McCain and War

This video tells you all you need to know.

Et Tu Fox News?

Fox News talks smack about McCain's lies? Love it!

After 2 Terms -- What Would McCain Look Like?

Collection of McCain Videos

I vow to spend more time focusing on the PRESIDENTIAL candidate than the VP candidate this week. Here's a great website that's collecting videos of McCain making an ass of himself.

Take a Deep Breath...

I haven't read much by Gail Collins, but I like this piece. Very down to earth. It relaxed me a bit...

My brother just sent me this from Daily Kos about the reporting by the WSJ. What liberal media?

A great summary of recent election news from abc news.

Truth About McCain's Lies

Now I know that campaigns stretch the truth, try to highlight things the other guy says, etc. etc. but McCain flat out LIES about Obama. This video highlights several of the blatant lies from the McCain camp:

McCain's Absurd Campaign Ads

From the Washington Post

New Yorker's Campaign Page

Good coverage of the campaign from The New Yorker.

Great McCain Video

Electoral College State-by-State Breakdown

Great article from Salon on what the dems need to do to win.

Morning Links

Palin bills state for doing nothing

WSJ on Obama's newest tax plan - a positive opinion piece!

Thomas Friedman on NPR

Excellent interview with the author and Times editorialist about his new book and the candidates on energy.

McCain is Not an Expert on the Economy

Maverick or Reckless?

Times Op-Ed McCain relishes the "Maverick" moniker, but is it true? His record in the Senate does not back up this claim. His choice of Sarah Palin, however, does. Or is it just reckless?

A Knol on the Candidates

From the UK

Times of London on McCain's Pick

Article As usual, the rest of the world thinks we're nuts

Some Recent Links

Truth-o-meter An interesting site that researches what has been said by the players in the election

The Sarah Palin Digest From Think Progress. History on Palin

More on Palin AP Story on Palin's history with pork-belly politics

Election Fear

I haven't blogged in quite a while, busy with work and life... but this upcoming election has me frightened. I've decided to revive Metapinions in order to vent and distribute information about the elections.

Back in high school a history teacher told me that presidential elections are decided by a single issue - the economy. If the economy is doing well, the incumbent wins. If the economy is in the toilet... we vote them out. The election at the time of this class was Regan's 2nd term where he won a landslide over Mondale. The economy was strong and the hypothesis held true.

This year (fortunately!) the incumbent can't run again and the economy is most definitely incredibly weak. This explains why McCain is trying to distance himself from the current administration (even though he's been toeing the party line for the past 8 years). If the American public buys into these lies, the election could be close. 8 years ago, Gore made the mistake of distancing himself from Clinton. He underestimated Americans. Clinton for the most part was a very popular president and the economy was doing fairly well. We all know how that ended.

Honestly, I don't dislike McCain. I have a lot of respect for his record as a veteran (although I disagree with his hawkishness) and do agree that there is far too much waste in pork belly politics. However, since winning the nomination he has moved drastically from moderate Regan-esque economic conservatism to a far right agenda.

McCain's choice of Palin was the final straw. Palin's combination of extreme right wing views, charisma and incompetence honestly frightens me. The blatant lies and mud-slinging exhibited at the RNC were disgusting and McCain's selection of Palin shows that he does not comprehend the importance of, nor does he respect the office he is running for.