America--The Land of the "C" (or perhaps C minus?)

One of the things that has struck me most about this election is this:

This has been a tough campaign, with a lot of slings and arrows flying in both directions. That's to be expected, and I am not fazed by this type of behavior. I have seen it all my life in politics.

What has been fascinating to me is that one campaign has managed to speak to us as if we were adults, and the other campaign speaks to us as if we have about a 7th grade education. Initially, I was excited to vote for Barack Obama. Now I am equally excited to vote against John McCain and Sarah Palin, but not for the reasons you may think. Policy positions have something to do with it. But in reality, the biggest issue I have with the McCain campaign is the way in which the candidates speak to the people. As if we were idiots.

True, you could claim that perhaps McCain has been watching Bush talk to us like this for eight years. But don't you think that it would be foolish to emulate a style that is only favored by about 25% of the electorate these days?

Here's my take on the whole thing: You have a couple of "C" students running on the Republican ticket, who have made a career of being attackers, "battlers", and opportunists to claw their way up the ranks.

McCain's story of bravery and love of country is remarkable, and I wish he had stuck to this, and a robust discussion of his policies. But if you look at the man, here is someone who graduated at the bottom of his class at Annapolis, and had gotten through his early years on the McCain name (remember, the McCain name in military circles was what the Bush name was in Politics--Royalty). He was known as more of a drinker and fighter than a leader in his early years (any of this sounding familiar?) before a "life changing event" and the love of a good woman straightened him out. Unlike our previous President, though, McCain actually has quite a record of legislative achievement. But do we hear him talk about policies in a manner that shows him to have a good grasp of the issues?

No we don't. Instead, we have a candidate who takes snide jabs at his opponent at every turn (saying things like if he were President, HE wouldn't pre-empt the World Series...heh heh heh). But more disconcerting to me is that he has basically made no attempt to lay out any sort of vision for the country, or show ANY thinking about the policies, other than at the most basic level. And I constantly feel like I am being spoken to as if I were 8 years old, and couldn't possibly understand what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do (which he didn't even explain properly at one of the debates.) His inability to lay out coherent plans, other than rattle off talking points (taxes bad, Joe the Plumber, Socialist! Terrorist! We are all Georgians! Earmarks!) just reminds me of George W. Bush. McCain can say all he wants about not being George W. Bush--voting records, "Mavericks", etc--but it's this treatment of the American people as if we were idiots--THAT is where I see the similarities between McCain and Bush. And it is very insulting.

Enter Sarah Palin. How many colleges did she attend before getting her degree? Four? I understand that you had to WORK all your life, Sarah. So do most of us. I still have been to other countries. I promise you, Ms. Palin, the books don't substitute for going places, and seeing them for yourself. Ideology is only defensible by listening to opposing points of view, and perhaps even losing a few debates, and questioning your beliefs, before truly embracing a point of view. There is nothing in your speeches, your background, even your so-called "expertise" in the field of energy, that leads us to believe you have any real substance to your positions, rationale for your beliefs, or anything past the talking points on the cheat sheet. If you are an expert at anything, other than inciting the mob, we still have 5 days to go. I am all ears...

I keep asking myself, "Why do we have this situation?" The top of the Republican Party looks like a couple of people who speak so simplistically, who don't think and reason, but just go with their gut reactions, who say they represent us, but I see absolutely no listening, or empathy for voters in any of their speeches (and believe me, I have heard MANY speeches in their entirety on POTUS 08. No MSM filter here...). How did we become this country where the C- students rule?

I read a recent book (sorry for the misquote here!) that made a great point--...it isn't that Bush is an idiot...it's that he thinks people are idiots, and he talks to them as if he can sell any idea on a group of people that he thinks he is smarter than... Why do I want a President like that? Don't I want someone I can be proud of? Who listens to people, advisors, and makes informed, intelligent decisions about my country?

In the end Bush is a "C" student, and McCain is a "C" student. The world is full of "C" students, and some of them are world beaters. But the odds are against it. And I think we have seen where "C" students can take us, if we aren't careful.

I am happy to have a beer with a "C" student, or call one my friend. I think I am ready for an "A" student as President again...