The Presidential Candidates are Set

It is John McKain vs Barack Obama. Yet again two very weak candidates. There is a reason for this as always. It is the bitter partisianship that exists on both sides of the ideological spectrum. This is nothing new.



The late nineteenth century, specifically after the civil war, saw a similar long line of mediocre candidates resulting in one poor president after another. The country as a whole suffered greatly. Even so the industrial revolution in this period was taking off, in spite of the poor leadership in Washington. The large amount of corruption that was partially a result of the spoils system is somewhat reminiscent of today.




So expect at least 4 more years of mediocre leadership regardless of the winner just as what we have had in at least the past 45 years. That is nearly 1/2 a century of weak leaders, yet this country is still humming along. That being said, the last three presidents have done what might not be irreversible, but certainly long term harm to our leadership in the world in all areas. Notice I said last three, that includes Democrats and Republicans, neither party has done us any favors.




We have shipped off large amounts of our industrial capacity overseas to countries that we certainly cannot call friends. This will seriously hamper our efforts if we ever again have to fight a real war (despite what the propagandists on both sides of the political spectrum say, this war on terror is more of a skirmish than anything, there were battles in WWII in which more than 4,000 of our brave soldiers were killed in a few hours. That statement is not meant to minimize the significance of any deaths in the war on terror, and certainly not to minimize the sacrifices heroics and courage that our brave military personnel still fighting in the 120 degree heat in Iraq and Afghanistan are making. It is only to provide a small amount of perspective.) In fact, our economic policies have strengthened our enemies.



China is a rising giant, Russia, after 2 decades of stagnation and decline (Although realistically they were on that same course for nearly all of their years under communist rule) is starting to become belligerent again. A lot of this has been built on our technology transfers to these countries. 15 years ago, China was unable to get a missile off the ground without it exploding on the launch pad, or veering around wildly like a ballon that had just let all of its air out. Now, thanks to us, they have missiles that they can plant right in our back yard.



Of course it is fashionable to blame Bush for this, but quite honestly the technology transfer began to happen in earnest in Bush the elders term, then REALLY got cranked up in Clinton's administration. By the time Bush the younger came to power it was too late. I believe that the policies of all three of these administrations were short sighted and had unintended consequences that are being felt today.



I may be selfish, but it seems to me it does not serve our national interests to make countries that are our enemies (and anyone who thinks that China and Russia are our friends are hopelessly naive) into superpowers in their own right, which is exactly what we did.



In the backdrop of this mess, we have our weak candidates. Obama, brash, young, inexpereinced, having little in substantive ideas, except he is going to change. Change what, and how? Lower my heating and electric bill? Lower the amount that I pay at the pump? lower my grocery bill, which has risen from $250 per week, to over $300 per week? That is the change I need.

McKain, the old war veteran, cranky and stubborn. Certainly a heroic figure for his many years of resistance as a POW during the Vietnam War. However, he will unfortunately be perceived(unfairly I believe) as a continuation of the Bush administration. I quite honestly am not certain what his policies will be on much of anything, just as I am not sure of Obama's leanings.

In one area that I am not comfortable is the stance that both candidates take on the Second Amendment. However, it is my opinion that Obama will make a serious and concerted attack on our right to bear arms, McKain most likely will at the most take a neutral stance.

It is my personal opinion that John McKain will be the better overall choice, and will receive my vote. It will be crucial for him however to pick a strong, popular running mate to get elected since the darling of the media is obviously Barack Obama.