The Senescent Man

In a post this morning in the Corner at National Review Kathryn Jean Lopez said, "Americans should be taking a second look. Will they? Wake up, America. Good morning. There's still an election going on. Contrary to Obama-Pelosi-Reid posturing, it ain't over yet."

I wish I could agree, and in fact there are another, what? 25 days or so? But on today's Meet the Press, I witnessed rare agreement between guests (conservative) Paul Gigot of the WSJ, (liberal) John Harwood of the NYT, Ted Koppel of Discovery Channel and Erin Burnett of CNBC.

What were they in agreement on?

(1) That the economy and the current financial crisis / panic has completely eclipsed all other issues in the minds and hearts of the average voter.  And who can blame them for concern for their jobs, keeping their homes, and being able to afford retirement with their 401K's dropping to half their value in the last 10 days?

(2) That the McCain campaign is uncomfortable moving the strategy of his campaign from one of "experience and character" to "the economy," an issue about which he admitted early on of not being the brightest light in the tree, and an issue he has proven to be spastic at best and incomprehensible at worst. McCain has jerked around with various approaches and strategies, many of which seem and are contradictory as he has attempted to maneuver through the recent change in climate.

(3) That neither candidate has really offered any substantive policy or major construct that would begin to address the current cataclysm. And let me stress that: neither have done so. When Harwood was confronted with the question of what substantive initiative has Obama offered, his answer was that Obama, with McCain, voted for the "rescue" package in the Senate.  Apart from that, not really very much of anything else.

(4) Nonetheless that Obama is still the ONE perceived by voters as the best to handle the economic crisis.

Not withstanding, these observations are valid even though Obama has no record indicating he'd even have the character to have a chance to deal effectively with a crisis. He didn't even deliver on a promise to cut taxes in Illinois.  I don't know about you all, but his meager record doesn't build my confidence in him, but voters are so emotional right now, they want to flip the card over, not really knowing what's on the other side. This is the real tragedy, that voters are jumping on the Obama bandwagon, not knowing from whence it came, and really where it will take them, except if the voter does its homework - which it is too distracted to do - they would see that Obama's meager record of non-action (some say he wasn't even good at community organizing, whatever that means), his radical socialistic leanings, all of these indicators are apt to take them in a disastrous direction, but I think that's where we're going.  Like it or not.  It's too late to wake up. 

It is no longer morning in America.  We've awakened to the beginnings of a long night, and one that will linger and be exacerbated by unknown, unproven leadership with clear indications that it will have at least anti-free-market values, accompanied with a veto proof liberal congress, and a gradually left swinging Supreme Court peppered with new judges who will read new interpretations to social issues like gay marriage and assisted suicide. Welcome to the coming long and rainy night.

Labels: 2008 Election, The Panic of 2008

// posted by The Senescent Man @ 10:45 AM