates a continuation of Bush's policies in Iraq, but he continues to try and distance himself from the President.
John opposes big government, but votes in favor of extraordinary powers.
Experience is a very important attribute, but only if you can execute based on the lessons of that experience. I don't see John McCain executing based on his experience. God may not play dice with the universe, but it's clear that John McCain does.
