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.
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